Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Homelessness is one of the major issues facing our country, our state, and it is also a problem right here in Clarksville-Montgomery County with a segment of the population that many may not be aware of.
At a recent meeting of the Clarksville Salvation Army I found out that there were two young people staying at the shelter that are students in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) and the school system has a person who provides assistance to those who are homeless.
Heather Guest is part of the Instruction and Curriculum Department and works as the Homeless Liaison for the school district and she said that at this time there are a total of 237 students who are listed in one of four classifications as homeless.
When someone thinks of homelessness you normally think of someone without a place to live. There are actually four classifications that makes up the Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act that provides the grant for the school system to help homeless students.
Guest said the first is sheltered, transitional housing or students awaiting foster care placement. The second involves being doubled-up, which means they live with another family because at this time they can’t afford a place of their own and that can be a friend or family member.
The third is known as unsheltered which means someone is living in a parked car, an abandoned building or a campground and the fourth classification includes hotels and motels. Guest added that the four classifications she mentioned include CMCSS students all the way from PRE-K through high school.
Working as a Homeless Liaison, Guest says her office and the school system help students with many different services and thy receive support through a number of local organizations. Those agencies include the Salvation Army, Buffalo Valley and Montgomery County Veterans Coalition.
Both Guest and Cherie Long, Federal Programs Coordinator for CMCSS said they prefer the term “families in transition” instead of homeless. “They are out there and they must have just come up on hard times for the moment. They’re just transitioning to their next place,” said Guest.
Guest wanted to emphasize and let everyone know that if they find themselves in a transition period in their lives that there are outlets that can assist them. You can contact Guest if your business, organization or church would like to support students who need help in the school system.
To learn more about the Homeless Liaison office of the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, call Heather Guest at 931-920-7799 or email heather.guest@cmcss.net.