Celebrate Pennsylvania Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) Awareness Week

 

Let's Celebrate! Pennsylvania ECYEH Awareness Week! Nov. 14-18

For nearly 10 years, ECYEH Awareness Week has been honoring and bringing awareness to the importance of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and the education needed to provide stability and consistency to students experiencing homelessness across Pennsylvania.

Woman holding #IWillBeYourVoice photo frame

Programs throughout Pennsylvania will be hosting celebrations for children and youth experiencing homelessness and their families. We want our communities and leaders to experience these celebrations so they can understand the impact you make and continued resources needed.

Let’s celebrate together!

Build a community – Share your celebrations with us!

If you are posting information about your celebrations on social media, please tag our campaign accounts:

Please use our hashtags:

  • #IWillBeYourVoice
  • #FindingYourWayinPA
  • #RedShirtDayPA
  • #Homelessness

Please use your bitly link to send people to this page: https://bit.ly/ECYEH-Week 

Attend the Rally at the state Capitol, Monday, Nov. 14

Meet us Monday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. at the Capitol Rotunda, to kick off ECYEH Awareness Week!

  • Hear from state representatives and other guest speakers.
  • Receive highlights from current legislation and policies.
  • Network with other educators, youth-serving professionals, and homelessness advocates and liaisons to ensure students can receive the support they need to overcome possible educational barriers.

Questions? Please contact Sonia Pitzi at [email protected].

Participate in Red Shirt Day, Friday, Nov. 18

On Friday, Nov. 18, turn your school and community programs red to raise awareness for education for children and youth experiencing homelessness!

  • Take photos, selfies, videos, and share them on Facebook (tag @ECYEHPA) and Twitter (tag @PA_ECYEH and @Center_Schools) where we will also turn social media red!
  • Host a toiletries drive.
  • Submit your hopes, challenges, and advice to your peers.
  • Watch/host an #IWillBeYourVoice story hour.
  • Create your own photobooth and take pictures #IWillBeYourVoice.

Invite students to join in the celebration

Student voices and stories are key to raising awareness about the importance of support for students experiencing homelessness. Please use the language below to email and share with students.

Download Let’s Celebrate PDF flyer to post in your school or program

Sample email content

Subject: Share your #IWillBeYourVoice story

Did you know Pennsylvania Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) Awareness Week is Nov. 14-18, 2022? Who likes to raise their voice? Are you interested in raising awareness for those your age?

Join us by raising your voice and learning more about ECYEH Awareness Week. Youth your age are experiencing homelessness and you may not even know. This is your chance to cultivate awareness and support for those students experiencing homelessness within your school and community.

You can participate by joining us for Red Shirt Day on Friday, Nov. 18!

On Friday, Nov. 18 turn your school and community programs red to raise awareness for education for children and youth experiencing homelessness!

  • Take photos, selfies, videos, and share them on Facebook (tag @ECYEHPA) and Twitter (tag @Center_Schools) where we will also turn social media red!
  • Host a toiletries drive.
  • Submit your hopes, challenges, and advice to your peers.
  • Watch/host an #IWillBeYourVoice story hour.
  • Create your own photobooth and take pictures #IWillBeYourVoice.

Use and share our digital content

Download #IWillBeYourVoice digital background to use in your virtual meetings.

Download the images below to use in your posts and emails. To download, please click on the link and right-click “save image as” to save the image to your device.

  • 1200×675 px images work well on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
  • 1080×1080 px images work well on Instagram.

Let's Celebrate Pennsylvania Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Awareness Week, November 14 through 18.   Let's Celebrate Pennsylvania Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Awareness Week during November 14 through 18    illustration of hands holding smartphones to record and share stories and raise awareness # I Will Be Your Voice    illustration of hands holding smartphones to record and share stories and raise awareness # I Will Be Your Voice

illustration of people with speech bubbles above heads # I Will Be Your Voice        silhouettes of varying red shirts for # Red Shirt Day P A on November 18     silhouettes of varying red shirts for # Red Shirt Day P A on November 18

Rally in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, November 14 at 11 a.m.    Rally in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday, November 14 at 11 a.m.    # I Will Be Your Voice awareness keywords. Recognize, strengthen, learn, connect, overcome, awareness, impact, support, community, resilience     # I Will Be Your Voice awareness keywords. Recognize, strengthen, learn, connect, overcome, awareness, impact, support, community, resilience

Sample social post content:

Nearly 33,000 Pennsylvania children & youth experiencing homelessness were served by the ECYEH program in 2020-21. Source: PA Dept. of Ed. Learn what you can do to help. https://bit.ly/ECYEH-Impact #IWillBeYourVoice

Homelessness is one of the greatest barriers to a child’s success in school. #IWillBeYourVoice #Homelessness Learn what you can do to help. https://bit.ly/ECYEH-Impact

Homelessness at any age is a traumatic experience, causing emotional, physical, & mental reactions in children & youth. The PA ECYEH program helps students experiencing homelessness have a school life that is as regular as possible & access to free & appropriate public education. https://schoolhouseconnection.org/five-facts-educators-need-to-know-about-student-homelessness/

Children experiencing homelessness need help adjusting to new teachers, assistance with meeting assignments, and basic things like school uniforms or fees for class trips. You can make a difference in the success of these children. https://schoolhouseconnection.org/five-facts-educators-need-to-know-about-student-homelessness/ #IWillBeYourVoice

Here’s a tip to support children experiencing homelessness: Recognize the importance of a caring environment as the foundation for academic success. #IWilBeYourVoice https://www.aypf.org/blog/make-no-choice-without-youth-voice/

Today’s tip to support children experiencing homelessness: strengthen positive connections with families & form partnerships to develop & implement programs that will nurture &reinforce resilience in children. #IWillBeYourVoice  https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/family-support-well-being/article/supporting-children-families-experiencing-homelessness

Today’s tip for school & community leaders to support children experiencing homelessness: learn how to use Title I & other federal program funds, like PA’s American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth Program to provide needed services for children experiencing homelessness. #IWillBeYourVoice https://ecyehpennsylvania.center-school.org/

Today’s tip for school & community leaders: take every opportunity to move from isolated programs with limited outreach to coordinating holistic services for children & youth experiencing homelessness. #IWillBeYourVoice https://www.air.org/resource/brief/trauma-sensitive-schools-and-social-and-emotional-learning-integration

Thanks to McKinney-Vento, every local education agency (LEA) must have a homeless liaison who ensures students experiencing homelessness can enroll and succeed in school. Find your LEA’s homeless liaison with the Pennsylvania statewide homeless liaison directory. #IWillBeYourVoice https://directory.center-school.org/homeless/liaison