Salinas City Elementary School Districts opens 2nd Family Resource Center

Salinas City Elementary School District is now offering resources, in two locations, to homeless students and their families.

Wednesday, the district opened a 2nd Family Resource Center at Henry F. Kammann Elementary. The original center, located at Sherwood Elementary, was opened back in 2004.

Backpacks, clothes, toiletries, and food are all offered to families, free of charge. All of the items were collected throughout the year from donors within the community.

The district said their hope is to give every student an opportunity to succeed in school.

“So when they arrive on their first day, they look like just any other student. Coming with their new apparel, backpack, shiny shoes, and socks. That they would not be looked at differently than any other student arriving in the school system,” said Salinas City Elementary School District Superintendent, Martha Martinez.

Martinez said the idea behind the center was thought of over a decade ago, but the need has grown. Over 3,700 students, within the district, are identified as homeless. This number makes up nearly half the homeless student population (K-12) in Monterey County.

The center has become a model used by other schools across the state. The center’s staff helps train other schools on how they, too, can help their students in need.