Homes Needed For Exchange Students

As the school year creeps closer, Deb Evans, Connecticut’s coordinator the PAX academic exchange program, struggles to find homes for foreign exchange students. She is looking for host families in Ledyard, Groton, and Stonington. The homes need to ready by Friday, August 19.

Roughly 150 students still need homes, Evans said. These hopeful visitors are looking for places to stay not only in Ledyard, but throughout the U.S. Nationwide, PAX is having trouble finding host families.

So far, Evans has found only one student a home in Ledyard. “Last year I had to turn people away,” she said, because there were more willing families than visiting students. But this year, she said many of the students may be unable to come.

“I’m just worried we won’t be able to place these kids, and that would be sad,” Evans said. “These kids put a lot of work into this just to be considered.

“It’s just a lot of different things,” she said. “People are afraid of committing for a full year. They’re afraid they’ll lose their jobs. Taking another person into your house is scary. But the good side is you get a new person to open your home and your heart to.”

PAX recently tried to find families through a phone campaign, but with little success. Despite the challenges, however, Evans still hopes to find homes for a few more students.  

“We’re hopeful,” she said. “We hate to fail. We want to fulfill these kids’ dreams.”

Evans said she plans to post signs around Ledyard.

“I have four kids in my mind that I know would be a good fit in Ledyard,” she said. These are two young women from France, another from Italy, and a young man from Brazil.

However, there are many other students, and families are allowed a lot of choice.

A family begins by filling out an online application. Evans then checks with the family’s references and inspects the home. The host family can then specify the sort of guest they’re hoping for, and Evans will try to find a child who will fit into that home.

“I just have to have an idea of who they want and what they want and I can find them,” she said.

The students all speak English. They come with their own insurance and spending money. The host family needs to provide a bed, a quiet place to study, and their help and support.

In exchange, Evans said, the family receives a truly rewarding experience.

“You have another child to love. You get to know their families. If you’re lucky, their families will visit you. You might visit them. The kids form a bond… You open yourself to this whole great new time in your life.”

Host families also offer great opportunities to their guests.

“One of my boys, Rafael, had never seen snow. For him, that was a highlight, to make snow angels, and to make a snowman," she said. "And in the fall, when the leaves change colors, some of the kids hadn’t seen that.”

Some of the students she worked with picked apples, carved pumpkins, and baked Christmas cookies for the first time in their lives. “That’s something we can give to them.”

Interested families can contact Deb Evans at 860-464-9480, or the regional director at 800-555-6211, extension 322.  Information and the application are available at www.pax.org.