LARGO, Fla. — The Largo Public Library hosted a Freecycle thrift shop for families to back-to-school shop free of charge Thursday.
“We try to do a lot more than just books here at the library,” said Tasha Thundathil, the Youth Services library assistant.
The library’s children and youth staff collected donations for two months, and the items were nearly gone within 30 minutes of the shop opening.
“There’s new pajamas, and new stuff, and stuff for my grandkids,” Kathy Swiggum told ABC Action News. “I live on disability, had a heart transplant, so it’s hard for me.”
The need for basic necessities is a growing concern in our schools.
“We know with the increase in inflation, a lot of our families are really having a difficult time right now,” Carmon Hinton, assistant principal at Lewis Elementary School, told ABC Action News on the last week of school.
Hillsborough County Public Schools ended the 2022-23 school year with 4,256 students identified as homeless, including living in cars, motels, and even doubling up or sharing homes with others. Pinellas County ended the school year with 4,717 students experiencing homelessness.
“I see it even more so up in the teen area. We have runaways, we have teens that are experiencing substance abuse issues, mental health issues, and it’s been so much worse since the pandemic, especially when they had school disruptions, and now there’s a lot of teacher disruptions,” said Merissa Carlisle, the Teen Services librarian.
“We’re a free community resource, where they don’t have to pay money to come and hang out here,” Carlisle added. “We really just try to get to know whoever comes in… and provide whatever resources or connect them to whatever resources they may be lacking."
Carlisle said they are going to try and continue these types of events. For those in need or interested in donating used items, Freecycle is an international network online that connects people with free items in their community.
“I get back and the kids don’t mind. They’re just as grateful and I get some new stuff too!” Swiggum said as she left the library with two bags.