Homeless Parents Band Together for Their Childrens’ Education

The parking lot of the El Dorado Motel looks like a playground. A couple of kids play catch while adults look on from chairs propped outside their rooms. A boy races his scooter noisily over the pavement as a car pulls in from the busy street. This Salinas motel on North Main Street is more than a stopover for tourists and passersby. For these children, and many others like them, it’s home.

And on Aug. 6, more than a dozen parents and some kids crammed into a one-bedroom room at the motel for the first meeting of the El Dorado Parents Club.

Many of the attendees had learned of the meeting from fliers handed out in nearby motels. Between them, they represent more than 60 kids, including relatives’ children and grandchildren. Kids who live in motels, or unconventional places like cars and garages, are classified homeless because their living conditions aren’t considered adequate under law.

Rita Acosta, a leader of the Parents Club and the current occupant of the motel-room-turned-meeting-room, introduces herself.

“We’re here tonight because we want good education for our children, and good futures for our families,” Acosta says. Her children are grown now, she says, but have kids of their own. She’s had a hand in organizing before; earlier this year, she and a group of fellow homeless spearheaded an effort to install a portable toilet in Chinatown.

There are 5,144 homeless children in Monterey County, according to data from the 2011/2012 school year. Last year, at the Salinas City Elementary School District alone, there were 2,042. That’s about one in four kids in the district, says the district’s homeless liaison Cheryl Camany. In a class of 28, seven children are conceivably homeless.

Once the parents are settled into the meeting, and their children get busy on the carpet with the crayons and paper, Camany, the club’s guest speaker, begins her presentation.

Camany runs the Family Resource Center, where homeless families can get items like shoes, clothes, backpacks and food. Parents can also go to her for help looking for a job or writing a resume. By the end of the meeting, Camany made 11 appointments for the center.

Afterward Camany says, “My impression is that they genuinely want to learn the school system. They just don’t know what they don’t know.”

In other words: These parents, who face plenty of personal and professional challenges, are in the dark about a lot. Truancy, for example, is a major issue among homeless children, who don’t get enough support or are often tired from constant moves. Extended absences can lead to fines or even jail time for parents – something many of them don’t know. During her presentation, Camany stresses the importance of punctuality.

“Who is the parent here?” she asks. “It’s you guys. Kids will use any excuse not to go to school. It becomes a continual habit.”

The number of homeless kids has been on the rise in Monterey County. Part of it is a recent wave of foreclosures on Salinas’ south and west sides, says Camany. Other reasons include a poor job market, and high costs of living and transportation. One woman who takes care of her sister’s kids says though her sister has a job in Monterey, driving between Salinas and the Peninsula eats up much of her income.

For parents who can’t afford first and last month’s rent, sometimes the best option is a low-cost motel. Motels often run $250 a week for families, and it isn’t unusual for multiple families to share a room, Camany says.

There are about 15 children who now live at the El Dorado, says Xochitl Alfaro, the motel’s manager and a resident. She’s lived at the El Dorado with her husband and 15-year-old son for three years. Other families stay for weeks or months at a time, she says.

Since taking the manager position at the beginning of the year, Alfaro has worked to make the motel safer for kids.

“I wanted families to feel comfortable to come here, and not be afraid to let their kids outside,” she says after the meeting.

Following the liaison’s presentation, Bill Black, a Catholic worker and community organizer, poses a question to the group: “Who has power in Salinas?”

“The mayor,” someone says.

“The gangs,” another offers.

After a round of suggestions, Black drives his point home: Power also resides in this very room.

“We have to look at our leadership. Ourselves,” Black says. “What the El Dorado Parents Club is, is to build power. So you can begin to talk to the police chief, or the library director. If you want them to listen, you’ve got to have an organization.”

Then he asks: Do you want to form one?

Parents nod – they’d like to meet again in a few weeks. Camany later says she’s never seen anything like this before.

“It’s pretty phenomenal,” she says. “I believe in what they’re doing, and I support it.”