Photo courtesy: North Strand Helping Hand
David Palinksi, founder of Project Lighthouse, a "drop-in" center for teens and young adults ages 16-22 has seen a huge influx of homeless teens seeking assistance.
In a recent WPDE broadcast, Palinksi says that 530 street kids came to Project Lighthouse last year, this year that number is looking like it will triple.
via CarolinaLive
"Over the 13 years that we've been running this program here, we would see, on average, anywhere from five to eight kids a day dropping in. These aren't new kids every time, they are repeat costumers, basically. This year, those numbers shot up two and three fold. We were seeing an average of 12, 15, sometimes 18 kids a day coming through the program," [Palinksi] says.
A lot of the new kids in the area are coming from out-of-state, from rural areas of Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky. Head over to the source for all the details and watch their broadcast. Also, WMBF's "Experts say numbers of homeless teens on the rise" write-up from back in April about the increase in homeless teens in the area, give that a read here.
Related:
In the area we have many organizations that offer help to the homeless and the less fortunate, here is a list of the organizations:
Horry County Soup Kitchens & Shelters
- Coastal Rescue Mission
Loris – 4350 Bryant Street – 843-448-1352
Shelter for women with children, food pantry, thrift store - Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach – 1411 Mr. Joe White Avenue
Providing food, medications, housing and financial help - North Strand Housing Shelter
Longs – 2335 S.C. 9 West – 843-798-9091, 843-504-0032
Shelter for men, women, and children - Promise Land Ministries
Galivants Ferry – 1786 Highway 29
Providing housing, food, counseling - Sea Haven
North Myrtle Beach – 505 9th Avenue North
Helping homeless youth - Street Reach Ministries
Myrtle Beach – 1005 Osceola Street
Homeless shelter, soup kitchen, emergency food
Horry County Food Banks & Pantries
- North Strand Helping Hand
2501 Long Bay Road Longs, SC 29568Crisis intervention center serving the North Strand Area of Myrtle Beach, SC. That provides food, clothing, and financial resources to those in need. - Caring and Sharing
Hemingway – 124 West George Street – 843-558-7966
Also serves Horry County
Food bank, financial assistance - Coastal Rescue Mission
Loris – 4350 Bryant Street - 843-448-1352
Open the last Saturday of every month - Community Kitchen of Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach – 1411 Mr. Joe White Avenue – 843-444-9383
Soup kitchen open 365 days a year - Lowcountry Food Bank | Chefs' Feast
Myrtle Beach – 200 South Broadway
Provides food for 400 Lowcountry hunger-relief organizations - Samaritan House – Cherry Hill Missionary Baptist Church
Conway – 421 Smith Street – 843-488-2265
Clothing and food bank – open Monday-Friday, 11:30-3 PM
Horry County Affordable Housing Resources
- Habitat for Humanity of Horry County
- Total Care for the Homeless Coalition – TCHC
Providing emergency, transitional and permanent housing
If you know of any other area organizations please let us know in the comments section below. Additionally you can find write-ups on many of the above mentioned orginizations here.