Great news… the Homeless Families Foundation has a new website! Check it out to learn more about all of the work that is being done to assist families and children. Warning: You will be inspired to help out!

Tomorrow night will be “One Wild Night” at the Columbus zoo! This is the Homeless Families Foundation’s 25th Anniversary culmination event where generous donors will be recognized for their support of HFF’s important work. I’m excited to help out at the event in appreciation and recognition of everything that has been accomplished here over the past 25 years!

This past week has included a wide variety of tasks and experiences… I partnered with HFF case workers to collect the home schools of our current families. This was not a quick task in that it included talking to case workers, calling clients, and going out to see clients in their homes. I was surprised to learn that some parents are not sure where their children will attend school next month. For some families, this is a time of intense transition and they have more immediate and pressing concerns to address.

After thinking about it more, I realized it should not have been surprising that some parents are uncertain about where their children will go to school. But this does provide an example of the challenges surrounding my transportation study. Homeless and at-risk children can experience frequent changes in their home addresses as well as their schools. So a transportation plan needs to be flexible; frequent changes should be anticipated.

I’ve also continued to: develop online maps and routes, reach out to area non-profits, learn about child transportation regulations, and solidify costs of a variety of transportation options. And I’ve been working to document all of my work and findings in a PowerPoint file. This has been helpful in allowing me to see where my transportation study stands and where I should focus my efforts over the next 4 weeks.