Faces Without Places founder wants to see homeless program expand

Karen Fessler has a message she wants you to hear loud and clear: Faces Without Places is alive, well and kicking.
 

For years, the nonprofit, grassroots organization that has provided nearly $1.5 million in educational support for homeless children in Greater Cincinnati was affiliated with the Cincinnati Public Schools. But about two years ago--and for a variety of reasons--the organization split with the school system, says Fessler, who is a board member and a founding member of the 17-year-old group.
  

But its mission remains intact, says Fessler.
 

“The most important part of the program is that we get kids out of shelters, we get kids off the streets and we show them that education is a way to experience a larger world,’’ says Fessler. “We want to broaden our reach. We want to broaden our horizons.”
 

Fessler declines to discuss what led to the parting of ways, but adds the founders of the program all left their jobs at CPS as well. 
 

“But none of us lost our passion for the kids and the mission of Faces Without Places,’’ she adds. “I want people to know that we are here, and we are committed to providing services. We are toughing it out through thick and thin--for the kids.”
 

The nonprofit helps about 3,000 school children annually in Greater Cincinnati. Last year, the group provided 7,702 services to 3,013 children, according to its website. Those services included providing taxi services to school for 112 students, uniform vouchers for 777 students, backpacks and supplies for more than 839 students and Payless gift cards for 320 students so they could get a new pair of shoes, a luxury for many, Fessler says.
 

The nonprofit is best known for its Yellow Bus Summer Camp, which completed its 15th year this past summer. Last year, 152 children attended the eight-week camp that focuses on reading and day trips.
 

Earlier this month, the group’s biggest fundraiser--the Yellow Bus Ball--raised more than $23,000, most of which will go to fund the camp. 
 

“The ball is critical because we have to have money to pay teachers and buy supplies,’’ Fessler says. “We can get grant money for field trips, but the fundraiser really helps us be able to put on the camp to the degree we have always done it.”
 

Fessler has worked with thousands of homeless children over the years, and she readily admits she is biased toward teens. 
 

“A lot of people don’t realize this, but these kids are completely out on their own; they are either staying at friends' or living eight, nine, 10 kids piled up in an apartment,’’ she says. “They are squatting and some are living on the streets trying to negotiate life … they are all living life on the edge. I am most impressed by their sheer tenacity and their desire to find a better life.”

Do Good:
 

• Register for the Mt. Adams Yellow Bus Pub Crawl on Saturday, Nov. 17.
 

• Attend the 5th annual Chili Taste Off on Dec. 9 at Northside Tavern.
 

• Contribute to Faces Without Places' wishlist of school and personal hygiene supplies.
 

• Sign up for the monthly email newsletter.
 

• Give back while you shop.