Nonprofit looks to build home for homeless students
The Unaccompanied Student Initiative has homes in Cheyenne and Casper. The nonprofit hopes to open another house in Laramie, specifically for Albany County students experiencing homelessness.
As Albany County Schools Superintendent John Goldhardt recently told the district school board, “The whole child is part of our educational system and a student who is in distress will never learn.”
But as of yet, there are scant resources to help students facing one significant source of distress: homelessness.
The Unaccompanied Student Initiative seeks to change that. The organization plans to build a home for Albany County students aged 16-20 who are considered homeless. The potential home could house 10-12 students who meet USI’s standards.
“Our main goal is partnering with the school district and identifying the students that are in need of our service — housing, food, transportation, security — and making sure we can work with them to provide those basic necessities and help them graduate high school,” said Austin Rodemaker, executive director of USI.
The program has helped around 15 students from Cheyenne and 12-15 students from Casper graduate from high school. While USI has houses in both Cheyenne and Casper, they are trying to fill the need for one in Laramie.
Students may be considered homeless for a variety of reasons — a guardian kicking the student out of their home, a guardian skipping town and leaving the student behind, the student not feeling safe in their home, or even guardians dropping students off at USI locations.
Rodemaker said USI believes the situation the student finds themself in is no fault of their own.
Typically, the participating school district refers students to USI, but referrals can be made by anyone. Once the students are identified, USI asks the student to fill out a packet and interviews them. Students choose to take part in the program and can choose to leave. Ideally, they become equipped to live on their own before they turn 21.
Students are required to be respectful, have a desire to finish high school, have a desire to work full-time once school is completed, and follow the rules of the house. Rodemaker said rules are typically taught with a reward-based system.
USI also takes efforts to protect the kids in its program and in its house. Donors will know where the house is located but the location will not be advertised. Rodemaker said this helps the kids feel safe within the program, giving them one less concern.
“The key piece is donations,” Rodemaker said. “But also just general support and networking growth. We’re a new nonprofit in the community, so the best thing people can do is talk about it. Talk about it with their friends, family, colleagues at work. The more people that know about it, the more support that we get.”
USI is in the process of raising funds to build the physical home. The program is also looking for help from local businesses that might be willing to help with construction. The estimated cost for the home is between $500- to $600,000. USI homes typically need about $200,000 per year to cover operation fees.
The team is also looking for community members to staff an advisory committee. The committee would help the USI board make networking connections within the community.
“An advisory committee is a localized committee that helps with things like fundraising, networking, public relations and those local things,” Rodemaker said. “They won’t deal with policies and insurance and things of that nature but they still get to participate. They help guide and direct the program, and we usually like to have 10-15 people in a local group. If there are people that want to jump on board and help guide and build this program, please reach out.”
Once the home is built, the program will need donations of clothing, hygiene products and cleaning supplies. They hope to hire next summer.
The program encourages students to see councilors, and Rodemaker said mentorship and tutoring are available through USI. The school district has also received Title I funds to provide tutoring for homeless students.