Couch Surfing. Precariously housed. Safe Place. These terms may not mean anything to the average citizen, but for those who must live wherever they can find a space, securing basic housing and food are extremely important.
There’s a perception in Boone County that homelessness and poverty don’t exist in our community. But that’s not true, according to Connie Freking and Jarrett Spisak of the Brighton Center, who recently shared their experiences with the Florence Rotary Club.
Brighton Center is the largest social services agency in our area to offer bundled services to the community. Since there is no homeless shelter in Boone County, many people have limited alternatives for emergency housing. According to Connie, there are many reasons people become temporarily homeless. “People on fixed incomes, combined with the lack affordable housing options, can experience an emergency housing need. More than 24% of local families spend over half their income on rent,” she said. A loss of income, a medical emergency, an unexpected expense, all can have a damaging impact on secure housing.
The Brighton Center also provides one of the few runaway youth homeless shelters in Kentucky. Most shelters accept families, but not teens living alone. There were 468 youth classified as homeless in Boone County Schools last year. Said Connie, “Homelessness interrupts learning, and can lead to dropping out of school and limited career opportunities. It also places these young people at high risk for traumatic situations.” Last year, 6,840 students qualified for free and reduced lunch programs in the Boone County School system, representing 35% of the students enrolled.
Jarrett Spisak spoke about the Street Outreach program, which began in 1992 as a way to reach homeless youth. Jarrett and his team look for young adults who congregate near riverbanks, under bridges, and in woods. Jarrett said, “These youth are not ready to live on their own, since they often lack basic life skills.” The young people they find are offered food, clothing, counseling and transportation to help them get education and employment opportunities.
Jarrett also mentioned a local initiative called Safe Place, part of a national youth outreach program that educates young people about the dangers of running away, and works with the local community to provide safe havens and resources for youth in crisis. Safe Place creates a network of Safe Place locations — schools, fire stations, libraries, grocery and convenience stores, public transit, YMCAs and other appropriate public buildings – that display the yellow and black diamond-shaped Safe Place sign. “We are also reaching out to young people through social media, to let them know that we are here to help,” said Jarrett.
Melanie Sperling, Outreach Manager at the Boone County Public Library, described the library’s programs to combat summer learning loss. In 2012, the “Read and Feed” program was designed to provide lower income youth with access to summer learning opportunities and healthy meals, and served 1400 children. A similar program in 2013, “Fueling the Mind”, served 1200 children at the library’s Florence location by connecting with children living in area motels and mobile home parks. According to Melanie, the programs successfully provided reading encouragement and nourishment to an underserved population. She said,” Some of these children were living on black coffee with sugar. Our dedicated group of volunteers is making a real difference in our community.”
