The number of homeless students was stated to be up by 36% at the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board meeting last month.
Students in Transition Program Coordinator Kelly King said they continually track those numbers and as of now it is about 30% up from this time last year.
King: “Of the 147 students we’ve identified so far, 33 of those are unaccompanied youth, so homeless students that aren’t with a parent or legal guardian and then the 114 other students are part of a family unit where the entire family is homeless.”
This Thursday, November 13, there will be a Candlelight Vigil from 6:00 – 7:00 pm at Farnsworth Park in Soldotna.
King: “The candlelight vigil is our annual awareness event, unfortunately homeless students and families are an invisible part of our community and so this event serves to just bring awareness and understanding to some of the issues that some of our families are facing. Hopefully allowing community members to learn about the issue and then advocate for better supports and services on a community wide level.”
KPBSD Superintendent Dr. Steve Atwater will speak at the event and there will be live music from Beau Miller and Scott Lazaros.
