Tuesday, December 30, 2025, episode of the podcast The Excerpt: Homelessness continues to plague the United States. One of the hardest-hit demographics is students under 18. USA TODAY breaking news reporter Christopher Kang joins The Excerpt to share insight into how homelessness is shaping the future of America’s youth.
Press play in the player below to listen to the podcast and follow the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated and edited in its current format for clarity. There may be some differences between audio and text.
Podcast: For true crime stories, in-depth interviews, and more USA TODAY podcasts, click here
Dana Taylor:
America’s housing affordability crisis is leading to a surge in homelessness. And children under 18 saw the biggest increase, according to the latest tally from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Hello. Welcome to this excerpt from USA TODAY. I’m Dana Taylor. Today is Tuesday, December 30, 2025. According to the National Center for Homeless Education, there are approximately 1.4 million homeless students nationwide. USA TODAY breaking news reporter Christopher Cann joins me to discuss this growing number of students and the long-term impact on them. I’m so glad you’re here, Christopher.
Christopher Kang:
Yes, thank you for coming.
Dana Taylor:
You wrote that student homelessness increased by 104% between 2005 and 2023. I mentioned that the federal government tallies about 1.4 million students without housing, but I wrote that experts believe this is significantly lower. why is that?
Christopher Kang:
The main reason is that these students are simply difficult to track. Most of them are neither in shelters nor on the streets. They mostly live with other families in apartments or hotels. In the case of students, many do not tell their friends or teachers about their housing situation due to embarrassment or other reasons. And the same goes for parents who feel or fear that their children will be taken away from them when it comes to Child Protective Services. This is a story I’ve heard from many parents.
Dana Taylor:
Let’s take a look at why these students are considered a hidden group. We found that 70% of them doubled. What does that mean?
Christopher Kang:
As a result, across the United States, hundreds of thousands of homeless students live with other families, apartments, houses, and motels. In some cases, three or four families may live in one apartment. Currently, these students are considered unhoused under the McKinney-Bento Act, a federal law that guarantees homeless students admission and transportation to public schools. But other federal agencies, most importantly the Department of Housing and Urban Development, have a much more restrictive definition of homelessness, which disqualifies the vast majority of unhoused students from receiving assistance from agencies, such as rapid rehousing assistance.
Dana Taylor:
So, Christopher, how much does the federal government give each homeless student on average, and does that affect the problem?
Christopher Kang:
Although the federal government does not release exact statistics, including a breakdown by student, a recent analysis by the Learning Policy Institute showed that during the 2019/2020 school year, the McKinney-Vento allocation provided an average of $79 per homeless student. Now, after a huge influx of federal funds during the pandemic, those funds have essentially dried up. As researchers say, that’s not enough. This leaves many nonprofits, volunteer organizations, and the state itself to try to meet the need. I would also like to add that with the Trump administration dismantling the Department of Education, funding for the McKinney-Vento program is expected to be significantly reduced. Many homeless advocates and officials at the Department of Education are concerned about the future of the program.
Dana Taylor:
I would like to return to the point that housing insecurity can take a huge toll on both parents and students. Can you share some of the things you discovered there?
Christopher Kang:
Homelessness can have a devastating impact on a child’s education and future. Our research shows that homeless students have much higher rates of chronic absenteeism, meaning they miss significantly more time in class. They struggle with frequent school transfers and transportation. And as you can imagine, it’s much harder to concentrate and study when you live in a small space with other family members or spend time in your car, as some families do. On average, homeless students are about 20% less likely to graduate than non-homeless students.
Dana Taylor:
And what are the long-term implications for these students in terms of graduation rates?
Christopher Kang:
Researchers say lack of a GED or high school diploma is the biggest risk factor for becoming homeless as a young adult. This means that people who are homeless as children are much more likely to remain homeless as adults. And so did some of the parents I spoke to for this story.
Dana Taylor:
Can you tell me their story?
Christopher Kang:
Yeah. So I spoke to one of the families I talked to, the mother, Teroyah Jackson. She has lived in Washington DC all her life and now has five children, none of whom are currently housed in a DC shelter. But as a child, Teroya was also homeless with her mother, bouncing around shelter programs in Washington, D.C. He talked about the hardships of trying to maintain his own lifestyle and the pain of having to take his children to a shelter just like he did when he was a child.
Dana Taylor:
As you reported, it is often left to teachers or school staff to identify whether a student is housing insecure. Some school districts are building their own shelters and car shelters. Do they see these remedies as a sign of innovation, or as further evidence of the failure of the housing system?
Christopher Kang:
This means all sleeping areas, parking lots and other temporary shelters where homeless students and their families can sleep in their cars, are considered temporary measures. And as the number of homeless students continues to rise, they are deemed necessary to address the growing number of homeless students, especially since funding allocated from the federal government to regulate the problem has not increased at the same rate. So they’re just trying to fill a huge gap in funding and resources.
Dana Taylor:
And nonprofit organizations that appear to be struggling with growing support needs are filling the gap. Are we relying too much on volunteers and charities to deal with homelessness? What are we hearing there?
Christopher Kang:
Yes, these nonprofits and volunteers are a lot like states and school districts themselves, simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of children in need. They are trying to fill a huge gap in resources. And they do a great job, in some cases providing housing, school supplies, clothing, toys, and food for children. It’s not enough and they themselves will tell you that.
Dana Taylor:
I wanted to ask about a specific nonprofit organization you mentioned in your talk, Harvest House in Sarasota, Florida. Can you share some of their stories here?
Christopher Kang:
Yeah. That’s why Harvest House is a nonprofit organization in Sarasota that provides emergency housing assistance to families. And last year, the county commission cut funding to the county’s only nonprofit emergency family shelter. And in an interview with the Sarasota Herald Tribune, part of the USA TODAY Network, Harvest House CEO Dan Miner spoke about the heartbreaking moment he had to turn away a family of six, including four children, who were living in the back of a U-Haul truck. He described children who were in shock and said that with their funding so drastically cut, they probably had to refer the families to other resources to find a place to stay, but couldn’t keep them on their own.
Dana Taylor:
Christopher, after talking with a mother, you mentioned Teroya Jackson, who became homeless after her daughter contracted lead poisoning and had to move out of her apartment. After taking a closer look at schools and nonprofits, what do you want us to understand about how this crisis is currently playing out in hotels, duplexes, and homeless shelters?
Christopher Kang:
I think the biggest thing for our listeners to keep in mind here is that just to bring awareness to this issue, most people don’t realize how many students in this country are crammed into hotels with other students, struggling to stay focused in school, and relying on taxis and volunteers to get them to class every day. And with this issue having such a dramatic impact on children’s futures, it is important that more people recognize the severity and prevalence of this crisis. And looking forward, I think it’s going to be interesting to see what happens with the federal McKinney vent program and whether the changes that the Trump administration is trying to implement will have a significant impact on it, as many are predicting.
Dana Taylor:
Christopher Cann is a breaking news reporter for USA TODAY. Thank you for joining us on The Excerpt.
Christopher Kang:
thank you.
Dana Taylor:
We would like to thank Senior Producer Kaely Monahan for her production assistance. Executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think about this episode by sending a note to the podcast at usatoday.com. Thank you for your attention. I’m Dana Taylor. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be back with another episode of USA TODAY Excerpts.
