Poudre School District honors housing‑instability awareness month, highlights new prevention pilot

The Poudre School District Board of Education voted unanimously on Nov. 4 to adopt a resolution recognizing November 2025 as Children and Youth Experiencing Housing Instability Awareness Month.

Board member Jim Brokesh moved the resolution and Connor Duffy seconded. The clerk called the roll and the motion passed 7‑0: Jim Brokesh, Kristen Draper, Connor Duffy, Kevin Havela, Scott Schoenbauer, Andrew Spain and Jessica Zamora all voted in favor.

David Autenreid, the district’s director of language, culture and equity, framed the resolution around a change in wording and the use of human‑first language. “Language matters,” Autenreid said, explaining the district’s effort to use phrasing that reflects the range of experiences families face rather than a single label.

Autenreid and district staff highlighted the scale of need: the McKinney‑Vento program serves roughly 1,400 students annually — a figure the district said represents an 18% increase compared with pre‑pandemic counts. “If you think about what 1,400 students means, it’s over 1 out of every 20 students,” Autenreid told the board.

The board also heard from partners in a new homelessness‑prevention pilot. Representatives from Denver Rescue Mission and Fort Collins Rescue Mission said the pilot will focus on upstream prevention — providing one‑time emergency funding, short‑term supports and case management to prevent families from losing housing because of a single crisis such as a car breakdown or unexpected medical bills. “We foresee it being very impactful for our community,” said Seth Forwood of Fort Collins Rescue Mission.

Trustees thanked staff and community partners and encouraged public support for local shelters and organizations assisting students and families. The adoption of the resolution was an expression of formal support and did not itself allocate new district funds.

Action: The board approved the resolution in one motion. The board also approved the consent agenda later in the meeting by a separate 7‑0 vote.

Proper names and partners mentioned during the discussion include the Matthews House, Fort Collins Rescue Mission, Denver Rescue Mission, Homeward Alliance, La Familia, Catholic Charities and the district’s transportation and school nutrition teams, which district staff credited for supporting students’ daily attendance and basic needs.

The board did not take immediate fiscal action tied to the resolution; district staff said the prevention pilot will include case managers partnering with schools to identify needs and deploy one‑time funds, and staff promised future updates on outcomes and impact.