TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - November is Homeless Awareness month, and the numbers for the homeless in the United States, and our area, are staggering.
Families with children make up almost 35 percent of the homeless population, with ten percent of Toledo Public School students facing homelessness.
Families are the fastest-growing homeless demographic, with four years being the average age of a homeless child.
Homelessness can be brought on by many reasons, with job loss, domestic violence and fires or natural disasters listed as the top causes.
Luckily, there is an organization in Toledo that can help people who find themselves without a home.
The Family House is a non-profit organization, dedicated to providing homeless families in crisis with housing and+- social services in a safe and caring environment.
Family House assists about 800 people a year, with more than half of those being children.
During National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, you can help Family House keep families together and get them back on their feet in times of need.
Just a $15 donation to Family House will provide a bedtime snack for a child for two weeks. A $25 donation could provide a full day of meals for an entire family or laundry soap for a month to 36 families who live at Family House.
WTOL is hosted a phone bank on Tuesday to make it easy for the public to donate to Family House.
Family House, in conjunction with SSOE, is trying to raise $60,000 to help families in times of greatest need.
With your help and generous donations, the phone bank raised more than $7,500 for Family House.
Many donors say they have a personal connection to the organization
"You know what was really neat, is those who answered the phone said that we actually had families who stayed with us in the past who are calling to support Family House. We had one caller who says they stayed with Family House when their child was young, three or four years old, and now she's a 4.0 student at an area high school," said Renee Palacios, executive director of Family House.
You can make a donation to Family House anytime by visiting here.
