Unseen but Everywhere: A three-part look at housing insecurity and education among Colorado youth

Unseen but Everywhere: A three-part look at housing insecurity and education among Colorado youth

More than 16,000 Colorado students were homeless during the 2021-2022 academic year, according to state data. These young people crashed on couches and stayed in motels. Some slept on the streets, and many made their way alone, without a guardian. These students dropout more than twice as often as their peers. Older youth struggle to find a path forward as they age out of support systems. In our new series, Unseen but Everywhere, KUNC visits with young people across Northern Colorado to hear about their lives and academic experiences.

A young girl walks beside her mother on a sidewalk talking with another young girl walking in front of them. All are wearing winter coats and hats.

Jennifer Coombes

KUNC

暗黑爆料

How migrants navigate the complicated journey from Venezuela to Colorado schools

Lucas Brady Woods

Tens of thousands of migrant families have arrived in Denver from the U.S.-Mexico border over the last year. Some of their kids have joined the school system, but many others haven鈥檛. In the final installment of KUNC鈥檚 new series, 鈥楿nseen but Everywhere,鈥� Lucas Brady Woods reports on the slew of barriers standing in the way of an education for local migrant children.

Oscar Godinez-Avila stands over a rollout mat bed next to a tall white chest of drawers in a bedroom.

Emma VandenEinde

KUNC

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A roof overhead can make or break a college degree for young Coloradans

Emma VandenEinde

Nearly half of all college students nationwide said they struggle to pay utilities or rent while also managing medical, grocery and transportation bills. Thousands of college students succumb to these challenges every semester.

Lukas Moody, 14 poses for a photo with his mother, Marygrace Lankhorst, at a motel in Fort Morgan, Colo on January 16, 2024. Their family has struggled with homelessness for years in rural Fort Morgan, Colo.

Rae Solomon

KUNC

暗黑爆料

Unhoused kids in Colorado's rural eastern plains have few resources, no shelters

Rae Solomon

Youth homelessness is a big problem in Colorado. But in rural areas, where resources are scarce, social stigma heightened and transportation limited, kids struggle more to get help.

Our Process

A reporter leans down holding a mic toward a young girl as she walks on a snow-covered sidewalk with her mother and young sister ahead of her, all in jackets and winter clothing. — Reporter Lucas Brady Woods interviews Daleshka, 10, as she walks to school with her mother and sister on a frigid morning on Jan. 11, 2024, in east Denver.

Before deciding how to tell the stories behind these statistics, we wanted to spend time listening. In November and December, KUNC reporters went to meetings, made phone calls and scrolled through old powerpoints. We sat in on discussions among formerly unhoused students on Colorado State University鈥檚 campus, went to a meet and greet with young advocates in Boulder, and spent time on the Eastern Plains building trust with vulnerable families. Now, our new series highlights some of the struggles and successes we鈥檝e been hearing about. Unseen but Everywhere highlights the lives and academic experiences of young people who are trying to get an education without a stable place to live.