Van Buren County Director of Schools Cheryl Cole Cope has issued a plea to surrounding communities for assistance in helping students in need.
“Van Buren County School System is experiencing an increase in our homeless population. The current 2022-2023 school year, our homeless population number is at 150 children in Pre-K through 12th grade. When considering 150 students out of 799 (26%) that are enrolled in our school system that is an alarming number. Our students who are homeless or have substandard housing experience a harder time in school due to higher absenteeism, lower grades, low self-esteem, social and emotional struggles, as they are dealing with hunger. As a school system we are trying to limit these barriers for our children, but as a small rural county in Middle Tennessee, we face many trials in helping our students with resources they need. Van Buren County is the second-smallest county in Tennessee with a population of 6,168 residents according to the 2020 Census. Van Buren County has very limited resources to offer to our students and families as housing and job opportunities are very limited.
"As a school, we would like to offer our families a place to have laundry services, a shower facility, food pantry and clothing closet. Our small county does not have adequate laundry services for our families, so this leaves our families having to drive to another county to do their laundry and burdens them with the expense of fuel to get there, as well as the expense of the use of the facility. Our families that are residing in substandard housing, campers, tents, etc. may not have access to have a shower on a regular basis.
"Our vision for our school to help families is to have a location where families that need these services can access them without having to leave the county. Van Buren County Schools is in the early stages of partnering with the Van Buren County Chamber of Commerce and the Children’s Advocacy Center to provide a place for our families to have access to laundry, showers food pantry and a clothing closet at a location that is off school campus and that is centrally located for the homeless students.
"We are seeking other community partners to help us in our endeavors of helping our small, rural town families to provide more adequately for our students and their future. Please consider a monetary donation in any amount to help us see our vision through and help our small-town families. We are very grateful for your time, consideration, and anything you may be able to do to help us help our students.”
To donate, contact Van Buren County Director of Schools Cheryl Cole Cope at colec01@vanburenschools.org, homeless liaison/ special projects Denise Whittenberg at whittenbergd@vanburenschools.org, or Homeless System Navigator Jill Bouldin at jbouldin@vanburenschools.org.
