Hearth Project | District Information | Polk County Public Schools

Dee Dee Wright, Hearth Specialist
Phone: 534-0801
Fax: 534-0210

Karen Mehler, Homeless Liaison Assistant
Phone: 534-0629

The term "homeless children and youths"

(A) means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and
(B) includes:

children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing , economic hardship, or a similar reason (doubled up);
are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
are living in emergency or transitional shelters;
are abandoned in hospitals;
are awaiting foster care placement;
children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designated for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purpose of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described above.

According to policy established in the No Child Left Behind Act, every homeless student is entitled to:

a free, appropriate public education.
education in a mainstream school environment.
not be isolated or stigmatized due to their homeless status.
immediate school enrollment and attendance, even without birth records, school records, immunizations and/or health physicals.
continue his or her education in the school or origin or in the same school as nonhomeless students living in the attendance area are allowed to attend, whichever is in the child's best interest.
transportation to and from school, if requested.
services comparable to services offered to other students.
receive free breakfast and free/reduced lunch.

Today the average age of a homeless person is nine(9).
Children and families are the fastest growing subset of the homeless, representing a staggering 40% of the population.
The average homeless family is a twenty year old mother with children under the age of six.
Along with the 400,000 families who are officially homeless, another 25 million live doubled and tripled up with family and friends because they lack a permanent residence of their own.
Polk County has approximately 2,632 homeless individuals at any given time in Polk County.
It has been estimated that there are 350 school aged, enrolled homeless children at any given time in Polk County.

Shelter:	Phone:
Lighthouse Ministries	687-4076
Lake Wales Care Center	676-6678
Peace River Center	413-2700
Salvation Army- Lakeland	682- 8179
Salvation Army - Winter Haven	291- 5107
Women's Care Center	534-3844
Youth and Family Alternatives	595-0220