Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan

Joan and Sanford Weill Hall
Suite 5100
735 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3091

Key Issues

Homelessness Research

Explore Poverty Solutions’ research on homelessness in the journal articles, working papers, policy briefs, news releases, and ongoing research projects listed below.

Homelessness Research Scholars

Barbara L. Brush

Carol J. and F. Edward Lake Professor of Population Health, Professor of Nursing

Alexa (Lex) Eisenberg

Lecturer, Health Behavior and Health Equity, School of Public Health

Jennifer Erb-Downward

Director of Housing Stability Programs and Policy Initiatives

In the Media

See all In the Media

19th News | May. 11, 2026

Why schools are opening parking lots for homeless students and families

Hechinger Report | Jan. 17, 2026

Homelessness is rising fast among a surprising group: Infants and toddlers

Seattle Times | Dec. 29, 2025

New report sheds light on babies experiencing homelessness

Gaps in Identification, Support, and Outcomes for Students Experiencing Homelessness and Housing Instability
January 22, 2026

By Tasminda K. Dhaliwal, Sarah Winchell Lenhoff, Jeremy Singer, Jennifer Erb-Downward, Whitney Miller, Bianca Burch, and Ariell Bertrand

Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk
Foster care policy and homelessness among youth transitioning to adulthood from foster care
November 1, 2025

By Mark E. Courtney, Sunggeun Park, and Justin S. Harty
Child Abuse & Neglect
Lessons Learned from Pandemic-era Aid: Opportunities for schools to improve the identification of children experiencing homelessness
January 31, 2025

By Jennifer Erb-Downward, William D. Lopez, and John Bulat
Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness in New York State: Barriers and Facilitators to Identification and Continued Enrollment
October 31, 2024

By Jennifer Erb-Downward, William Lopez, and John Bulat
A Way Home: Why Supporting Youth Experiencing Homelessness is Critical in Michigan
February 23, 2022

By Jennifer Erb-Downward and Amanda Nothaft
Continuums of Care Survey 2020: Results and Recommendations
December 22, 2021

By Kasia Klasa, Naquia Unwala, Scott L. Greer, Julia A. Wolfson, and Charley E. Willison
Recognizing Trauma: Why school discipline reform needs to consider student homelessness
May 18, 2021

By Jennifer Erb-Downward and Michael Blakeslee
Lost in the Masked Shuffle and Virtual Void: Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Amidst the Pandemic
November 1, 2020

By SchoolHouse Connection and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan
Losing Home: Housing Instability and Availability in Detroit
May 1, 2020

By Jennifer Erb-Downward and Safiya Merchant
No Place Called Home: Student Homelessness Prevalence and Structural Correlates
October 1, 2019

By Michael Evangelist and H. Luke Shaefer
Missing School, Missing a Home
November 1, 2018

By Jennifer Erb-Downward and Payton Watt
Falling through the Cracks: Graduation and Dropout Rates among Michigan's Homeless High School Students
April 1, 2018

By Jennifer Erb-Downward
A Snapshot of Homelessness and Housing Instability in Michigan Schools
February 1, 2018

By Jennifer Erb-Downward and Michael Evangelist

News Releases

News

How schools used pandemic aid to reach students experiencing homelessness

Child and Youth Homelessness in the United States, 2022–2023 Pre K–12 Students 1.37M identified as experiencing homelessness 2.8% identified as experiencing homelessness Children 3 and Under 451,369 estimated to be experiencing homelessness 3.8% were enrolled in Early Head Start Annual Homeless Education Funding $129M for homeless education funding 20.8% of school districts funded One-Time Recovery Funds $800M for homeless students (ARP-HCY) 61.9% of school districts funded Chronic Absenteeism Rate, Pre K through 12, SY22-23 Homeless: 48.2% All: 27.0% High School Graduation Rate, SY22-23 Homeless: 69.0% Economically Disadvantaged: 81.7% All: 86.5% Where Students Were Staying When Identified as Homeless, Pre K–12, SY22-23 Staying with others (doubled-up): 75.0% Staying in a hotel/motel: 9.0% Staying in shelter: 11.3% Unsheltered: 4.6% Other Support Needs Among Students, Pre K–12, SY22-23 Rural students: 12.3% Special education students: 19.9% Youth on their own: 9.0% Number of Unaccompanied Homeless Youth FAFSA Determinations SY18-19: 41,243 SY19-20: 37,481 SY20-21: 31,749 SY21-22: 36,011 Race and Ethnicity of Students, Pre K–12, SY22-23 Black or African American: 25.5% Hispanic/Latino: 40.1% White: 24.2% American Indian: 1.1% Asian: 2.1% Native Hawaiian: 0.0% Two or more races: 5.5%

News

SchoolHouse Connection and University of Michigan's Poverty Solutions Launch Comprehensive Data Profiles on Child and Youth Homelessness

U-M Poverty Solutions staff work with youth in the Detroit Phoenix Center's Summer Leaders Academy

News

Developing youth leadership to end youth homelessness

Homelessness Agenda
Poverty Solutions supports several projects that aim to promote a better understanding of the causes and consequences of homelessness and identify potential points of intervention.
Work-Related Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Unemployed Homeless Persons with Anxiety and Depression
Improving Coordination to Reduce Service Gaps and Increase Efficacy in Child and Family Homelessness Policy and Programming The project: The national system for preventing and addressing homelessness, known as the Continuum of Care (CoC), is not well understood, and the capacity of these systems to successfully address homelessness has never been evaluated. The Continuums of Care are most often locally-organized groups of actors that receive funding from the federal government to create and…
Breaking the Cycle: Refining the Trauma-Informed Clinical Ethnographic Narrative Interview (CENI) The project: In 2016, over 9,700 family households across Michigan, accounting for 24,766 people, entered an emergency shelter due to homelessness. The majority of these households were headed by a single female with one or two children under 11 years of age. Prior research has demonstrated that more than 90% of mothers who become homeless…

Key Issues

Homelessness Research Scholars

Barbara L. Brush

Alexa (Lex) Eisenberg

Jennifer Erb-Downward

In the Media

Why schools are opening parking lots for homeless students and families

Homelessness is rising fast among a surprising group: Infants and toddlers

New report sheds light on babies experiencing homelessness

Publications

News Releases

How schools used pandemic aid to reach students experiencing homelessness

SchoolHouse Connection and University of Michigan's Poverty Solutions Launch Comprehensive Data Profiles on Child and Youth Homelessness

Developing youth leadership to end youth homelessness

Research Projects