By: Mat Cloak
The Parsons Advocate
At the most recent Board of Education meeting, Attendance Director Amber Kyle presented data for the current school year. Within her data was the number of homeless students in the county.
Kyle’s data reported 77 homeless children currently living in Tucker County. “Our numbers have consistently grown over the last couple of years,” Kyle said. There were 73 students identified as homeless in 2016 and 63 in 2015.
A big obstacle to providing services is identifying who needs what. According to Kyle, school system employees receive training on how to confidentially refer students who may need services. “Bus drivers are a big help during the referral process,” Kyle said.
The school system is the first line of defense in Tucker County. “When we have a student we know has needs, we try to reach out to those students to get basic personal care items,” Kyle said. After identifying a need, Kyle then contacts the Tucker County Family Resource Network.
The Family Resource Network began providing services in Tucker County 24 years ago. Through donations, grants, and volunteers within the community, the Family Resource Network acquires items that high-risk children may need.
Last week, the network held a diaper drive. They collected $550 in donations from the community, and about $300 worth of actual supplies including diapers, wipes and other baby supplies.
With a staff of seven in the county, the Family Resource Network operates two other programs, the Family Resource Center and Parents as Teachers.
The Family Resource Center houses multiple pantries stocked with different goods families may need. “If someone is in trouble, and needs help, we have several pantries,” Executive Director April Miller said. The center also hosts events and educational opportunities.
The Parents as Teachers program covers three counties in the area to provide education through home visits. It is essentially a parent support program that works one on one with families at home to identify needs.
For many organizations, it is difficult to ascertain whether the rising data is due to an actual increase in homelessness or because the organization is improving their identification skills. Miller believes it is the latter. “We are seeing an increased need,” she said. “A lot of kids need that extra support.”
There are a number of contributing factors to child homelessness. According to Kyle, a main contributor to a loss of a fixed residence in Tucker County is house fires. “Unfortunately, the biggest amount of money we have used over the last four years goes toward house fires,” Kyle said. “After a house fire, we immediately try to get those kids whatever they need.”
The drug abuse problem ravaging the state is also a contributing factor to high-risk children. Miller works with Family Resource Networks across West Virginia. “We are seeing the same thing across the state,” she said
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was passed in 1987 to combat child homelessness nationwide. The act provides federal money to help homeless families and children. The act defines homeless youths as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.”
One important factor that qualifies a family as homeless is if there are multiple families living in one home. Children who share housing with other families due to a loss of housing or economic hardship are classified as homeless.
For more information about the Tucker County Family Resource Network and how to donate, visit the network’s Facebook page or their website,https://www.tuckercountyfrn.com/resources.
