No Place to Call Home
Shatavia Nolder watches her two children, Zamerah Nolder, 10, and Zalayah Nolder, 8, at the Stone Pavilion in Washington Park in July.
Katie Roupe / Observer-Reporter Afton Rudolph (right) is a recovered heroin addict who lives with her daughter Lydia (left) at Avis Arbor, a women's shelter run by the City Mission. Afton became addicted to drugs at 16, but when Afton went to Turning Point in Washington she went through rehabilitation and completed the program staying clean.
Mallory Rogers/For the Observer-Reporter Booji Brunson plays the guitar in the gazebo on South Main Street, Washington.
When a 29-year-old mother of two found herself homeless last month and reached out for help, Observer-Reporter staff writer Karen Mansfield sprung into action.
A volunteer for WeCare Street Outreach for more than a year, Mansfield immediately began making phone calls to all of her contacts who had connections to emergency shelters. She figured that finding housing for the young family would be a “slam-dunk.” Boy, was she wrong. All of the local family shelters were full, and Regina – not her real name – was placed on a wait list. Another local mom and her two daughters were without a place to call home from December until June, when she was given permission by Washington County to move into public housing with her fiance.
As the two women can attest, no one plans to be homeless. The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates up to 2 million people will experience homelessness this year, and about half of them will include children. Children, in fact, represent the highest number of the homeless population, says Nicole Anderson, the Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 coordinator for the Education and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program. The AIU3, which records data on homeless children in Southwestern Pennsylvania counties, reported there were 235 homeless students in Washington County in 2012-13. In neighboring Greene, the number of homeless students dropped from 33 to 28 during the same school year, but the AIU3 attributes the drop to a decrease in population in that county. Not surprisingly, homeless children are among the most difficult to teach because their unstable family situations lead to tardiness, absences and health and behavioral issues. They have higher dropout rates, lower graduation rates and are held back more often than their counterparts with permanent homes.
Today and tomorrow, in the second installment of the newspaper’s yearlong “No Place to Call Home” initiative, we introduce readers to area families struggling to overcome homelessness; demonstrate how a lack of permanent housing affects students, schools and performance; and identify programs available to assist youngsters at risk. In connection with the initiative, and in partnership with Washington Health System, we have established funds at the Washington County Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greene County to raise money for homeless services. At the end of the year, agencies that provide homeless services will be invited to apply for the money, and grants will be awarded in early 2014.