Forsyth County program charts increase in students without adequate housing

By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Forsyth County School District says the number of students who are experiencing homelessness or inadequate housing has increased in the past two years.

Homeless Education Liaison Kim Pluhar told School Board members at an April 11 work session there are 941 students in the district’s McKinney Vento Homeless Education Program, a federal initiative created through the Department of Education to assist students experiencing homelessness.

That’s up from 856 students in 2021.

Pluhar said the McKinney Vento program, created during the Reagan administration to address attendance issues related to homelessness, identifies homelessness as the lack of fixed, adequate and/or regular nighttime housing.

She said student homelessness includes living in shelters; multiple families living in one home due to economic hardship; being unsheltered, or living in an accommodation that is not regularly used for sleeping, such as cars or abandoned buildings; or living in motels, hotels or camping grounds without alternatives.

As of March 2023, 39 Forsyth County students were living in a shelter; 813 were doubled-up, or living in accommodations with other families; 17 were unsheltered; and 72 were living in hotels or motels.

In 2021-2022, 64 students were living in hotels or motels; 34 were unsheltered; 734 were doubled-up; and 24 were living in temporary shelters.

Pluhar and District 1 School Board Member Wes McCall are members of the Homeless Youth Council, a group of community leaders who facilitate resources for youths experiencing homelessness in Forsyth County.

Pluhar’s role, she said, is to identify

McCall and Homeless Education Liaison Kim Pluhar a Homeless Youth Council update to the Forsyth County Board of Education at an April 11 work session. Pluhar said there are 941 students in the district’s McKinney Vento Homeless Education Program as of March 23. children experiencing homelessness in Forsyth County; facilitate their enrollment and success in school; and remove any barriers to their full participation.

“The kids that I work with are some of the most resilient kids you will ever meet,” Pluhar said.

She said McKinney Vento provides support to county students through a designated liaison, activities, resilience coaching, a student success coach and internal collaborations with administrators, school counselors and transportation.

Moving forward, McCall said the program seeks to expand its support network; increase the number of foster and respite homes in the county; collect data; identify and resolve overlapping trends; and pursue partnerships to address rising shelter needs.

“We can’t do it alone, but together we can do a lot,” Pluhar said.