Why I Vote: Women and People of Color Fought for Our Rights

Imelda votes to set a good example for her kids, and to honor the women and people of color who fought for her right to vote. Photo by Denise Miller.

Join the National Registration Day movement;register to vote, or update your registered address now. Then watch our latest video, in which Imelda, an immigrant from Mexico, shares why she votes.

Why I (Will) Vote: To Make A Difference

It's fun to intern with the Y-W-C-A! GirlsFirst summer intern Leyi Lei (front) strikes a pose with members of YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish's Community Engagement team. As part of her internship, Leyi wrote today's blog post about the importance of voting. Photo credit: Katie Barnett.

Tomorrow is National Voter Registration Day! Need a little nudge to register or update your address? Read this second part of our "Why I Vote" series, in which high school student Leyi Lei shares why she can't wait to vote.

Why I Vote: Nothing Will Change If We Don’t

Lakesha has helped more than 50 people register to vote this month. Image credit: Denise Miller.

Registering to vote is the first step in creating change. To inspire you to register (or to update your address if you’ve moved), we invited a variety of people to tell us their thoughts on the importance of voting. First up is YWCA resident Lakesha.

Innovating Toward Academic Success: Empowering Students Who Are Homeless or Living With Toxic Stress

In this post we discuss some very good ideas, like connecting housing and support services to school and using research on toxic stress to shape how schools respond to learners. Image from Pixabay.com

In this final post in our series on homelessness in the public education system, Perry Firth profiles promising programs that are addressing the needs of children living with poverty and toxic stress. Read about First Place Scholars, The McCarver Elementary School Special Housing Program, and trauma-informed schools in Washington state.

McKinney-Vento, IDEA and You: Strategies for Helping Homeless Children With Disabilities

We hope this series takes a jumble of policy and turns it into helpful strategies for serving students who are homeless and have disabilities. Word cloud using McKinney-Vento and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act definitions, created at <a href="http://www.jasondavies.com/wordcloud/">jasondavies.com</a> — We hope this series takes a jumble of policy and turns it into helpful strategies for serving students who are homeless and have disabilities. Word cloud using McKinney-Vento and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act definitions, created at jasondavies.com

Part Six in our series on homelessness and poverty in the public education system provides an overview of the policies that impact the day-to-day lives of children who are homeless and who also have disabilities. It includes some strategies that school professionals can use to serve their learners who are homeless with disabilities.

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