05/04/2026
Spotlight: Supporting Helena Students Experiencing Homelessness
Michele Zentz discusses the rise of students in Helena Public Schools impacted by homelessness and what she does in her role as the district’s homeless liaison to provide the ongoing support students need to thrive at school no matter what’s going on in their home lives.
How much do you know about the scope of youth homelessness in your community? Even if you keep up with the best available data on local K-12 students without stable housing, chances are those figures are an undercount. Here in Helena, the rise from 150 to 365 students identified as homeless between just two school years garnered local media attention reporting on both the growth and what the Helena School District can do to help students succeed in the classroom despite unstable home lives. According to Helena Public Schools Homeless Liaison Michele Zentz, the number of Helena students identified as homeless continued its upward trend, reaching 421 in the 2023-24 school year. Even that stat likely underestimates the true scale.
Michele is a key player in the school district’s strategy for helping K-12 students experiencing housing transitions and instability. Part of her job involves delivering the services and resources youth and families impacted by homelessness have a right to under both state and federal law. At the federal level, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq.) is the basis for liaison roles like Michele’s, and outlines a number of core provisions geared toward enhancing school stability and eliminating barriers to full participation in school activities for students that meet the definition of homelessness.
At the state level, Senate Bill 18 spells out a number of circumstances that can disrupt a student’s education (including homelessness) that make them eligible to graduate with the state’s minimum high school credit requirements even if their district’s requirements are higher (as is the case in the Helena School District). Educating her fellow teachers, administrators, and school staff about these provisions and the nuanced situations that fall under the educational definition of homelessness that qualifies a child for additional support from their school is another big part of Michele’s job. While it may seem less important that coordinating with students and families on accommodations and services, she’ll be the first to emphasize that the education is crucial because the semantics around housing instability, as well as the stigma that homelessness carries, can be barriers to measuring and meeting the actual level of need in our community.
With the onset of a new school year, we invited Michele to share some insight on the challenges local students returning to school may face when they don’t have permanent, stable housing, or aren’t necessarily living with their legal guardians. In addition to unpacking the scenarios that fall on the spectrum of homelessness, Michele discusses how family and/or partner violence can foment housing instability, and vice versa. She also walks us through some of the key actions the school district can take to streamline the school experience for struggling students and families as much as possible.
You wear a few different hats within the school district. Along with teaching English in the Project for Alternative Learning, you’re the district's homeless liaison. You probably get asked this a lot, but to help orient our readers, how do you describe the homeless liaison role, and how long has it existed?
MZ: I am beginning my third year as the Helena School District’s homeless liaison. This role existed one year before my time in the position.
A child is deemed homeless if their housing is not fixed, regular, or adequate, which breaks down into four categories:
Sheltered
Doubled up (e.g., sharing a house with another family due to economic hardship)
Unsheltered
Sheltering in a hotel/motel
Once identified, it is my role to carry out the duties described in the McKinney-Vento Act, including:
Ensuring that homeless children and youth are identified and enrolled in school, and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in school
Participating in professional development and other technical assistance offered by the state
Ensuring school personnel receive professional development and other support
Ensuring that unaccompanied homeless youth are informed, and receive verification, of their status as independent students for college financial aid
Ensuring that homeless children, youth, and families receive referrals to health, dental, mental health, housing, substance abuse, and other appropriate services
Disseminating public notice of McKinney-Vento rights in locations frequented by parents and youth in a way they can understand
Recognizing that people's definitions of homelessness may vary, what language do you prefer to use when it comes to students and housing instability?
MZ: “Students experiencing a living transition” is much more palatable for families versus the stigma of being “homeless.” A family living in a hotel or doubling up with another family might refuse to be identified as “homeless” because of the stigma, thus missing the opportunity for the school district to provide resources that level the playing field for their children.
I would often use the phrase “housing insecurity” until I learned at a national training that that verbiage more accurately describes someone who is about to be evicted or lose their permanent housing.
At the time of an Independent Record story last year that highlighted some of your work, there had been quite a jump in the number of students who fit the educational definition of homelessness between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. Has that continued to rise? Is it challenging to get a head count that reflects the true scope of youth homelessness in our community?
