More than 7,000 students facing homelessness in Monterey County

UPDATE 6/21/2016 6 PM: Homelessness is a big problem among students on the Central Coast. According to the United Way Monterey County, as many as 7,100 Monterey County students are considered homeless or nearly so.

“It’s not necessarily a visible homeless,” said Katy Castagna, president and CEO of United Way Monterey County. “They’re not all living on the streets. They may be living in dwellings that are not fit for habitation– Families needing to rent garages and sheds. They may be living in temporary situations, like hotels or transitional housing. They may be living in cars in some cases, but the majority of them are living in overcrowded conditions. Families have to double or triple up in order to make ends meet.”

The United Way says school supplies can cost hundreds of dollars per child. When families are already stretched thin financially, new notebooks and school clothes can seem like a luxury they just can’t afford.

That’s where Stuff the Bus comes in. On Tuesday, the United Way kicked off its annual campaign, in which people can donate supplies ahead of the school year. Students aren’t only prepared with the right supplies, but also with the right mindset.

“The United Way Stuff the Bus program helps the community pitch in and get those supplies to the students’ hands at the beginning of the school (year), so they can start school not only with the tools they need but the feeling of self-esteem that the community cares about their success and that they have an equal footing with their classmates. They’re coming to school with the same supplies and quality that the other students are,” Castagna said.

The event took place at the newly relocated Cabrillo Family Resource Center, where families can get assistance with housing, legal issues and health care concerns.

“We are more centralized here around the schools and we’re more easy access to the parents to provide them assistance,” said Carlos Dias, the homeless liaison with Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

Both programs are helping students like Marie Luna, who has gone to at least four different schools in the area.

“The most obvious answer is the school supplies,” Luna said. “We’ve been helped with that a lot and as well, like, in case we ever needed advice about college, helping all of that.”

She said when she was homeless, she had a hard time focusing in school. Her teachers told her to use that to push herself forward and not pull her down. She now has a scholarship to the University of Alabama, where she hopes to get a bachelor’s degree in public relations and then to go law school

People can help Stuff the Bus by dropping off backpacks filled with school supplies at any participating location. Click here to get to the United Way Monterey County website. You can also text “Stuff Bus” to 313131.

ORIGINAL POST:

More than 7,000 students are either homeless or near homeless in Monterey County, according to the United Way.

As a new location for the Cabrillo Family Resource Center opens up in Seaside, volunteers are helping with the transition and are taking donations for students facing life on the streets.

Learn how you can donate to the Stuff the Bus campaign by clicking here or texting “Stuff Bus” to 313131.

KION’s Mariana Hicks will have more on the challenges these students face and the how local agencies are working to help.