A Tribute to Karen Osborne

May 7, 1948 – July 10, 2025

We are sad to share the news that one of our original founding members, Karen Osborne, died this summer after a long illness.

All of us who have shared with Karen the journey of creating and growing Housing for School Kids into a viable organization are heartbroken. We will miss her clarity, vision and focus in helping to shape and support H4SK through its inception and early growing pains to the place it is today.

She has inspired us all with her passion and grit, still working on Housing for School Kids projects up to her final days. Countless people’s lives have been made better because of Karen’s willingness to roll up her sleeves and figure out ways to move beyond obstacles (and there were many) to achieve something of lasting value.

We are not looking forward to life without Karen, but we are committed to carrying forward this work that meant so much to her.

Housing for School Kids

We are dedicated to providing stable homes for the public school students of Monterey County. With your support, we can work towards breaking the cycle of homelessness by covering upfront rental costs and providing emergency assistance to ensure that every child has a safe place to call home so they can thrive in school and beyond. Join us on our mission in making a lasting impact on homeless children's lives today.

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2025 Status Updates & Testimonials

71 Families, 178 Public School Students Housed
We would like to take a moment to update you on our progress since our inception. Through our partnership with the Monterey County Office of Education, we have been able to help 71 vulnerable families with 178 students in public schools to find safe and secure housing or to stay in their homes after an emergency threatened them with eviction. Some of them were living in tents, some in their cars, some tripled up in one dwelling with other families, many had serious medical challenges.
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Thanks to our generous and compassionate supporters, we have truly been able to make a difference in the lives of Monterey County students and their families when they needed it most.

What the Families Say
Here is what some of the family members shared about how they feel about the assistance they received:

“I can't thank you enough for helping me and my family. It means so much to me and it has truly helped us with our family's struggles this year as it has not been good for me and my family due to my health. I have a lawsuit in process and still under review for a foreign object that was left inside of me during surgery, and it hasn't been well for me due to pain and illness from this surgery. I have been stressing over bills and rent and kids. With your help, you have saved me and my family from being on the streets and or homeless. I am thankful for a great community and the resources that we have for difficult times like this.” - S.V.

“I am the mother of a teenage girl and recently was diagnosed with cancer. Everything happened so quickly and in a matter of minutes my world collapsed. Not knowing what would become of me and especially my daughter, I was connected to the awesome staff at her school and eventually led me to your program. It has been such a blessing the amount of support I have received not just for me, but for my daughter who is truly the one that matters. Thank you for coming after your work hours and helping get the documentation I needed to be able to receive the assistance. To everyone involved, thank you words cannot express how thankful I am.” - J.H.

“First of all, thank you and all your team for all the support my family and I received from your program. There were days where I would think of what life being homeless would be like and I cried when my children were not around. Someone in school told me about the assistance your program provides and let me tell you the impact you had on our life is enormous. The day I found out I was approved I went to church and thanked God for the blessing. Please thank everyone that makes this possible if you didn’t already know this program truly lifts any emotional and financial burden off struggling families. May you continue to receive the means to assist families like mine” - M.M.

“Gloria, thank you for helping me when I fell behind financially. I was on the verge of becoming homeless and thanks to a friend that attended a meeting she found out about your program. I connected with my son’s school and they were able to connect me to you. It is very hard to accept that sometimes even myself with a stable household can fall behind on hard times. It would have been very difficult to find a new home if I would have gotten evicted. Thank you for talking to my landlord so we can stay. I appreciate you and all the school staff for helping me.” - F.G.
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MC Gives 2024 Campaign Results!

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, Housing for School Kids received $165,868 in contributions through the 2024 MC Gives! campaign. In our second year participating in MC Gives!, we more than tripled total donations over the previous year. You helped make that happen, and we couldn’t be more grateful. As we enter the 2025 MC Gives! season, we are ready to put the generosity of our community toward the benefit of the homeless public school student population once more. We are grateful for your support!

With these financial resources we will be able to assist even more unsheltered public-school students – reportedly 13,494 in the ’24/’25 school year – to get into permanent housing. Obviously, having a stable place to call home is critical to ensuring that these students are provided the basic conditions that allow them to thrive and succeed in school and ultimately in life.

That staggering figure of 13,494 comes from the Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE), our partner in helping the families of homeless students move into safe and secure housing. Through a generous donor, we have funded a part-time staff person at MCOE who will coordinate with the homeless student liaisons in all the public and charter schools in the county to identify families able to succeed in staying housed if we pay the upfront costs that are a barrier for them. Additionally, we also will cover one-time emergency expenses for qualified families threatened with eviction.

In the 2023-24 school year, we contributed to a program at MPUSD that helped approximately 72 students move into housing and also helped several families in Salinas through Downtown Streets Team. Since school started in August 2024, we were able to help 20 families and 54 students get back into or stay in their homes through our rapid rehousing and prevention programs successfully stabilizing housing for about 125 students.

