Joe’s Place has been helping Maplewood Richmond Heights high school boys without a stable place to live since 2006. The Huffington Post reported on the home, as a similar home for high school girls opened in Jennings around Thanksgiving.
In the MRH School District, at least 30 students each night are without a home due to serious family difficulties, according to the MRH website. At MRH and Jennings, there is a group of persistently homeless students who struggle academically.
After then-MRH superintendent, Linda Henke, told a local businessman about her concerns for serving these students, he wrote Henke a $10,000 check to get started on finding a solution.
“Joe’s Place tackles a complex problem with a straightforward approach: to collaborate as a community in providing a safe environment for some of our neediest teenagers, allowing them to pursue high school graduation,” according to the MRH website. “The program offers a group of teenage boys what every kid should be able to expect from life: a warm place to sleep, regular meals, and someone to provide guidance and affection.”
The Huffington Post tells how Joe’s Place helped MRH student, Presten Pinnell. “Pinnell moved in to Joe’s Place the beginning of his junior year, and his life soon transformed. Two years later he graduated high school. Now he is a freshman at the University of Central Missouri, where he is studying occupational therapy.”
See the full post in the Huffington Post. Read more about Joe’s Place at the MRH website.