Administrators in rural areas where housing distress and displacement are common should make sure that teachers, counselors, nurses, and other administrators can find local resources. A handbook or an easily accessible computerized database that describes agencies and services is essential for those who want to help homeless students. Immediacy is the key for serving homeless students because their living circumstances can be truly dire. School personnel should have access to information that describes options for emergency shelter, long-term housing support, food and clothing assistance, social services, employment, legal counsel, medical and dental care, mental health services, emergency financial assistance, and transportation. All the details of life are usually disrupted when families become homeless.
Single teenagers are likely to exhibit the most needs.
Although formal support is thin in rural areas, some services exist everywhere. Rural educators may want to commit energy to establishing informal support mechanisms. They will be pioneers. In Pathways from poverty educational network. National Coalition for the Homeless.