Dive Brief:
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Missouri's Maplewood Richmond Heights school district is focusing on long-term solutions instead of quick-fixes to homelessness, offering homeless students residency in a group home called Joe’s Place — one of the only homes of its kind funded and operated by a public school district.
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In nearby Jennings, MO, another group home for girls began operating this year, nine years after Joe’s Place opened its doors.
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“The student residents have seen their grade point averages and attendance rates improve,” the Huffington Post reports, with 23 out of 24 graduating from high school on time.
Dive Insight:
Joe’s Place began through private investment, after a local businessman offered the superintendent a $10,000 check to help local homeless students. Operations are also funded by a local church, the Crossroads Presbyterian Fellowship Church, in addition to grants and private donations.
With the homeless student population reaching new highs in the US, programs like Joe’s Place and the Hope House in Jennings are more relevant than ever. A reported 1.26 million public school students were homeless during the 2012-13 school year, with 25% were in high school. And according to a 2014 study from Tufts University's Center for Promise, homeless students were 87% more likely to stop going to school than their peers.
States like Oregon, for example, have seen their homeless student population increase in recent years.
Districts have also tried to tackle the problem by providing transportation, and asking for greater community engagement in order to get help with food, clothing, and computers.