During the 2024 MC Gives! campaign, Housing for School Kids was very fortunate to receive $165,868 in donations. We put this money right to work through grants of $125,000 to the Monterey County Office of Education from February to May of 2025, building on a previous grant of $50,000 at the beginning of the school year. They instituted a rigorous process of qualifying families of homeless students to receive rental assistance. Throughout the school year, they disbursed $126,109 across the entire county of Monterey.

With the contributions from this year’s MC Gives! campaign we will be able to increase those numbers exponentially. We hope you feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing that homeless youngsters will be able to have a fighting chance at success in life because of your kindness and compassion.

With deep appreciation,
The Housing for School Kids Team

How we help

Find and implement sustainable solutions to housing insecurity

Provide assistance in attaining affordable housing for public school students of Monterey County and their families

Housing for School Kids has developed a fund at the Community Foundation of Monterey County and a program at the Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE) to help any qualified homeless student in the county school system. When a request is made to the school homeless coordinator, the family is evaluated for the best assistance and a recommendation is made to Housing for Kids. A check is then issued from the fund directly to the landlord or designated debtor. Data is kept by the Housing for School Kids Program to evaluate the success of our efforts.

Housing for School Kids can provide one-time emergency assistance when a family is threatened with losing their home due to the inability to pay rent for approved reasons, such as illness costs, utility bills, temporary inability to work, etc.

When a family does find one of the rare affordable apartments in the area, we can provide move-in costs if needed for families who show they can maintain the rent after moving.

Beginning in 2024, Housing for School Kids started working with Monterey Peninsula Unified School District and Downtown Streets Team in Salinas; over 100 children have found housing with our help and all remain in their new homes. Beginning 2024 school year, this assistance can now be given to any qualified student anywhere in the Monterey County school system thanks to contributions from our caring community.

Raise public awareness about the root causes of this crisis

Build awareness of this dire situation. We speak about this issue at community organizations and do whatever we can to let people know what is happening. If you would like us to speak to your organization, please contact us. They want to help when they know. We can lower the numbers of students without homes and it is up to us. If you are interested in helping with any aspects of communication, we welcome you with open arms. If you have skills in writing, working with social media, public speaking, web design, or want to talk about it, please connect with us.

Support those in the field already serving this population

We are fortunate in Monterey County to have a wealth of nonprofits and agencies led by highly skilled and committed professionals working to address the issue of homelessness. But it is a complex and multilayered problem, and the sad truth is that no matter how much they do or how well they do it, right now the need outpaces available resources. As one of its main objectives, Housing for School Kids is dedicated to supporting the existing agencies and nonprofits in whatever way possible to help them succeed in their missions of preventing, ameliorating and/or ending homelessness.

Research

Housing insecurity is traumatic and has long-term effects

There are 13,494 homeless students enrolled in the Monterey County school districts. Whether sleeping in a car, a tent, or on the living room floor of another family’s house, these children are experiencing the trauma of housing insecurity.
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Struggling kids are either our responsibility today or everyone’s responsibility tomorrow. If we do not help our kids, the lasting impact of childhood trauma may cause long term consequences for them as adults.
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Homelessness is the No. 1 cause of students' failure to graduate and those without a high school degree are 4.5 times likely to experience homelessness in the future. The time to act is now.

Research

The Importance
of Home

Housing is crucial to health and well-being. A place to call home is the anchor of civic life in our communities, a hub from which to attend school, visit the public library, enjoy our parks and recreational spaces, go to church, join a sports team. Without that base, families and individuals are extremely handicapped in their ability to function successfully. Building an engaged and robust citizenry starts with people being secure in their places, persons and things. Supporting this kind of stable experience for elementary and high school students is critical to a solid future for all of us.

Read the Report

Learn More

Testimonials

Hear from the volunteers and families who have been impacted.

"I used to volunteer at a local kindergarten one morning a week. How these teachers do it, I have no idea. There were 22 students and 8 languages in this class. One boy kept coming to school and falling asleep until we realized that his family was living in the woods near the school at night. He wasn’t sleeping and was hungry. We all brought him food and let him sleep during 'circle time' while the school tried to help with the family housing."

“There aren’t many places for me to turn to for help with a special needs child. Shelters don’t cater to families like us, so we’ve been living in my car for the past few months. Downtown Streets Team is helping us get off the streets into an apartment where we can actually feel safe and where my son can continue his therapy."

“Downtown Streets Team has helped me set employment goals and I went from two part-time jobs to one full-time job. I asked my boss for a raise and I got it!! I couldn’t believe it. Now I’m working on finding a place of my own so I can provide for my daughter and keep her out of the abusive home we left with her dad."

