Students at Golden Valley High School in need of basic living necessities are able to receive support from the faculty at the Parent Awareness Workshop and Support (PAWS) Center on campus.

Golden Valley High School families that may be struggling to afford basic living necessities — such as non-perishable food, clothing, toiletries and school supplies — can now look to school staff to help make those ends meet.

“PAWS is an acronym for Parent Awareness Workshop and Support,” said Golden Valley High School Principal Sal Frias. “We knew when the school opened that we had a unique population than other schools in our district. We have students and families that have unique circumstances. We provide multiple resources that (the) Santa Clarita Valley has to offer: counseling, academic support, food, even clothing.”

Students from low-income families make up a high percentage of the population at Golden Valley High, which designates the institution as a Title 1 school. Schools meeting Title 1 qualifications are given extra financial assistance to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.

After Frias and faculty worked for over a decade to design and create the PAWS Center program, school staff can now better help relieve some of the financial stress or problems students and families may be experiencing at home.

PAWS faculty are able to provide support to Santa Clarita families through donations given from local organizations such as Real Life Church, The Sanctuary Church and Grace Baptist Church, to name a few.

“The vision that we want is for kids to come to school ready to learn,” said Frias.

Frias tried to implement the PAWS Center at Golden Valley High many years before, but it wasn’t until a pair of school employees began to draw in resources from the community that it became possible to implement the program.

The PAWS Center team organized a room full of donated items from the community into a small store where students can shop for their needs.

April Rego, the resource coordinator for the PAWS Center, has been providing one-on-one assistance to families in need in order to help set up students for success.

“I think our goal here at the PAWS Center is to first listen, then to understand what the needs are and then provide any resources,” said Rego. “On average, this year we’re getting way more families that have needs than were giving out, and we’re giving out anywhere from three to 10 bags of food a week.”

Students in need of a snack, school supplies and even just a chat can walk into the PAWS Center and receive what they need to get their mind back on school, according to officials.  

Cindy Takamoto, social worker for William S. Hart School District, works with at-risk students addressing attendance issues, which she says are largely connected to financial problems at home.

“Sometimes when I talk to students, they give me reasons why they’re not in school,” said Takamoto. “Kids just don’t wake up in the morning and say they don’t want to go to school. It’s either social anxiety, bullying, mental health or transportation issues. And I have students telling me they don’t have the clothes to come to school.”

Students in need can now go to the PAWS Center at Golden Valley High and receive those tangible resources on campus.

The PAWS Center is also offering extra holiday assistance to families in need for November and December.

On Nov. 18 from 1- 2:30 p.m. anyone in the community can drop off a frozen turkey at Golden Valley that will then be paired with a box of non-perishables items for Thanksgiving.

December will bring “Hart Holidays,” where donors can “adopt” families for the holidays to provide extra support during the season.

For more information on how to donate, click here.

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