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Forsyth nonprofit Community Connection outlines services for homeless youth, care portal referrals and collaborative work
Summary
A representative from Forsyth County Community Connection briefed the board on July 15 about the local collaborative’s data work, drop‑in center for unaccompanied homeless youth, Care Portal referrals and wraparound services; staff said the drop‑in center had 15 clients and helped several secure housing and education supports.
Forsyth County Community Connection presented to the Board of Education on July 15 about the nonprofit’s collaborative work, local programs for children and families, and a drop‑in center serving unaccompanied homeless youth.
The presentation matters because the collaborative acts as a local network that connects families to services—referrals, trainings and wraparound case management—and the drop‑in center works with students and young adults who may still be enrolled in the school system.
Sarah Pedre, representing Forsyth County Community Connection and the Georgia Family Connection Partnership, told board members the statewide partnership supports collaboratives in all 159 counties and that Forsyth County Schools serve as the collaborative’s fiscal agent under a state contract routed through the Department of Human Services. Locally, the collaborative conducts annual data reviews, makes multi‑partner plans for system‑level changes, hosts resource fairs and runs interagency planning teams (LIPT) to coordinate services for families facing behavioral health or substance‑use issues.
Pedre described a drop‑in center serving unaccompanied homeless youth ages 18–24. Staff reported 15 clients at the center (10 male, 5 female), of whom six graduated high school this year and seven are pursuing higher education; in June the center recorded 23 visits, eight enrollments in Medicaid, four clients who found longer‑term housing and one client who obtained a driver’s license and a car. Pedre said last year the collaborative served 20 children through Care Portal referrals with an economic impact of about $12,000.
The group also described partnerships and services: trust‑based relational intervention trainings for caregivers, planned resource fairs with more than 45 local partner agencies, a support‑services‑only grant from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for unaccompanied homeless youth and access to referral platforms (Unite Us). Pedre named staff on the program team: Marguerite (program director), Abigail (case manager) and Don Hooper (outreach coordinator).
Board members thanked the nonprofit and noted schools cannot provide all services internally; the presenters said partnerships and the district’s office space for meetings help coordinate services. Pedre asked for continued support and said a regional manager will review the collaborative’s compliance with updated state requirements on Sept. 1.
