At the EdFunders 2023 annual conference, when we asked attendees what their most pressing concern was among intersectional issues affecting our work, housing was at the top of the list. This bears out in the data: homelessness rose overall by 12% in 2023 according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education, which uses a more instructive definition of homelessness, identified 1,205,292 public-school students experiencing homelessness during some point of the 2021-22 school year – this a 79% increase from 2004-05 (NCHE). The widening gap between incomes and housing costs is largely responsible, a disparity caused and compounded by structural racism and other forms of oppression.
This webinar will confront this crisis using a “housing justice” framework to address student homelessness, with an emphasis on youth and young adults. We will connect the dots between national advocacy on affordable housing, homelessness and education justice, featuring a report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and showcasing their grantmaking strategies at this intersection. We'll also hear from an advocate for students experiencing homelessness whose personal experience informs his work.
