MANSFIELD — Kathy Goodwin’s job brings a mixture of tears and triumphs.
A community health worker with Third Street Family Health Services, Goodwin works primarily with adult family members of homeless students in the Mansfield City School district.
As part of the district’s S.A.F.E. program, Goodwin connects families with local agencies. She also helps families navigate barriers like a lack of transportation and finding new housing.
“I’m on the verge of tears after the day I had today, but it’s also very rewarding,” Goodwin said Tuesday night during a Mansfield City Schools board meeting.
Holly Christie, director of student support programs, said there are currently 270 students who qualify for services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which outlines the rights of homeless children and youth at school, including the services school districts must provide.
The majority of those students (239) are staying with family or friends due to financial reasons.
Christie said living in a doubled-up environment can be overwhelming for students. Children may not have their own bed, which can affect sleep and in turn academic performance. It can also cause stress and tension for a child’s family and the family hosting them.
Of the other 31 students, 11 are domestic violence shelter residents; another 11 are staying at a hotel or motel. Nine are staying at Wayfinders, a homeless shelter formerly known as Harmony House.
Christie said the district is seeing more students living in hotels and motels. She cited rising rents and cost of living as well as a statewide lack of affordable housing as potential causes.
Barb Kern and Phil Mitchell both work for the district’s S.A.F.E. program, which serves McKinney-Vento students and their families. Kern and Mitchell updated the board on the various community donations the program received over the holiday season.
“A lot of these clients are getting evicted under false premises, so then they have an eviction on the record that they don’t deserve,” Goodwin told the board.
Goodwin said she’s worked with 73 families this school year; 22 of them are now housed.
“A lot of them did not have hope,” she said. “It’s wonderful to see a client come running through these doors, holding up their keys, saying ‘It’s the first time in three years I’ve had a key in my hand.'”
