The number of homeless students rising fast in Thurston County's urban districts
The number of homeless students attending North Thurston Public Schools, the largest school district in Thurston County, has risen to more than 1,000, nearly twice as many as the district reported in 2021.
The increase can be partly attributed to the district doing a better job of identifying students who qualify for services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, but there’s also a too-familiar culprit: the cost of housing and the lack of affordable housing in the area.
Amanda Yonker, who works with homeless students as a River Ridge High School student navigator, delivered those sobering comments at a recent joint meeting of the NTPS school board and Lacey City Council.
“There’s a lack of affordable housing, and there is a continuous rise in rental prices,” Yonker told those gathered at River Ridge High School last Tuesday. “So time and time again, we’re seeing families, two-income families, that cannot afford the rent because it continues to go up.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/number-homeless-students-rising-fast-120000512.html
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