By Kalyn Belsha, Chalkbeat, Photo: MediaNews Group/Getty Images, September 27, 2022
Kelly King was able to do something this summer she’d never been able to before: pay students to help others.
King, who works for the school district on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, used federal COVID aid to hire three rising high school seniors to staff a booth at a riverside park. There, as crowds flocked to a farmers market and free concerts, the students told residents how local schools could help families experiencing homelessness and offer other kinds of support.
The high schoolers, each of whom had experienced homelessness themselves, earned just over $10 an hour for the community engagement work. For two of the teens, it was their first paid job.
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