homeless students

Poverty Solutions published their annual impact report detailing different policy areas they focused on and different milestones they reached in 2025.

President Trump’s recent executive order to criminalize homelessness is the wrong approach that takes resources from those struggling to find long-term housing, according to Jennifer Erb-Downward, director of housing stability programs and policy ini...

Jennifer Erb-Downward offered analysis of the potential impact of federal funding cuts based on her research on the educational implications of homelessness in guest commentary for Brookings and The 74.

A recent study conducted by the Wayne State University College of Education’s Detroit Partnership for Education Equity & Research (Detroit PEER) found that students experiencing homelessness and housing instability are severely under-identified by De...

Jennifer Erb-Downward, Chalkbeat: "There should be a stronger relationship between homelessness and poverty, and the fact that there’s not supports that there’s under-identification taking place... We, somehow, as a society, have agreed that it is OK...

Jennifer Erb-Downward, Detroit Free Press: “The reach of these early learning programs for children experiencing homelessness is not what we need to see if we actually want to see children truly thriving in their lives and in their education. And it'...

Evidence shows that students experiencing homelessness get disciplined at higher rates than students who were not. Jennifer Erb-Downward, senior research associate at Poverty Solutions, believes schools should take housing status into consideration w...

Jennifer Erb-Downward is a senior research associate at U-M's Poverty Solutions who studies child and family homelessness. Her research explores the connections between student homelessness and school discipline rates, academic proficiency, graduatio...

High school-aged youth who are homeless report higher rates of attempted suicide, prescription drug misuse, pregnancy and being forced to have sex.  Transgender youth are especially at risk of experiencing homelessness and being estranged from a ...

A new U-M publication found that Michigan students who have experienced homelessness are disproportionately suspended or expelled. Jennifer Erb-Downward, senior research associate at Poverty Solutions, described the finding's real-life impact.  “...

Federal lawmakers continue to seek out University of Michigan faculty members to lend their expertise and knowledge to help inform federal policy. In the last year, 13 U-M faculty members and researchers testified at 14 congressional hearings spa...

Jennifer Erb-Downward spoke with WDET about the pervasive undercounting of children who experience housing instability or homelessness, and it's long-lasting impacts on their education. ”In every single classroom in Michigan there’s going to be a...

A new analysis released by Poverty Solutions paints a grim picture about homeless students in Detroit. It shows that they are more likely to miss school on a regular basis, less likely to graduate, suspended or expelled at higher rates than other stu...