Local organizations help financial strain amid back to school season [Video]

With the return to the classroom just around the corner, the United Way Centraide Windsor-Essex Chatham-Kent will soon be handing out hundreds of backpacks filled with school supplies to registered families in need in in the region.

Back to school celebration events are scheduled to take place Friday, Aug. 16 in Leamington and again on Friday, Aug. 23 in Windsor, where more than just the basics will be distributed.

“We are seeing an increase again,” said CEO Lorraine Goddard.

Last year, families lined up hours in advance of doors opening ahead of the Backpacks for Success distribution event in Windsor.

“The percentage of families that are living in low income, across our community when we look at the whole region, it’s one in five,” Goddard explained. “When we narrow it down to certain neighborhoods, it’s one in three.”

The Backpacks for Success program provides students in need from kindergarten through …