Martin, 7, studies at the Learning Zone, an after-school program in the kitchen of an emergency overnight shelter in San Jose.

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THE WISH: A SCREENED-IN PORCH WHERE KIDS CAN DO THEIR HOMEWORK

In search of quiet for homework, reading

families are the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population in Santa Clara County, and Victoria Valor, 37, the homeless mother of two little boys, knows first-hand what that means for her kids: stress.

She is thankful for the beds and dinner every night at Inn Vision's Commercial Street Inn in San Jose, where she is staying while she gets her life back together. And she's thankful for the volunteers at the Learning Zone, the children's homework center at the Inn, whom she credits with instilling a love for reading in her third-grade son, Martin. But life for the family of three is far from stable or quiet.

While Victoria participates in the life skills and job training required of adults living at the Inn, she also must attend to the daily tasks of raising her children. Being sure they do well in school is supremely important to her, she says. Martin loves school and Cristen, 4, starts preschool soon.

Given their circumstances, coping with even mundane tasks, such as getting homework done, can be daunting. For now, the 20 or so children living at the Inn must use the dining-room table for study. When meal preparation begins, things get even more chaotic with younger children running in and out of the dining room and workers setting the tables.

``The shelter is a very noisy place,'' says Tammy Robertson, who runs the Learning Zone, where kids get after-school homework help and one-on-one tutoring. Homeless kids are understandably highly distractible, Tammy says. They also are nervous and anxious.

So are their parents. ``The Learning Zone helps a lot of people,'' Victoria says. ``A lot of mothers like me are stressed out. It's hard to give the kids my full attention. Here they do it right.''

The youngsters who use the Learning Zone would benefit greatly from a designated room where they could study, do arts and crafts projects, play group games and read. Fulfilling their wish for a large, screened-in porch would give the program its own space and the shelter a much-needed sense of calm. The cost of a non-permanent structure is $4,000 and donations in increments of $40 (24A) will make it a reality.