Dover home keeping youth off the streets
KISH homes is a new transitional home in Dover that was started by a social worker who was tired of seeing kids on the streets.
“The foster mom pulled me aside and she said he can’t stay here anymore and I was like well can you give me at least some time for me to look for him a place to stay and she said no he has to leave today,”said Dr. George as she explained what made her want to start a transitional home.
Over the course of a year 6,000 people will be homeless throughout the state of Delaware according to a study done by the Homeless Planning Council of the state. Those numbers are growing, specifically in Dover where there are over 100 known homeless men, women, and families living in the community.
“We rode around this whole Dover area and all the shelters were full,” said Dr. George as she continued her story. “At the end of the day, I can’t take him home with me so I remember parking in a parking lot and I sat him down and said think, where can you go and with tears running down his face he said, I have no place to go.”
Dr. George worked towards opening KISH transitional home for seven years and with the help of investors, last year, she was able to fulfill that dream. Currently, she is renting a three bedroom apartment IN Dover that holds 4 people for up to an 18 month period. But Dr. George tells us it usually doesn’t take that long to get them transitioned into a better situation. Like her publicist, La’Reka Marshall, who was also homeless.
“Here in Maryland and Dover Delaware, it’s an epidemic of homelessness,” said Marshall. “There’s a lot of people hurting and there’s a lot of people who need help and there’s really not a lot of resources.
We were told that, with the help of investors, Dr. George plans to open a bigger home. KISH homes is a nonprofit organization so all donations are greatly appreciated. Currently there are four girls living within the facility and since their arrival they’ve found jobs and have started art therapy. For information on how to get involved, visit their webpage: http://kishhomeinc.org/
Also, staying in Dover, Pastor Aaron Appling of Victory Church has been an advocate for the homeless community for years. Victory Church serves as a rest haven for the homeless population in Dover. Aaron and his team created Tiny Homes as a solution. But the city council rejected the idea saying they need proper approval before extending shelter to the homeless.
Today we took a trip to Victory church and was introduced to Alexia Simms who is battling lupus. She is 21 years old and has a one year old daughter and a baby on the way. Alexis is also blind and homeless.
