Stability Starts at Home: Strategies to End Student Homelessness

April 18, 2:00-3:15 pm ET

Stability Starts at Home Slide Deck

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.

This event is intended for members and other education grantmakers. Event runs 1 hour 15 minutes.

There is no cost to attend this Grantmakers for Education program. Registration closes 15 minutes prior to the program time. By registering for this program, you agree to our Learning Environment Commitment. Thank you for your patience; we review each registration in advance.

Thank you to our cohosts, Funders Together to End Homelessness.

About the Speakers

James Crowder
Senior Associate for Local Policy Reform and Advocacy
Annie E. Casey Foundation

James Crowder, Senior Associate for Local Policy Reform and Advocacy at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is a committed advocate for policies and programs that enhance the quality of life for low-income families in distressed communities. He brings over 15 years of experience in the fields of affordable housing, community development, and policy research and advocacy. Prior to Casey, James was a Senior Associate at PolicyLink where he provided technical assistance to city leaders across the country on strategies for leveraging racially disaggregated data for policy change, and published several research briefs on themes ranging from employment equity to stemming residential displacement, and more. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a Master of Public Policy degree from Rutgers University, as well as a Master of Arts in African American studies from Columbia University in New York.

Michael Durham
Director of Networks
Funders Together to End Homelessness

Michael Durham is the Director of Networks for Funders Together to End Homelessness. In this role, he mobilizes FTEH members in collaboratives organized around topics or regions, including a group focused on youth homelessness, all pointed in the direction of housing justice and liberation. Prior to joining Funders Together, Michael spent 9 years at the National Health Care for the Homeless Council where he specialized in street medicine, alternatives to law enforcement, and workplace racial equity organizing. He also serves as the Board President of the Village at Glencliff, a bridge housing and recuperative care facility in Nashville. Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School. A proud single parent, he resides in the neighborhood in which he grew up in Nashville with his two daughters.

Katie Meyer Scott
Youth Homelessness Program Director
National Homeless Law Center

Katie joined the National Homelessness Law Center in 2021 as the Senior Youth Attorney, where she advocates for laws and policies that will help end youth homelessness. Before joining the Law Center, Katie was a staff attorney at Solid Ground in Seattle, WA providing legal representation to low-income people in administrative hearings and appeals for state public benefits. A 2006 graduate of University of Washington School of Law, Katie has also worked as the Director of Pro Bono Programs at Homeless Persons Representation Project in Baltimore, MD and served as a volunteer, board member, staff attorney and Executive Director of Street Youth Legal Advocates of Washington, an organization that provided accessible civil legal representation to homeless and at-risk youth and young adults. In her spare time, she is an avid gardener and enjoys exploring the beauty of the Pacific Northwest with her family.