Breaking the cycle of homelessness | Kara Toone | TEDxBountiful

Key Concepts:

• Homelessness prevention
• K-12 academic indicators
• McKinney-Vento Act
• Chronic absenteeism
• High school graduation rate
• Teen centers
• Family advocates
• Data-driven approaches
• Cross-class interaction
• Social and economic mobility

The Problem of Homelessness and Current Mitigation Efforts:

• The speaker recounts an experience of giving a food card to a young, injured man experiencing homelessness, highlighting the troubling nature of the issue.
• Utah saw a 9% increase in first-time homelessness between 2022 and 2023.
• Fentanyl use is rising, with fentanyl pills seized in Utah increasing dramatically from 1,600 to 714,000 in six years.
• Despite a 600% funding increase for homeless services between 2016 and 2021, desired outcomes are not being achieved.
• The speaker acknowledges the importance of current mitigation efforts but argues that more focus is needed on prevention.

The Perspective from the Ground:

• A friend volunteering at a warming center estimated that only a small fraction of the people there would escape homelessness.
• The speaker volunteered at a warming center and learned from a staff member, a former drug dealer and user, that some individuals "choose" homelessness due to the perceived freedom it offers, despite the hardships.
• The staff member explained that while dealing drugs, he had more money and freedom, but his granddaughter inspired him to change. He now works at the center but acknowledges the trade-offs.
• This experience, combined with data, suggests that preventing entry into homelessness is crucial.

Davis School District's Prevention Initiative:

• Davis School District, in partnership with the Davis Education Foundation, is conducting an experiment to prevent homelessness by focusing on K-12 students.
• The initiative is based on the idea that public schools are well-positioned to intervene before homelessness begins.

The Link Between Education and Homelessness:

• Davis School District has between 1,200 and 1,700 students classified as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act.
• Homeless students are 80% more likely to experience chronic absenteeism than low-income students.
• Chronic absenteeism leads to lower reading levels, GPA, and standardized test scores.
• Homeless students are 7.4 times more likely to drop out of school than their non-homeless peers.
• The 2022 graduation rate for homeless students in Davis School District was 64%, compared to 92% for the general student population.
• A survey of young adults (18-25) revealed that those without a high school diploma had a 346% higher risk of homelessness than those who graduated.
• Lack of education was the strongest correlate with the risk of young adult homelessness, even compared to factors like being a young unmarried parent, low income, or LGBTQ+ status.

Teen Centers: A Proactive Solution:

• Davis School District identified barriers to school attendance and academic success for at-risk students, including lack of food, clothing, hygiene resources, transportation, and academic support.
• The Davis Education Foundation fundraised to build teen centers in high schools.
• Teen centers provide private showering and laundry facilities, quiet study space, food resources, transportation vouchers, clothing, academic supports, mental health assistance, post-secondary advisement, FAFSA guidance, and connections to housing options.
• The first teen center opened at Clearfield High School in 2021, generating significant community support.

How Teen Centers Operate:

• Each teen center is staffed by a family advocate who serves as the teen center coordinator.
• Coordinators connect students and families with resources.
• The focus is on providing resources on-site to improve academic success and graduation rates.
• Teen centers are open during school hours, and many offer services before and after school.
• All resources provided are tracked in a data reporting system.
• If a student frequently accesses the teen center for basic needs, the coordinator reaches out to parents/guardians to assess the family's needs and provide support.
• Success coaches help McKinney-Vento students make up missing credits and complete graduation requirements.
• Referrals to teen centers can come from parents, teachers, administrators, counselors, or other students.

Current Status and Impact:

• As of 2025, there are teen centers in all nine traditional and two non-traditional high schools in Davis School District.
• A 16-bed overnight facility is operated by a third-party provider.
• All teen centers and the overnight facility are funded by private donations and grants.
• Between August 2024 and January 2025, 67,000 individual services were provided to over 7,400 students through teen centers.

Advantages of Public Schools in Homelessness Prevention:

• Public schools can reach at-risk students consistently, even those who struggle with attendance, by providing food and social connections.
• Public schools use data-driven approaches to track long-term progress, which is difficult with adult homeless populations.
• Public schools bring together members of all socioeconomic classes, fostering social and economic mobility.
• The speaker's outreach to school districts nationwide revealed that Davis School District's teen center model and data collection system are unique.

Call to Action:

• The speaker encourages viewers to reach out to their local public schools to offer support to homeless students.
• She suggests marshalling resources to establish teen centers in other communities.

Success Story: Lewis:

• Lewis, a student who experienced homelessness, was able to focus on credit recovery and graduation with the help of a teen center.
• He finished high school with post-secondary plans and is now thriving.

Conclusion:

• Homelessness is a complex issue with no easy fixes.
• Public schools, particularly through targeted programs like teen centers, are uniquely positioned to prevent homelessness before it starts.
• The speaker believes that it is within our power to address this issue and encourages action.

Notable Quotes:

• "That's why these folks choose the life they do. They've gotten used to that kind of freedom and they don't want to give it up." (Staff member at warming center)
• "...if we want to actually reduce homelessness we need to apply many more of our available resources to prevention."
• "It is within our power to do this now, no time machine necessary, so let's get to work."