State's student homeless population doubles
This article reports on the large increase in homelessness in Maryland — in Baltimore City and also in the suburban rings in the counties around the city — resulting in a doubling of the number of homeless students in Maryland to more than 14,000 in 2011. The article explains how important schools are for homeless students; indeed, school may be the only constant in a homeless student's life, and the role of a stable school environment is especially important.
The Baltimore Sun's article "Homeless student numbers growing" refers to the success of INNterim Housing in addressing this serious issue. INNterim has been a BWGC grantee four times: 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2010. It also a Giving Circle "Success Story" posted on this website: "A Safe Place to Call Home." As what the Sun refers to as "Nontraditional Homeless," Stephanie Whitaker Harris, a college graduate and mother of three, lost her home in 2008. Her family depended on other family members for housing until a spot opened at INNterim. Now she has moved into an Owings Mills apartment and started her own business. She is quoted as saying, "I don't know what would have happened" if she hadn't gotten into INNterim's program.