The COVID-19 crisis has created unparalleled disruption in the education, social development and mental health of school-age children. The negative consequences of school closures and the shift to online learning last year have disproportionately impacted low-income and students of color. They also suffer more from the loss of the stabilizing effects and positive adult relationships that keep students in school.

As students have returned to in person this fall, schools across our community are confronting  dramatic increases in behavioral issues. With so many students impacted by stress and  disruption in their social development, staff in many locations are struggling to create a safe environment for students . 

To combat this, Neighborhood House’s School Age Programs pursued grant funds from the Oregon Early Learning Division. These stabilizing grants aim to help child care programs that were impacted by the pandemic. Each of our four sites are utilizing this grant funding to pay for salaries, program supplies, PPE equipment, and more. In particular, this additional funding will help our programs hire more staff to ensure children are supported emotionally in the wake of COVID-19’s disruption. 

Abby Scott, School Age Program Manager, said of the additional funding, “We are working to be supportive of social and emotional skill building. After the impacts of kids not being in school last year, we will be able to hire more staff to provide this kind of support for the students.”

Additionally, a recent expansion will allow us to serve even more children from working families. School Age Programs have been safely serving nearly 200 children at three, North and Northeast Portland schools. After a year-long, competitive process, our School Age Programs were selected to expand into Chief Joseph Elementary, another North Portland school. In the future, this site could serve as many as 60 children.

I started using the Free Food Market. I learned about more programs that could help us. But the biggest change wasn’t the services themselves.

It was how I was treated. 

For the first time in my entire life, I was met with dignity. 

I wasn’t talked down to. I wasn’t made to feel ashamed for needing help. I wasn’t forced to “prove” I deserved to survive. At Neighborhood House, people spoke to me with genuine respect, something I have so often not been given, simply due to my circumstances. That changed everything. Even now, it still brings tears to my eyes. 

When you’re disabled, when you’re parenting alone, when you’re just trying to get through the day without falling apart…asking for help is hard. Being treated with kindness backed by action? It’s life-changing. 

That kindness empowered me. 
I joined the Head Start Policy Council. 
I became involved in statewide advocacy work. 
And eventually, when someone asked if I would consider joining the Neighborhood House Board, I said yes. 

Being on the board fills a need I’ve carried my whole life: the deep need to give back. There is so little any one person can do alone. But when we connect, when we come together as a community, everything becomes possible. 

People sometimes ask me why services like Neighborhood House still matter. 

My answer is simple: 

Because income inequality is growing. 
Because our systems do not prioritize people in poverty. 
Because without places like Neighborhood House, people really would go hungry. Children would go without resources necessary to thrive. Housing insecure families would be turned out into the streets. 
And that is simply not acceptable.

Until we change the systems that create these conditions in the first place, we need community-based organizations that keep people alive, keep families housed, and treat every neighbor with dignity.

And there’s one more thing I want you to know:

No one chooses this. 

Everyone is doing the best they can. 
Sometimes people just need a little boost.

When you donate or volunteer at Neighborhood House, it is truly life changing. You may never meet every person you help—but please know there are so many of us who feel overwhelmed with gratitude because these services exist.

I am one of them.

So today, as we close out the year, I’m asking you to help more neighbors like me.

Here’s how you can help right now: 

  • Make a gift today — your support goes directly to families who need it most.
  • Start a food dr​ive — our Food Security Program is a lifeline and always needs support. 
  • Share my letter with a friend who believes in a more just and caring community.

Thank you for believing in this work.

Thank you for believing in people like me. 

With gratitude,

Love 
Board Member & Program Participant 
Neighborhood House 

Home > News > School Age Programs Receiving Resources to Better Serve Kids