Advocate for homeless says Franklin County's homeless problem bigger than suspected

Franklin County’s homeless problem may be bigger than many people know, especially for Franklin County’s youngest residents.

Sandy Hengel, who serves as the new homeless liaison for the Franklin County School System, said that she has identified 160 kids out of the 1300 that attend a local school as homeless.

Homeless in this case does not mean that the children are living outdoors, but it does include children who are living with friends or extended family for financial reasons.

In many cases the children are staying with grandparents or other family members who don’t have custody while the parents look for work.

There are, however, some cases of children actually having no homes and having to sleep at teachers’ homes.

Miss Hengel told county commissioners that for the most part the local homeless issue has been overlooked because no one has ever done a comprehensive count of how many families are impacted.

Because of a federal stimulus grant, she now has the job of beginning to address the local homeless issue and part of her job is to educate the public.

She has been speaking to local groups to try to increase awareness of the homeless problem and is also working with a transitional housing task force and group called Volunteer Franklin.

But what she said is really needed is more  people getting involved and volunteering a few hours a week to groups that serve the less fortunate.

If you have an interest, you should contact Franklin’s Promise which works with most local charities.

Miss Hengel added that if you would like to make a donation that could help Franklin County’s homeless she could really use donations of toiletry items and clothes.

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