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VOA Home's Unity House helps houseless students kick off school year right

According to 2020 JCPS data, one in every 20 students that went to their first day of class don’t have a permanent home to return to.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It is a demographic of students that is sometimes forgotten. Jefferson County Public School students that don’t have permanent homes also went back to school Wednesday.

According to 2020 JCPS data, one in every 20 students that went to their first day of class don’t have a permanent home to return to.

That means more than 5,000 students could be sleeping on someone’s couch, staying with a family friend or sleeping in a shelter.

At Volunteers of America’s (VOA) Home's Unity House, they help make sure the students kick off the school year right.

“It takes a lot of coordination with JCPS, with our children's coordinator, to get everybody ready to go," said Tamara Reif, the senior director of housing at VOA Home's Unity House.

The Unity House has about 20 students who are houseless in their care who got new backpacks and school supplies thanks to Louisville donors.

The house also lets students stay while their families find somewhere they can call home.

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