The problem of homelessness in Catoosa County isn’t restricted to adults living in shelters or on the streets.
One of the largest groups in the country to be homeless are mothers with children, and Catoosa is no exception. In fact, according to Melissa Holcombe, a social worker and homeless liaison for Catoosa County Schools, there are currently over 300 students in the district right now who are homeless.
“They are the invisible homeless,” Holcombe said. “They might not be sleeping under a bridge, but they still have no home.”
Holcombe has worked with the Catoosa Homeless Children’s Fund since 2008, a service funded mostly by federal funds that provides academic and financial support to homeless families with students in the school district. While the program can’t provide support for rent or utilities, it has aided families with nearly everything else.
Clothes, food, school supplies, tutoring sessions, field trips and doctor’s visits are just a few of the things for which the fund provides financial assistance.
But the help offered isn’t just financial. Holcombe and the staff with the fund also ensure that homeless students are given all the information and resources they need to apply for college or to look for a job once they graduate.
“We have boys that say they don’t eat when they go over to a friend’s house because they’re afraid they’ll be asked to leave if they eat,” said Holcombe. “They’re worried about taking up resources. That’s the situation for some of these kids.”
One of the major aims of the program is to ensure students remain at their original school, even if the shelter or relative they’re staying with is outside the school’s limits. Holcombe said students can lose roughly three months of academic gains when they change schools, and stability is one of the biggest needs for the students.
The fund’s stability recently got a big boost when the Catoosa Leadership Class held a benefit lunch that resulted in over $16,000 in donations to the fund.
Lacey Dye, a member of the Leadership Class and an employee with Capital Bank, organized an account with county oversight specifically for donations to the fund. She said when she and the other members of the class heard about the program, they were shocked.
“Not many people knew it existed,” said Dye. “It’s kind of an unseen problem. We figured we had a good opportunity to bring awareness to the issue.”
Since that luncheon, an anonymous donor donated $5,000 to the fund, and an additional $10,000 was collected, Dye said.
“Instead of having to cut off referrals for tutoring like we did last year, we can keep it open,” Holcombe said, referencing the donations’ impact. “Right now, we’re helping 29 students with their tutoring.”
The future for the program looks strong. Holcombe said while nothing is set in stone, she’s trying to set up a mentoring program for 2018 that would match homeless, unaccompanied youth with couples in the community.
“A lot of these kids have never seen a healthy, functioning relationship before,” she said. “We thought it would be wonderful if high school juniors and seniors could have access to a mentoring service where a couple could take them under their wing.”
Holcombe gave great thanks to the Catoosa Leadership Class, and said the luncheon has opened many doors within the local business community.
Donations for the fund can be made to Catoosa Public Schools (write “homeless” in the memo line) and sent, c/o Gail Felder, to PO Box 130, Ringgold, Ga., 30736. Donations are tax deductible.