- We have to talk about homelessness. (upbeat music) It's a serious issue, with harmful stereotypes that
aren't helping the homeless, and there are over half
a million Americans without a safe and
permanent place to live. There's no one way for them to look and yet popular misconceptions
about the homeless often vilify them as lazy criminals who could kill us all with their poop. Seriously. - So they land in shelters,
or in tents, or outside, and then they poop, throw
their trash willy-nilly, the rats eat the trash, and we all die. - Uh... People also think it's an
easy situation to escape. Do you think the homeless are lazy? - Yeah, I do. - I feel like it's more
convenient to sit on the street than to actually, like,
clean themselves up, and like, go try and find a job. - Well, if they weren't lazy, they wouldn't be on the street. - Why? - Because they have enough strength to be out in the streets and
walk around and not get work. - It's even become an insulting punchline, often paired with mental illness. - You really acted like
a crazed homeless woman. - So yeah, the homeless have a bad rep, but hold up. One of the most over-represented groups when it comes to homelessness
are college students. Over one in 10 have been
homeless in the past year, compared to less than 1%
of the general population. - I worked with a number of young people who have had to leave college early, mostly for financial reasons
or dysfunction in the family, that have caused financial
problems or mental health issues. - I see.
- A variety of reasons. So, it's not a new issue that we've seen. - So, why are so many
college students homeless, and what are people doing
to make things right? In Aniyah's case, she lives on the streets after fighting with her mom
over her gender identity. - My major is Human Services,
and the school I go to is Borough of Manhattan
Community College, CUNY school. - Where are you sleeping
tonight, for example? - Tonight, well, I have
class, and then after class, probably ended up at Port Authority. - The bus station?
- The bus station, yes. - And just sleep, like, in the station? - Yes, 'cause it's a 24-hour service. - How did you get to college,
but you're also homeless? - For my situation, I
feel like I'm homeless because of my personal situation. - Okay, because you're trans?
- Yes. - Right, you identify as trans. - Yes, I do. - Do you have a job or a
way to make money right now? - I am unemployed. I rely on sex work to survive. - Sex work?
- Yes. - Like prostitution?
- Prostitution, solicitation, yes. - Wow. Why can't you look for work now? - Because I suffer from mental illnesses, and my focus level, I can't multitask the way I want to. So, either I can either
focus on school 100%, or I can focus on work 100%. I don't think I can manage both. - Divine became homeless
because his family was already in the shelter system. This is his old room at a youth shelter. How long did you live here? - I lived here, oh, I
forgot somebody's in there. Yeah, I'm so used to this door, this. - Yeah, I can tell. - Yeah, this door brings
back a lot of memories. - The shelter is called
Covenant House for Youth, which got him set up with
a housing scholarship at the College of Mount Saint Vincent. - I actually went from here to college, so, when I went into college, I was ready, it allowed me to sleep there, and like, have an actual place to
sleep in until I graduate. - [Yoonj] Okay, but
you're still technically classified as homeless, right? - Yes.
- Because you're in their scholarship program? - Yes, mm hmm, I meant, yeah. - 'Cause like, when most people think of the homeless population, they don't think, like, college students, or like, people who are employed. - Of course. Like, for me, I was
homeless, and I had a job. You know, and so I just
didn't have a place to stay. - And college homelessness
is a national crisis for students across the country, like Bless, who became
homeless while attending Texas Women's University. Did you ever think you
were gonna be homeless while you were in college? - No, not.
- 'Cause it's kinda like crazy.
- Not in a million years, never thought I would be
in this shelter at all. - [Yoonj] No, especially
'cause like, most people think, "College, I'm set." - Exactly, and then you
get there, and you're like, "Crap, I am not set at all." Like, something could happen, and everything will just
fumble to the ground. - How did you end up losing your housing? - So, I withdrawed out of school. Yeah, 'cause I couldn't, I
wasn't keeping up with the loans. - Were there other resources
you could have used, like financial aid from
the college or shelters? - I did have financial
aid from the college, but it wasn't enough, 'cause
I had taken out loans, too, to help me be in school.
- Right. - And, in Texas, it's really
hard to find shelters, 'cause most shelters are for adults. - [Yoonj] So she came to New York, and is staying in the Covenant
House's crisis housing until she finds her footing. - I've been through a lot with my family, and it's taken me a lot of strength not to break at all, because it's hard to have family
who is not supporting you, but they want you to do
what they want you to do. So, right now, I'm just saving up so they can also help me find housing, and then I'll be able to be on my own, and hopefully, by fall,
I'll be back in school. - So, it sounds like it could
be personal family issues, financial issues.
- Sure. - Are those the main
reasons you're seeing? - Probably once they're in college, those are the main reasons why they might be leaving college. - And what resources are available to help them at this point? - Certainly, within
the schools themselves, there may be counselors
that are there to help them, but there are also
community-based organizations in many cities, like in
New York City, for example. There are lots of
community-based organizations that can be of assistance
in terms of housing, shelter, transitional housing. So there are a number of
ways that we can assist them. - Did you know that one in 10
college students are homeless? - No, I haven't. - Does that change your views on them? - Yes, it does. (laughs) That's crazy. - [Yoonj] And these students don't want to be homeless forever. They have bigger plans. - I'm actually the first one
in my family to graduate. - Congratulations!
- Thank you. - That's awesome!
- Thank you. - [Yoonj] What's your dream job? - [Aniyah] I wanna go to
training, HIV training. - [Yoonj] Okay, like health care, - [Aniyah] Health care training, learning more about health care policies, a whole bunch of different things.
