Whether it’s snacks to grab throughout the day, meals to take home at night or an extra pencil for the next day, Homewood High School’s new Care Closet program provides students with essentials at no cost.
Homewood Helps, a program designed in 2023 to ensure every student in Homewood has access to food and a bed, has paired with the HHS counseling department to develop the Care Closet after recognizing the need for a more innovative way to give high school students helpful resources. The program has paired with many local churches to pack student meal bags for Homewood residents.
Before Homewood Helps, HCS implemented a program where volunteers packed meal bags to send home with students in need over the weekend, an initiative organized by the Trinity Methodist outreach hub. Unfortunately, the program did not take off at the high school level, where students often wanted to avoid bringing the meals home. However, having a space where students could get a snack at school proved more effective.
HHS student assistance counselor Katie Smith elaborated on the need for a space where students can always have a space to find something to eat.
“We wanted to have a space available that had snack food, some breakfast food, and meals they could take home overnight or on the weekends if needed,” Smith said.
The counseling department intentionally designed the Care Closet to make a safe, discrete space for students to come and go freely.
“They don’t have to have an adult tell them whether or not it’s ok,” Smith said. “It’s there and available, and we want students to come and use it at their own discretion, to feel comfortable and know it is there for anyone who wants to come by.”
Along with the dry goods, there is a freezer in the closet donated by the Homewood Class of 2024 PTO with frozen meals for students to take home with them.
David Thompson, Executive Pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church and member of the Homewood City Schools board, has played a large role in the development of Homewood Helps and in supporting the Care Closet.
“We realized the issue of students being hungry was something that could be solved together as a community,” Thompson said. “We created Homewood Helps through the school system with the help of other churches in the area.”
The Care Closet is much more than just food, however. There is space for toiletries, hygiene products, hair care, school supplies and extra Homewood T-shirts.
The counseling department also initiated a homecoming dress swap-and-shop on Aug. 27 where students donated dresses for anyone to take home. It was a great way for students to help each other and get a dress while avoiding fast fashion or spending a lot of money on a dress that may only be worn once. For students still needing a dress, those remaining dresses can be found in the counselors’ suite.
“We are so lucky to have a generous community that has continued to ask ‘How can we help? How can we continue to support students?’,” she said.” Homewood Helps has allowed people who want to donate to be able to use them as part of the programs we already have.”
Thompson also observed and admired the unifying aspects of the community getting together to solve food insecurity in the Homewood community.
“The cool thing about Homewood is that diversity is such a crucial part of our community,” Thompson said. “We know this is a solvable problem. We know that every kid who is hungry can have food.”
Having access to resources like Homewood Helps and the Care Closet helps students be the best versions of themselves.
“We realized that when students have enough food and a quality night’s sleep they are going to be better students and do better in the classroom and their extracurriculars,” Thompson said. “We hope it will help students academically to know that if they are hungry, they always have a place to get food.”
The ultimate mission of the Care Closet is for Homewood families to know they are always supported through the school system and community. If you want to contribute to the cause, all donations can be dropped off in the counselor’s suite. Or, you can get involved with the Homewood Helps program through local churches. https://www.homewoodhelps.com/
“Our hope is that every student at Homewood who needs food is not shy about it,” Thompson said. “No one is documenting who goes in there. It shouldn’t be awkward or embarrassing.”
