Impact Avenues to combat student homelessness

Officials estimate there are between 700 and 1,000 homeless students in Topeka and Shawnee County schools. The poverty and uncertainty of living in such a situation has a major effect on a student’s ability to learn. Topeka USD 501, the city of Topeka and the Topeka Rescue Mission, along with a number of other area businesses and agencies, have come together to launch the Impact Avenues program in an effort to combat this problem and break the generational poverty cycle.