MZ: The rates unfortunately rose again for the 2023-2024 school year. The three-year trend was 150 students, 365 students, and then 421 students this past school year. It is incredibly difficult to get an accurate head count that reflects the true scope of students undergoing a living transition. For example, last year, 246 students were identified as homeless at the elementary level, but the numbers dropped drastically in middle and high school to 92 and 77, respectively. These numbers beg the question: Where do those homeless elementary students go? My best guess is that once teachers have 100-150 students per day in the middle and high school levels, it’s harder to know the personal details of students. This is only compounded by the fact that a middle and high school student is likely more self-conscious and secretive about their situation.
The Friendship Center is just one of many resources that you can work with in connecting struggling families with services based on their situation. But we're wondering if you can speak specifically to the intersection of family/partner violence and housing instability. How does one lead to or feed the other, and why is that dynamic useful to understand with kiddos that might be considered "unaccompanied minors?"
MZ: Family and partner violence can most certainly lead to housing insecurity. I’ve witnessed families struggle to find affordable housing with two working adults, let alone one whose safety might be compromised by simply showing up to their job due to family and partner violence. I empathize so much with families in this situation. It can feel like there is no way out and they may therefore stay in dangerous relationships to keep a roof over their child’s head.
Family violence can lead to what we call an “unaccompanied minor” leaving their household. This is a category of youth whose guardians aren’t living with them. I’ve witnessed educators dismiss the student’s needs by saying, “They chose to leave.” But statistics show that often, a child is couch-surfing because they are leaving an abusive household. There is a common adage in in homeless liaison work that “chose to” or “it was their choice to” are bad words. We avoid that language because it casts judgment on a situation that we often know nothing about. All we really know about that unaccompanied minor is that their risk of dropping out of high school increases under these circumstances, and our intention is to level the playing field for them to reduce that risk.
How would you rate our community's level of awareness about the number of students experiencing homelessness, and what it can look like for a kid?
MZ: Our community awareness is quite limited. I’ve heard fellow educators seeing the new Helena Food Share facility being built say, “Wow! That seems way larger than what our community would need.” People are often shocked in a similar way when they learn about the numbers of students experiencing homelessness.
For the kids, homelessness could look like falling asleep, being extra hungry, having poor hygiene, struggling with attendance, and/or struggling academically.
For the students and families that you work with, what are the most common needs or concerns that families with stable, permanent housing might take for granted?
MZ: Being able to do laundry consistently, cooking meals for families (think of living in a hotel), and having internet/supplies at home for students to complete homework/projects are common concerns that those with permanent housing can take for granted.
Our direct services staff are very quick to commend how you consider the services and support students may need on an ongoing basis following an immediate crisis. Can you share some of the considerations you think through in assisting a student after they've been identified as homeless?
MZ: The big considerations are safety, food security, transportation to/from school, weather-appropriate clothing, non-exclusion from school field trips/functions that may have additional costs, and immediate enrollment for new students, even without proper paperwork. Another big consideration is Senate Bill 18, which reduces graduation requirements for youth who’ve experienced academic disruption under certain circumstances to the state’s minimum high school credit requirement (21) even if the district’s requirements are higher (Helena’s is 24). Also, if their circumstances have put them at an academic deficit, we consider tutoring as an option.
For what can probably be a challenging and heavy job at times, we suspect there's also great fulfillment in supporting students and witnessing their strength and resilience. Can you share if/how the homeless liaison role has impacted your perspective, and how it compares to your teaching roles?
MZ: Supporting families experiencing homelessness is equal parts challenging and rewarding. I taught high school in the district for six years until becoming an elementary school counselor for five years. I am so grateful for my dual roles because I’m still immersed in a school community and understand the power educators have in recognizing and identifying students undergoing this adversity, while also continuing to collaborate with school counselors and community members/organizations to remove barriers for these vulnerable families.
https://www.thefriendshipcenter.org/post/partner-spotlight-supporting-helena-students-experiencing-homelessness
The Friendship Center is just one of many organizations in our community working to ensure everyone is supported with care and dignity. Each month, we highlight some of the fantastic people and organizations we partner and collaborate with in our email newsletter. Sign up to make sure you don't miss a partner spotlight and learn more about some of the services available in our community.
Learn how Michele Zentz and the Helena School District work to level the playing field for students experiencing homelessness.
