[KHTS] Social work students at California State University, Northridge, are attempting to collect funds to support Single Mothers Outreach who assist homeless or on the brink of homeless residents as a part of a school project.

“Funds will be turned over to Single Mothers Outreach (SMO), Santa Clarita’s main source of support for single parents,” said Philip Urbina, one of the students attempting to raise money for the non-profit. “SMO’s mission is to empower single parents and their children by providing hope, support, and resources so that families can become self-sustaining and thrive.”

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SMO is a trusted community agency that has been providing quality care to single-parent families in Santa Clarita since the 1990s, wrote Urbina on the GoFundMe page. SMO helps hundreds of single-parent families in the Santa Clarita Valley through the provision of case management, counseling, and many other services. It is limited, however, when it comes to helping families who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness due to lack of funding resources.

“My group mate Digna Yepez worked for Single Mothers Outreach for about a year,” Urbina said, “so that’s how we got the idea, and she has contacted them about what we are trying to do.”

Families become homeless for various reasons including domestic violence, divorce, job loss, and illness, wrote Urbina on the GoFundMe page. With nowhere to turn and out of options, many single-parents and their children are living in the streets of Santa Clarita now or, if they are lucky, in a cold car, where they will spend these holidays.

Many families are forced to leave the area in search of affordable housing despite desperately wanting to stay in “Awesometown” where they believe their children will be safe and will receive a great education, wrote Urbina on the GoFundMe page. These families are in grave need.

“We are looking to raise $10,000 by the end of May, 2016, our graduation month, so that we can provide SMO with a viable option for families in need of emergency housing funds as we complete our master’s degrees,” Urbina said. “We have faith in the Santa Clarita community.”
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