Ken Marzinko doesn't really have time to talk about the causes of homelessness or compare Lancaster's statistics to those of other cities.
Ken Marzinko, who tracks the city's homeless children, stands in a storage room of clothing and school
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He's much too busy trying to help children whose families already are in that situation.
Marzinko is School District of Lancaster's homeless project facilitator, but the reality of his job — especially in this last week before school starts — is he must coordinate an army of volunteers in gathering and distributing school uniforms, book bags, school supplies and other items for hundreds of the city's neediest children.
This week, his office in Carter & MacRae Elementary School and the storage room next to it are filled with stacks of big brown boxes and plastic bags filled with school uniforms and supplies.
Pink phone slips are scattered like playing cards across his desk. The walls are covered with lists — lists of needs and lists of resources, including a network of churches and service organizations offering support, shelter and food.
"We'll have over 900 children this year," Marzinko said of the children living in one of Lancaster's seven shelters, or with relatives or friends, or moving between the two without a permanent address.
Technically, they're homeless.
Marzinko and his colleague, Becky Ortega-Lyda, are paid in part through a state grant to track the names and addresses of homeless children, making sure they are registered at a school and signed up to receive free lunches.
But they also work to make sure the children have a safe place to sleep and food to eat — every day of the week — in addition to clothes, shoes and school supplies.
"All of us" are feeling the tightening of the economy, Marzinko said, "but no one is hit as hard as the homeless."
"The reasons for homelessness are very complex," Marzinko said. "But I believe the only way to break the generational cycle of homelessness is to keep these students in school through graduation. We want all students to graduate, but especially homeless students.
"We want to make them feel welcome, but talk is cheap. It's one thing to say, 'We hope you do well,' but to say, 'We hope you do well, and here's a new book bag full of supplies and a new shirt and a new pair of pants' goes a lot further. It makes them feel more like their peers."
There are so many things people in the middle class take for granted, Marzinko said, that can hurt a child in lower economic situations, such as money for a field trip or a class picture.
Marzinko remembers getting a note from an older woman with a check for $25. She asked that the money be used to buy a pair of shoes for a little girl because she still remembered how the other children made fun of her shoes when she was in school.
Marzinko emphasized that all financial donations for homeless children go into a special fund for the children's material needs, including clothing and such miscellaneous things as class pictures and field trips. None of it comes from the school district or state grant money.
When Marzinko, 58, started as a social worker for the city school district 22 years ago, one of his duties was to drive parents and children to the administration building to fill out the necessary registration forms. Finally, someone suggested he save time and just do it himself.
While the problem of homeless children is a sad and growing concern, Marzinko constantly remarks on the overwhelming kindness of Lancaster County residents and their willingness to get involved.
"We have huge community support," Marzinko said, "from local churches, service organizations, businesses and individuals."
Marzinko, a city resident, does not leave his commitment to helping others at work.
"I believe we all share the responsibility of helping others, and I believe we have to practice what we preach," Marzinko said.
His wife, Barbara, and daughter, Mary, both chose to teach at city schools. (His son, Casey, works for a Lititz set-construction company, and he also has one grandson.)
As members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Marzinko said he and his family participate in the city church project to cook and serve meals, both at churches and shelters. They've helped move furniture for families in transition and bought Christmas presents for needy children.
He also speaks to organizations about the large need and the "smorgasbord" of ways volunteers can help the less fortunate in Lancaster County.
"I'm not a school superintendent. I'm not a mayor. I don't look at the big picture," Marzinko said. "I'm just trying to help one family at a time and I'll do my very best to help that family in Lancaster."
E-mail: jkelley@lnpnews.com or call 481-6026
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