Santa Ana Unified School District is partnering with a non-profit organization to provide services to children and teens experiencing homelessness during the current school year. Project Hope Alliance (PHA) received a $150,000 community development grant from the City of Santa Ana that will go toward helping 50 students experiencing homelessness at Martin R. Heninger School. Jennifer Friend, chief executive of the non-profit, said the funding could be a lifeline for students who were forced to grow up fast during the pandemic. “During COVID, many of our kids are working to actually help pay for motel rent, or food for their families” Friend told The Epoch Times. “Even though they’re the child, they’re contributing to the parental family household.” Before the pandemic, PHA had an 84 percent graduation rate with 60 percent of its participants immediately enrolling in college. The pandemic decreased that percentage as many teens took on other responsibilities, Friend said. A majority of the youth involved in PHA live in …