By: Jahnee S.
I was 8 years old when I first experienced homelessness. Homelessness then became a struggle that my family and I couldn’t escape. I experienced standing in the snow, hoping my family and I had a place to sleep on a church floor; how packed and unsanitary emergency shelters are, as I got lice within two days of staying there; how “The Florida Project” brought me flashbacks to the many months my family lived in motels, and how I viewed peers with “the basic necessities” with such envy. Constantly moving and being disappointed led me to become extremely detached and avoid relationships of any kind out of fear of abandonment. Eight years later, at 16 years old, I was still experiencing homelessness. Though homelessness was not new to me, this experience as a 16-year-old was the most difficult because I was on my own without a family.
I began to struggle significantly with depression, and I often felt unloved and unworthy. I remember my mantra echoing in my head, “If everyone I ever loved left me alone, why should I care about my future?” My deteriorating mental health made me question everything about high school and if I would ever be able to walk across that stage. In October 2016, I became truant. I was part of the 87% of teens that experience homelessness and drop out of high school.
I did end up reuniting with my family eventually and we secured temporary housing in a new state, but at that point, the trauma and depression were so deep that my mental health had not changed. I saw no purpose in enrolling back in school because I was so overwhelmed. I had a major decision to make for the following school year – would I go CONTINUE READING: The Pursuit of Education: A Story of Homelessness, Perseverance, and the Impact of Caring Educators - ED.gov Blog