Hundreds of new homeless students are enrolling in Osceola County Schools each semester and this year is no different.
We found out the School District expects to see more homeless students than ever before this year.
“Nine years ago we had 129 verified homeless students, At the end of last year we had over 4,300,” Leslie Campbell with Osceola County’s Special Programs told us. By the end of this year they expect to see even more, between 4,500 and 6,000 students they deem ‘in transition’.
We caught up with one of those many families.
“Right now we are just day by day. We are basically living in a motel that we barely can afford,” said mother Nicole Brown.
Brown, her husband and four children moved to Osceola County after a fire destroyed their home in Miami, but for almost a year they have struggled to get by. Their family is just one of the hundreds living in the hotels, the woods or doubled up at a relative’s house.
Campbell told us they have to work to make a better learning environment for these kids.
“So they are worried about their next meal and were they are going to be. So their brains aren’t in learning mode,” Campbell explained.
The district does have programs, and counselors at each school to help these students with school supplies, uniforms and even tutoring. However, the more homeless students they see register the more their resources are in demand.
Campbell said anyone seeking information about the programs and services available to their children should contact their school's FIT counselor for more information.