“I’ve been living in my car for a few years now after hitting some bad luck and raising my son who is in high school. Having to see my son getting dressed for school outside of our car every day breaks my heart. Getting the help I need from Downtown Streets Team to move in somewhere would give my son a chance to have a roof over his head for the first time since he was in elementary school. Right now, I’ve got a part time job and I’m working on my goals trying to make this happen."

“Thank you for the financial support you have provided me and my children, but overall the emotional support. It fills me with emotion to know that there are people out there that are willing to help when we fall on hard times. This is on behalf of my children more than me. The time and effort your donors put into this changes the way we look at life. Please thank everyone who is dedicated to making sure my children continue to have stability and a place to sleep. I hope one day to be able to pay it forward.” - Liz

“I was very fortunate to find your program through my school liaison. I wasn’t very sure the program would be able to be very helpful, because there are not any programs that assist with back pay for rent. I received a call from Gloria and it totally gave me peace of mind. I had four days to move and she was able to help me that same day. Programs like this are not only important, but necessary. I fell behind for an unseen situation, but wasn’t looking for long term assistance, just something that would get me back on my feet. I don’t know how to thank all of you for this amazing program and support. I was able to sleep better that night and not have to worry about what would happen if I was evicted. On behalf of my family, thank you and keep up the good work.” - S.D

“Where do I begin without crying? After my husband passed away, life has been pretty hard finding a stable job and being the main provider to sustain everything from the finances to emotional support for my children has been the hardest thing I have gone through. I just want to thank you for caring about us and understanding. The financial support your program has provided lifted a big burden off my shoulders.” - A.M.

“Thank you for all your support. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for the work and effort you have put in so that my family, especially my children, have a place to live.” - S.D.

Leadership Team

Appalled by the shocking number of public school students of Monterey County who are experiencing homelessness, a group of concerned citizens have come together to help solve this crisis.
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We come from all walks of life - our ranks are comprised of people with a diversity of skills, all connected in our commitment to ensure every public school student of Monterey County has a home in our community.

Dianne Driessen

In her career as an Information Technology specialist, Dianne worked for IBM, Xerox, and McGraw-Hill Education, as well as educational institutions and government agencies. She was a founding board member of the Program Management Institute, Monterey Bay chapter.

Joan Costello

Joan started her career as an 8th grade math and science teacher after several years of sailing around the world. In retirement, she continues to educate by tutoring adult English language learners. She is involved in The Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild, Seaside’s Neighborhood Improvement Commission, Seaside Artists Association, & Community Human Services in Monterey County.

Marty Fleetwood

Marty "Martha" Fleetwood is the Founder of Homebase/The Center for Common Concerns, a law and social policy organization dedicated to eradicating homelessness.

Laurie Kleinman M.D

Laurie spent her medical career specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Medical Acupuncture. As a team member of Acupuncturists Without Borders, Laurie has worked nationally and internationally, providing stress reduction acupuncture to refugees and those affected by natural disasters. Laurie has also provided free acupuncture treatments to homeless adults in Monterey County.

Sandra Leader

Sandra was the executive director of the Franklin Legacy Fund, which focuses its efforts on child and youth homelessness. She is a writer and editor, with over 30 years of experience in journalism, including her time at the San Francisco Chronicle and The Herald.

Robin Venuti

After a successful 43-year career of matching philanthropic intent with the needs of the nonprofit sector, Robin is now a realtor with Over the Moon Realty Inc. where she helps match families to homes.

Robin Kunysz

Robin was a middle school teacher for 36 years and served as the Director of the Parent-to Parent-Program. Robin is a member of the Board of Directors for The Steinbeck House.

Risa Fowler, DDiv.

A published poet and real estate investor, Risa has focused much of her personal time on mindfulness and wellness. Years ago, she discovered and studied Creating Compassionate Cultures, the brainchild of Pam Cayton, which is a method of teaching that supports children to develop deep compassion for self, others and our beautiful planet. It is a natural extension of her passion for universal wellbeing that brings her to Housing for School Kids.

In Memoriam

Karen Osborne

During her career in health care administration and psychology, Karen served on many boards in the Bay Area, including the Salvation Army Board and its family shelter, Senior Action Network, and several other organizations.

Looking for a solution

Help us build awareness of this dire situation. We are open to help and suggestions.

We welcome any opportunity to speak to your organization to raise public awareness of this issue.

Let's Connect

If you would like to be a part of our efforts to provide permanent homes for unsheltered public school students of Monterey County, there are lots of opportunities. Have a little time and a big heart? Contact us at HousingforSchoolKids@gmail.com

Dear Donors,

Thank you!

We have, once again, been selected for Monterey County Gives for their matching gifts program this year. The campaign begins November 13 and extends through December 31. We have received donations for the last two years through this program from you, our community, and together we have placed over 175 students in permanent housing. THANK YOU SO MUCH. We hope to do much more this year with our county-wide program with the Monterey County Office of Education.