HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — In the eight years Dan Kearns has worked with St. Vincent de Paul Richmond, he says the Catholic nonprofit is now serving more people who are part of the “hidden homeless.”
“A lot of people are just on the edge,” Kearns said. “They may not be defined as homeless by federal standards, but they are absolutely not in a sustainable housing situation.”
Kearns said oftentimes, families who are considered part of the “hidden homeless” are living in motels but cannot afford to make a deposit on an apartment or home.
“In Henrico County, we were actually surprised to find out last year, there were over 1,300 students in Henrico schools that were considered homeless, and we found out that there is about 113 of those children, those students, that are living in this motel situation,” Kearns said.
This fall, St. Vincent de Paul Richmond is launching its Motel 2 Home program, which helps provide financial assistance with deposits and other move-in costs.
“They don’t have money to pay a deposit, they may have a challenging credit score,” Kearns said.