From left, Woodland Public Schools Community, Family, Student Resource Coordinator Leslie Mohlman, Woodland Public Schools Executive Director of Learning Supports and Alternatives Jake Hall, Love Overwhelming Founder and Executive Director Chuck Hendrickson, and Love Overwhelming Housing Navigator Jill Boaglio stand next to food at the Woodland Family Community Resource Center. A collaboration between the school district and Love Overwhelming has resulted in a $55,000 state grant going to help staff housing navigators to help families.
Woodland Public Schools is the beneficiary of a $55,000 grant from the Washington state Department of Commerce that will go to help homeless district students and families, thanks in part to working with a local nonprofit to secure the funds.
A release from the district stated that WPS, through partnership with Cowlitz County-based Love Overwhelming, was able to secure the funding from the department. Last month the two organizations received their $55,000 grant which will be used to provide additional staff support in the form of Housing Navigators, individuals who work directly with students and their families to find housing.
The funding came from the work of WPS’ “Our Kids, Our Business” community task force which formed in March. The task force is dedicated to addressing the needs of students and families who are currently underserved and underresourced.
“The district took a serious look at Love Overwhelming’s staff and services, and decided they would make an excellent collaborative partner to raise awareness of the needs affecting vulnerable members of our community experiencing homelessness by helping to provide resources and assistance,” WPS Community, Family, Student Resource Coordinator Leslie Mohlman stated in the release. “Together, Woodland Public Schools and Love Overwhelming identify and line up resources and services to give our homeless students and their families the help they need to find employment and homes.”
“Clark and Cowlitz counties are currently experiencing a housing crisis,” Chuck Hendrickson, Founder and Executive Director of Love Overwhelming stated in the release. “For example, only 1.6 percent of all housing in Vancouver is classified as ‘affordable’ which presents an incredible challenge for families who need low-income housing.”
Hendrickson started Love Overwhelming in 2009 after working for a mental health agency where many applicants struggled to find housing. One of the largest barriers he discovered was simply locating where affordable housing opportunities were.
“We know of more than 30 families in our area alone who currently live in vehicles or other forms of residence not intended for permanent human habitation with more than 70 additional families who already have support vouchers but still cannot find homes to rent,” Hendrickson explained. “For me, it’s my faith that drives me – helping people find homes is my mission.”
“We’ve seen applicants already approved for housing support lose their vouchers because they couldn’t find available homes over the course of an entire year,” explained Jill Boaglio, a Housing Navigator from Love Overwhelming assigned to Woodland Public Schools. “We help those in need locate, obtain, and maintain housing while also helping them learn life skills ranging from attending substance abuse treatment programs and locating behavioral health services to learning tasks as simple as how to get a public library card so families can borrow books and improve their education.”
“The goal of the Homeless Student Stability Program is to provide consistent education for homeless students through housing stability by helping any family experiencing a housing crisis,” Mohlman stated. “To this end, we help homeless families break through the barriers preventing them from obtaining permanent housing which often include the myriad of costs involved in simply applying for housing.”
Apart from securing housing, Woodland Public Schools and Love Overwhelming also use flex funding to offer resources to families in need including personal health and hygiene items, transportation passes, utility deposits and emergency payments, rental application fees and background and credit check application fees.
Students and families who qualify for the McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act, a federal law created to ensure the enrollment and educational stability of homeless children and youth, are the top priority of the groups’ focus.
"Our goal is to connect the under-resourced families we serve with the organizations offering help in Clark and Cowlitz counties," Mohlman said. "We want to help families line up jobs and get work so they may improve their lives."
The Woodland Public Schools Family Community Resource Center (FCRC) provides resources and services to students and their families in need who live in either Cowlitz or Clark counties. To find more information about services offered by the FCRC or to find ways you can support the FCRC, you can visit their website at woodlandschools.org/fcrc , email mohlmanl@woodlandschools.org, or call 360-841-2718.
