This Research-to-Impact brief is the ninth in a series. It draws on multiple research components from Voices of Youth Count (VoYC). Adolescence and young adulthood represent a critical developmental window. Every day that young people like Ray experience the stress of housing and educational instability represents a missed opportunity to support healthy development and promote successful transitions to adulthood. VoYC elevates the voices of young people like Ray across our nation who lack the resources to achieve independence and make their unique contributions to society. Throughout this brief, we highlight key findings and new evidence on the intersection between education and homelessness* among youth* and young adults.Our research highlights the complicated interplay between housing instability and homelessness and educational attainment. Youth who left school before graduation were considerably more likely to experience homelessness. Likewise, youth and young adults who experienced homelessness were less likely to enroll in college.

This brief highlights opportunities for the education and homelessness systems to work together to ensure that youth are supported in their living situations, their educational experiences, and their career pursuits