Scholarships and support for homeless and at-risk youth in San Diego
Did you know that there are over 20,000 homeless youth in San Diego County, RIGHT NOW?
At New Beginnings Fund for Unhoused Youth, we remove barriers to their success by providing scholarships and ongoing support as they pursue college, continuing education, and job preparation.
The Chance to Build a Brighter Future for Unhoused Youth
Youth homelessness is an ongoing, devastating, and pressing issue in San Diego County.
Despite countless efforts to change, fix, or reduce instances of youth homelessness in San Diego, the problem persists.
Endless failed and unscaled solutions continue to leave community members feeling frustrated, discouraged, and unheard.
We can all agree that there’s a need to try something different.
At New Beginnings Fund,
We focus on prevention
The New Beginnings Fund offers one-time and continuing scholarships and support for homeless and at-risk youth in San Diego County.
Support for education is a stepping stone out of poverty and into a life of purpose.
It allows a student to dream. To envision a bright future.
And it prevents future cycles of homelessness and poverty.
>>> Did you know that homeless students are 5 times more likely than their peers to enter back into homelessness as adults? <<<
We believe that no one should spend their childhood experiencing homelessness.
It’s time to try something new.
According to the Gallup and Lumina Foundation’s 2023 State of Higher Education report, unenrolled adults identify financial barriers most frequently as their reason for not enrolling in higher education. This includes the cost of programs, inflation, and the need to work for essential income.
Financial barriers are not simply overcome by tuition coverage from grant programs and financial aid alone.
While these supports are essential, there are many more barriers faced by unhoused youth, than those faced by the general population.
For example, the cost of food, housing, and transportation alone can be high enough for a student to be unable to consider continuing education.
Why A Scholarship Fund?
Throw in the cost of textbooks, computers, required technology, and supplies - and the financial stress can become insurmountable.
We also know that building strong social relationships and a sense of belonging play a huge role in whether or not students complete their education. These financial factors don’t even include the cost of participation in clubs, sports, or other community building opportunities for students to feel connected and successful.
A scholarship like ours offers funding that can be used by students in the way they deem most necessary for their academic success.
And that is just the beginning.
As we grow at New Beginnings Scholarship Fund, we aim to provide ongoing support for students throughout the post high-school journey.
Our dream is to be a one-stop-shop for unhoused students across the nation to access all that they need to be successful.
Will you join us?
The New Beginnings Fund allows students to lift their eyes toward the path in front of them
and rest easier knowing their community is behind them.
What will it take for you to make a difference?
Imagine heading to school each day unsure of where you will sleep at night, or where your next dinner will come from.
Youth today are already facing incredible challenges as they navigate a changing and increasingly complicated, polarized, and demanding world.
As they move through critical years of puberty and development, unhoused youth have the added impact of trauma and survival.
Living in survival mode limits their opportunities to do well in class, to join sports or extra curricular activities, or to build strong relationships with adults in their lives.
The view of a future can seem impossible when you don’t even know what your day to day will be.
And yet they continue to move forward - to press on through school and to dream that something else may be possible.
The recipients of the New Beginnings Scholarship are ambitious unhoused youth who are working toward a brighter future, despite all odds.
They are dreamers, doers, believers, and change makers.
But they still need help.
We have much work to do to solve the issue of homelessness in San Diego.
Proposed solutions are often fragmented and riddled with differing opinons.
But one thing is for sure - we can do more for our youth.
School districts are full of students who qualify as unhoused - meaning they lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
This means they are sharing housing with other families, or are living in motels, hotels, parks, cars, campgrounds, or public spaces.
It means they don’t have a safe and secure place to lay their head.
And it means that school districts have a huge load to carry to offer them the support that they need.
The New Beginnings Fund aims to be a key player to support these students.
Complex social problems require a variety of solutions.
Supporting access to continuing education beyond high school can help unhoused youth break the cycle of poverty and homelessness for future generations and set them on the path toward a brighter future.
Join us in helping to prevent future homelessness in San Diego…
And change everything for one student.
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