In a world that often appears to be on the verge of chaos, education is a pillar of hope, particularly for students battling severe adversity. Among them, students facing homelessness must traverse a challenging path where uncertainty rears its head at every turn. As a result, the quest for basic necessities often takes precedence over academic pursuits.
With constant unstable living conditions and a lack of resources, students experiencing homelessness have trouble regularly attending school, completing assignments, and focusing on their studies. As a result, many of these students struggle academically and have a higher risk of dropping out.
In fact, research shows that experiencing homelessness is linked to both lower academic achievement and school attendance. Furthermore, these negative relationships endure even after students have been housed for years.
My Private Professor (MPP) is addressing the issue head on.
To help provide accessible, affordable, academic support to students that face immense obstacles in their academic journeys, MPP has launched an initiative that leverages educational resources to uplift students experiencing homelessness and help them reach their potential.
MPP’s mission
Understanding that education is one of the most powerful tools for social and economic mobility, MPP works toward breaking down barriers that prevent students from succeeding in school.
MPP aims to empower all students, regardless of background or upbringing. As such, the company focuses on providing critical resources to those who likely couldn’t get the support otherwise.
To achieve this, MPP uses a “Give-Back” business model, through which it earmarks a portion of funds from every tutoring hour to support students experiencing homelessness. Within the Southern California region, MPP has established partnerships with two nonprofit organizations, South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency (SAHARA) and Illumination Foundation, to provide free personalized tutoring to students residing in their shelters.
Through providing critical academic support and resources to these students, MPP is diminishing barriers to equitable education, one tutoring session at a time.
The partnership for empowerment
Through their partnerships with SAHARA and Illumination Foundation, My Private Professor is providing weekly free tutoring to students residing in the emergency shelters.
As such, these collaborations allow MPP to not only uplift more students, but also to provide comprehensive services to those in need.
These partnerships do more than just offer immediate educational support; they sow the seeds of long-term empowerment and societal change. That is, it’s about advocating for a system where every student has a fair shot at academic success, irrespective of their living conditions.
These partnerships thus have the potential to raise awareness about the challenges faced by students experiencing homelessness and advocate for systemic changes to address the issue. Overall, MPP’s collaborations with these organizations are essential in providing educational support to those who need it the most and creating a more inclusive, equitable landscape in education.
Barriers to education for students experiencing homelessness
For students experiencing homelessness, the lack of stable housing and resources often acts as a barrier to succeeding in the classroom. However, with the support of organizations like MPP, these students can gain access to the educational resources and tools they need to achieve in school.
This improves their chances of completing their education, and in turn,
creates opportunities for them to break out of homelessness and improve their overall quality of life.
Overall, investing in education for students experiencing homelessness not only has a direct impact on their success, but also benefits society as a whole. By providing these students with the necessary support and resources, organizations like MPP are not only improving individual lives, but also working towards creating a more equitable and engaged society.
Education: the greatest game changer
Education has an invariably profound impact on an individuals’ health, career, and societal engagement. As it stands, research continually shows that individuals who receive quality educational resources are more likely to have better health outcomes, more job prospects, and higher income. Thus, education can foster greater social mobility among individuals.
Indeed, research shows that people with a bachelor’s degree earn around $765,000 more throughout their lifetime than those without a bachelor’s degree.
Meanwhile, research has found that every additional year of schooling can increase an individual’s earnings by 10%. This further emphasizes the importance of providing educational support to students in precarious situations.
Conversely, those without access to education may face limited opportunities and struggle to break out of cycles of poverty.
Education is not only an individual game changer, but a collective one. Research finds that having access to higher education can also:
- Increase civic engagement
- Decrease crime rates
- Increase environmental concern
- Create more diverse social networks
With access to quality education, students experiencing homelessness not only gain individual benefits, but also become more likely to actively engage in their communities and positively contribute to society.
MPP’s contributions
What matters most to us is that families and their students feel supported. We love to hear that our nonprofit partners’ students feel as though our tutoring services have improved their lives and specifically, their feelings of confidence in their academic abilities.
“Thank you so much for supporting our families and being understanding of their situation. We really appreciate it and you all so much!”
- Case manager at Illumination Foundation
“Thank you so much for following up, it means a lot. We are so thankful to MPP and its services.”
- Domestic Violence & Housing Program Specialist at SAHARA
Final thoughts
As educators, non-profit supporters, community activists, and tutors, we can all play a role in creating opportunities to help build a more equitable future for students experiencing homelessness. By getting involved in MPP’s mission, anyone can help make a real difference in the lives of these students.
There are many ways to support MPP’s mission. You can apply to be a tutor, support MPP as a donor, or even become an advocate for policies that address the root causes of homelessness and support students in need. Every small action can have a big impact.
If you are interested in getting involved with MPP, visit www.myprivateprofessor.com to learn more about opportunities. You can also contact us at support@myprivateprofessor.com.
