Some teenage students not only have to battle with the difficulties that always accompany adolescence, but also engage in an overbearing struggle with poverty.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing that is set “black or white” about the issue, as students react differently to their situations at home. Nevertheless, they have to deal with them and somehow survive at school while attempting to find a way out of their complicated lifestyles.

Omaha Central’s social worker Dawnna Hill nearly sees the whole story of these students and the varying struggles they go through.

“I do a lot of different things, it depends on the student that’s brought to me,” said Hill. “The bottom line is [I] work with students and their families to increase their success at school.”

This includes problem solving with factors that are getting in the way of a student’s ability to learn and making sure they have what they need to do well.

Among those students Hill said that poverty impacts a majority of them within a “certain capacity.”

“There are a lot of other helpers in this building,” she said. “All of those folks are probably gonna have their own exposure to how many students they’re serving that need those types of supports. Since it is a sensitive, confidential issue sometimes we don’t all know for sure who’s being helped in that capacity.”

Hill explained that they do work to protect family’s confidentiality and many times it varies between who comes to who first. Sometimes the “helpers,” like Hill, will be notified by referral, outside contacts or on occasion she will reach out to a student herself.

Nevertheless, in some way or another they all witness what disadvantages kids in poverty deal with every day at school. There were many scenarios Hill gave, including kids who might have behavioral issues with disciplinarians at school, chatting up with friends and skipping class or constantly being absent.

Where one might see a kid making excuses and acting out to get attention, Hill’s experience proves otherwise.

Behind the scenes, stressors, as Hill dubbed them, serve student’s gloomy effects.

Kids living in poverty don’t deal with the same things that kids who don’t live in poverty do at times. Sometimes living conditions aren’t the best, especially in the case of a homeless teen. This could very well be the reasons for tardiness or absenteeism. Even family issues can affect this, like untimely work schedules and younger siblings that need to be watched by an older sibling because childcare is too costly.

Hill identified these possibilities as all varying.

Other factors, such as health, remains up in the air, because these families might not be able to afford yearly eye exams or twice a year trips to the dentist, for example.

“I’ll say, ‘well, when was the last time that you were able to go and get your teeth cleaned?,’” said Hill. “[They’ll say] ‘oh it’s been six  years.’ [I’ll ask] ‘When was the last time you had your glasses taken care of?’ [They’ll say] ‘well fifth grade.’ Well we’re in eleventh grade now.”

But the biggest struggle for these teens is focus, Hill pointed out. “…It’s hard to focus at school and engage your cognitive level of functioning when your basic needs aren’t being met,” she said.

“It’s real hard to focus on how you’re going to do on a history exam if you don’t know where you’re gonna sleep tonight or if your parents got into  a fight and that means you guys are going to have to move out this weekend,” said Hill.

She continued to say that emotional responses before more rational ones can contribute to behavioral issues at school, but underneath, root problems they can’t control may be what is moving them.

“I think the thing that’s hardest for a young person is that they see these people that they love and they want better for, but they don’t have the ability to make it better themselves…it’s hard to be a part of that struggle,” she said.

So there it is, out in the open. A truth that not many people at school (teachers and students alike) stop to realize. Sometimes only the very surface is seen and not what may be hiding, much like frosting on a cake, but not even close to being sweet.

To add on to this, a rough circle of poverty and failure can exist in a student’s life depending on how they react to their situation.

“Lack of motivation, lack of effort. Sometimes people either respond to impoverished situations with either like a resiliency and strength…or they really kind of succumb to this…it really depends on the person’s values and how they internalize things,” said Hill.

This is where the helpers of the school come in, like Hill herself, the other counselors and programs. Programs, such as the Mckinney Vento program which accompanies homeless students and their families, as well as the Native Indian Centered Education (NICE) program, which has connections to outside support groups to help any of their members who could be struggling in poverty, can be very beneficial.

NICE teacher at Central and McMillian, Harmon Maples, sometimes has to help his students by pointing them in that direction to places such as the Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition.

“They offer services to native students and families,” said Maples.

In the end, poverty will never be an easy problem to solve because there isn’t one ultimate cause. But hopefully to really help students to get out of their current lifestyle and hopefully become successful in the future, there is one thing that could be done.

“I personally think that people act within the ability they have,” said Hill. “…And so instead of looking at it in this deficit way of all this blame…let’s look at the skills you have and let’s try and teach you the ones you don’t have and let’s see if we can make this a little bit better. I don’t think much production comes from blaming one another…take the time and have some empathy [so] that we can really do some good problem solving.”