ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Even with a restraining order recently issued to stop the elimination of Job Corps, the waiting game continues for students and staff.

In St. Pete, there is a scramble to try and find a place for those young people who were living on campus at the job training facility.

Job Corps is the largest nationwide residential training program in the country. It’s also a program that Cheri Holzbacher said she never thought her organization, the Homeless Leadership Alliance, would be involved with.

“To be working to make something to be a contributing member of society, the pride of ‘I got my GED, I finished high school. I’m changing the narrative now,’” she said. “Our role is to coordinate the local system in Pinellas County around homelessness to end it and at least alleviate it, right.”

But with the recent announcement of programs being suspended at Job Corps locations nationwide, they’ve had to step up with the help of community partners along with county and city leaders.

“I’m really proud of all of the providers and everybody who just really teamed together and worked this out for now. The Band-Aid for now. But this is a much larger scale problem that deserves larger scale coordination,” Holzbacher said.

Department of Labor documents show Job Corps is planning to send each student back to their home address.

“The last known address, we’re talking about people who are 16 to 24 years old, many of them were in foster care, many of them don’t have a home to go to,” said Holzbacher. “They came from unstable living situations, abusive situations.”

Holzbacher said the young people at the job training facility aren’t suited for homeless shelters, and it’s a heavy lift for agencies like hers with such short notice.

“Just getting a 30-day notice that you need to, that your lease isn’t going to be renewed, is a big deal for anyone. That’s a lot for someone to carry,” she said. “Having less than a week without even knowing this was coming and not having that support system in place.”

Holzbacher said they’re getting creative, offering students funding to maybe pay a bill or rental assistance for a relative who may allow them to stay with them for now.

And they’re not forgetting about those heading to other communities.

“If the injunction falls through and we have to move forward, having conversations with the COCs across the state and say ‘Hey, you have some people coming your way. Wanna give you a heads up,’” she said.

It’s a short-term plan for something she says will have lasting impacts.

Department of Labor officials say Job Corps has been in a financial crisis for years. In a report, they showed how the program was underperforming and costing the agency millions of dollars.