“The situation is pretty dire right now with homelessness in the Helena area,” said Michele Zentz, homeless liaison for Helena Public Schools.

Hundreds of students in the Helena area are experiencing homelessness—couch surfing, sleeping in their cars, unsure when their next meal will be.

We are just about a month into the 2025-2026 academic year, and Helena Public Schools has already identified 253 students who meet the definition of homeless under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. That is 43 more students than at this time last year.

(WATCH: School officials talk about rise in homeless student population) Homeless student population in Helena area on the rise

“We track the students who are experiencing homelessness in our school district,” said Kaitlyn Hess, director of a

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