MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — The Cove Waco has seen an increase in teens looking for their services this summer.
- Last year The Cove Waco served 140 teens in Central Texas who are experiencing homelessness, and just seven months into this year, they’ve served 108 youth.
- Harold Brown tells me they’ve seen at least 10 new teens looking for their services this summer. They see 14 to 18-year-olds fleeing domestic violence, sexual abuse and several with non-ideal living situations.
- More than 1,000 students in Waco ISD are classified as homeless in 2023.
- The Cove is holding their annual fundraiser In October to help continue their resources for struggling youth.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“You think of homeless youth and you don’t think that that’s here — tou think that’s somewhere else or in another country but it’s in America, it’s in Waco," said Marketing and Fundriaising Director with The Cove Waco, Harold Brown.
"We have homeless youth here in Waco."
Last year, The Cove Waco served 140 teens in our neighborhood who are experiencing homelessness, and just seven months into this year, they’ve served 108 youth.
“We’ve also had an increased number of CPS phone calls that we’ve had to make to refer our youth over to CPS," Brown said.
"We’ve had an increased number of police reports — we’ve also had an increase in number of emergency housing."
Harold Brown says they’ve seen at least 10 new teens looking for their services this summer.
They see 14 to 18-year-olds fleeing domestic violence, sexual abuse and several with non-ideal living situations.
“It’s a good thing because they’re able to get the help they really need — but it’s just unfortunate that we’ve seen such an increase in a number of teenagers who are looking for stable housing,” Brown said.
One place who's seen a lot of those youth, is Waco ISD.
“We did over 400 home visits last year,” Heldt said.
Julian Heldt supervises the Highly Mobile Student Services at the district — they help identify the needs struggling students have.
“I looked at our 2023 data, and we were sitting at 4.9 percent of Waco ISD students were identified as experiencing homelessness,” Heldt said.
That’s more than 1,000 children in Central Texas without a consistent place to call home — a place where to find safety, security, and comfort.
With more teens looking for help, The Cove Waco is holding their annual fundraiser, Pieces of Hope.
To purchase a ticket or make a donation click here.
