The story is the same, just a different issue. New Mexico ranks 47th out of 50 states again. This time the ranking is about efforts to address and end child homelessness, according to the National Center on Family Homeless. But where the story changes is a small program in the Santa Fe Public Schools named Adelante that offers resources for homeless youth.

"I see Adelante as part of a group of organizations that are each working with certain populations experiencing homelessness and collaborating together to end homelessness in Santa Fe," said Gaile Herling, the coordinator for the SFPS Adelante program. "One thing that really distinguished us is that the average age of the children we work with is nine-and-a-half."

Adelante provides students with school supplies, clothing, food and transportation, when needed, said Santa Fe Public Schools' superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez. "It provides an opportunity for our young people to attend school despite unfortunate life circumstances."

The Adelante program is part of the Office for Student Wellness in the Santa Fe Public Schools. Between August 2009 and June 2010, the program identified 1,364 students experiencing situations of homelessness, a 40 percent increase between 2008 and 2009.

One component of the Adelante program is making sure students have the resources they need to succeed in school.

"What we offer is material aid like backpacks, schools supplies, school uniforms, and food through our food panty," Herling said. Adelante also helps students to become registered in schools and overcome problems like lack of proper vaccinations or permanent address.

In addition, Adelante works to support students once they are in school.

According to Herling, 75 percent of homeless students test below grade level in reading and 54 percent below grade level in math. The Adelante tutoring program is working to fix that.

"Eighty-four percent of our students being tutored wind up increasing their reading level by one full grade level — sometimes they go up even higher," Herling said. Any student in the Adelante program (and their parents or teachers) can request tutoring.

In an effort to support students once they are in school, the Adelante program has recently added a part-time high-school liaison.

"What he can do is help students that we already know about that are living in homeless situations," Herling said. "He can make sure they are getting their transportation needs met, that they are getting the food they need, that they are getting jobs if they need jobs ... He can help them with their living situations and get to know them better.

"In particular we really want to see our high-school students graduate. We want to keep our students in school because we want them to improve their lives."

When asked what keeps Herling so motivated, she said, "That's an easy one: The people that I meet everyday that are struggling in life are very admirable to me.

"Every day I go home with different stories about the children that I meet that are incredibly resilient and kind and really lead tough lives," Herling added. "For the most part it kind of gives me faith in people to do the job I do."

Despite its success, the program continues to struggle in some areas: "We can't keep enough food in our food pantry this year," Herling said. "There are a lot more hungry people this year."

Herling also said that she really appreciates students making efforts to raise awareness about homelessness. She cited an example of some students from Capital High School who attend Adelante's "Not One Child, Not One Night" event and came away wanting to do more.

"The youth that came to our event said, 'We want to borrow that film, and we want to show it to our class, and we want to take some leadership in getting some youth from school to volunteer for you guys,' " Herling said.

Herling listed off many needs of the organization but stressed that people can volunteer in any realm that suits their interest.

"Our young people and families are very lucky to have the support of the Adelante program," Gutierrez said. "SFPS is very appreciative to the community for its support of our Adelante program." "

For more information about volunteering or donating food, call Herling at 467-2571.

Alex Wirth is a Senior at Santa Fe Prep. You can reach him at alxwirth@gmail.com.