HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — On Tuesday, the Hillsborough County School Board will vote on the new Pathways of Hope program, which addresses homelessness in the school district.
“It is a very, very big issue,” said Huey Dunomes with Metropolitan Ministries.
The number of homeless students has been increasing in Hillsborough County.
“Due to lack of affordable housing, low income, families limited, the rising cost of inflation. Those are the things that we’re seeing on a regular basis,” said Dunomes.
Housing has been a rapidly growing issue since the start of the pandemic.
“We are seeing increasing numbers of housing insecurity, so we decided to look at the school system,” said Kelley Parris, Executive Director of the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County.
That’s how the Pathways of Hope Program came about. The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County is funding the initiative and teaming up with Metropolitan Ministries and the Hillsborough County School District to help as many families as possible.
“We know that the school system is the identifying, the first level of identifying who those families are,” said Parris.
They’ve highlighted 10 schools with a high number of students and families experiencing homelessness.
- Dover Elementary
- Forest Hills Elementary
- Lewis Elementary
- Mango Elementary
- Oak Park Elementary
- Pinecrest Elementary
- Robinson Elementary
- Greco Middle School
- Jennings Middle School
- Turkey Creek Middle School
According to the district, a total of 556 homeless students were enrolled at the 10 identified schools last school year.
- Dover-70
- Forest Hills-55
- Lewis-70
- Mango-62
- Oak Park-55
- Pinecrest-52
- Robinson-50
- Greco-50
- Jennings-46
- Turkey Creek-46
“These families are struggling with that, and this is why a program like this is so important to be able to give those skills and services to those families in need to be able to have them rise above this homelessness issue,” said Dunomes.
With the Pathways of Hope program, leaders will be able to hire family resource specialists at the identified schools to work with families of students facing homelessness.
“It takes a toll on your mental health also, so we are funding these 10 positions to get in those schools hands-on. Look at the whole family,” said Parris.
The program will focus on homeless prevention and intervention efforts.
“We want to be able to give and offer services to give a hand up to those individuals before they become a part of the homeless population. We know how difficult it is to dig ourselves out of homelessness,” said Dunomes.
“This is going to be a successful program and we just appreciate all the partnerships that make it work,” said Parris.
The school board meeting starts at 4 p.m.
