now to an issue facing communities across the State of Florida including ours right now tens of thousands of children don't have a stable place to call home and tonight 10 Tampa Bay Miranda Parnell is in studio taking a deeper dive into why from family instability to housing costs groups across the bay area are working to combat homelessness some are making sure that A specific group doesn't get overlooked homeless children I spoke with a woman who has made saving these children her life's Missi
on as well as with a man who has had his own Journey with child homelessness when you think of homelessness who comes to mind change the stigma of homelessness it's not just the person you see outside asking you for money most often we see those who are chronically homeless but in reality the the close calls the the working mother with two kids who's on a fixed income but all of a sudden her landlord raises the rent by 50% people are feeling the impact of inflated cost of everyday goods and hous
ing and it's putting them and their families in Jeopardy this is actually an invisible National epidemic meet Vicki skolik she started her own nonprofit to help teens that the government refers to as unaccompanied homeless youth she calls them family absolutely these are kids who actually value their education they're trying to go to school they're trying to make good decisions um but without support and a stable to live there's no way that could happen soic says her organization called starting
right now helps teens who fall into a gray area that makes it harder for them to get help they are homeless and they are minors but they don't qualify for foster care because because they left home versus being taken from their home there's lots of drugs and alcohol in the house there's incarceration where the kids have nowhere to go there's death there's abuse there's neglect and sadly Almost 100% of our girls have been raped in their home by several family members zic says her organization do
es it all giving these scenes a safe home mentorship academic support and guidance all the way through their postgraduation goals 100% of our kids graduate from high school and go on 1% go to the military about 11% do vocational training and the rest go to higher education and since the pandemic sik says the members of this family have been getting younger and younger Florida is fifth for the number of unaccompanied homeless youth I can tell you that that's an undercounted number families have r
eally sadly Fallen apart um and a lot of it is probably because of the pandemic but some of it is really just because of the way Tampa St Pete is grown you they can't afford housing attorney Aaron Swift is the vice chair of the panel's homeless leadership Alliance he served on the board of of a women shelter called Alpha House and he's also had firsthand experience with homelessness my guess is people looking at me now I'm the owner and partner of a law firm you wouldn't think that I had ever be
en homeless but the success of homelessness Services of why I'm here today Swift was homeless as a child when his mother packed up him and his sister to get away from an abusive relationship and what I remember the most is the instability the not knowing where you're going to sleep not knowing where your next meal was going to come from if you going to be warm for a young child how important are those things you know to know you're going to have a bed to to sleep in and the same place to sleep i
n over a period of time and it's one thing for adults to navigate that but children are vulnerable they don't have their own income their own ability to make choices as difficult as it was to leave Swift says his mother knew that staying in a relationship that put her and her children in constant danger was even even riskier than homelessness so she turned to local resources to get on her feet it's hard enough to raise a child imagine raising a child or children while homeless trying to do best
for them and they're trying to do the best themselves it impacts every part of your life it impacts school friends your ability to connect with people according to data from a 2023 District count 3,768 students in pelis County reported experiencing homelessness with Hillsboro County reporting an estimated 4,265 students experiencing homelessness in November of the same year and it's only going to get worse if we don't have programs that support these kids while those giving back continue to high
light the issue of need in our community they say it's important that those who are struggling know there are places that can help them get back on their feet reach out for help um friends and family of course but the government we have lots of resources while thousands of kids in the Bay Area face uncertain cty about what's next local Advocates are working to make sure they don't fall through the cracks um we're a family we form a family and we're here for these kids forever there are so many p
eople who have done it who have gotten out who are now living rewarding lives um and just know you're not alone that's the biggest thing local nonprofits are looking to get an even more accurate idea of just how many people in our area are facing homelessness right now to do that something called a point in time or pit count is done with the help of volunteers who go out into the community and try to account for anyone without a home piit counts were recently conducted in both pelis and Hillsbor
o counties in the studio Miranda Parnell tent Tampa Bay
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