Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2868
children can receive health care and other services. CNTA members have also been informing education sup- port personnel at local school sites on how to refer parents in need to local agencies, such as the Foundation for Community and Family Health in Corona, which provide vaccinations, birthing classes and other assis- tance. “I really think it’s important Junka Ezaki, Tustin Educators Association to get involved,” says Basso. “If that child in front of you is going through problems from a lack of housing or enough food to eat, it cer- tainly affects the child and makes it harder for us to educate them.” “Times are much tougher these days,” adds Basso. “Some students tell me their parents are working two jobs or have been let go from their jobs. So it’s been much more difficult for students — especially if they were already low-income to begin with.” K-12 students in the Orange County area received school supplies ranging from back- packs to pencils and paper thanks to the ef- forts of CTA State Council members who took up a collection for students at a Steering Committee of the Orange Service Center Council in September. “Students need help with their school When CNTA members heard there were many students needing new shoes and under- wear at the beginning of the school year, en- velopes circulated throughout the district’s campuses asking teachers for voluntary con- tributions, which were then forwarded to Set- tlement House. On weekends, Basso coordinates CNTA staffing of Settlement House’s “pantry,” where families receive free food. Teacher volunteers there also assist parents with filling out forms for agencies such as Healthy Families, so their supply needs. And with budget cuts, it is very difficult for schools to supply everything,” says Junka Ezaki, community liaison for Or- ange Service Center Council serving CTA chapters in Tustin, Irvine, Garden Grove and other areas. One nonprofit organization called Fami- lies Forward has made it easier for CTA members to offer help to students in need by providing low-income families with transi- tional housing, food, job training, counseling and other services. Ekaki, a member of the Tustin Educators Association, says she has seen families strug- november 2008 | www.cta.org 15 gle, even in her own middle- class community. “There have been some foreclosures and families leaving. We have seen a turnover and change in families in our neighborhood. And, of course, everyone has been im- pacted by the high cost of gas, food and health care. These things definitely have an impact on children. And it’s great when teachers can ease some of that hardship by donating a few hours of their time.” Clockwise from far left: Liberty Education Association member Karen Holman teaches fashion at Freedom High School in Oakley; student and shop manager Knicy Bailey checks out merchandise at the student-run thrift store on campus; Terri Basso, third-grade teacher at Stall- ings Elementary School in Corona.