Overcoming Homelessness: Liz's Story

Today in 2014, 22,712 youth are without a place to call home in New York City (“Basic”). Graduating high school often proves to be an extreme challenge for those without a permanent home, especially when they must prioritize their time towards getting their next meal instead of going to class. Many struggle to get a proper education, resulting in students dropping out. Picturing a homeless teenager not only attending high school, but graduating and making it to an Ivy League college seems highly unlikely. Liz Murray is among the few homeless youth who have made it all the way to Harvard University. Through the memoir, Breaking Night, Liz shares her story of her parents’ drug-filled lifestyle and the restrictions that her teenage homelessness put on her ability to receive an education. She brings to life the harsh reality and instability of living on the streets in New York City during the 1990s, a challenge that thousands of youth face to this day.

Living without a home can put an individual at a high risk of finding themselves in dangerous situations. Among these are the possibility of: being harmed or exploited by others, raped or sexually abused, or doing illegal things, such as prostitution or drug dealing, in order to make a living (“Being”). Along with these perils comes the problematic issue of attending school. Fifty percent of homeless youth, aged sixteen or older, reported dropping out of school, being expelled, or suspended (“NRS”). Many times a youth’s attention will be more focused on their basic needs, food and shelter, and schooling no longer is a necessity to them. When an adolescent does, however, wish to enroll and attend school they are met with restrictions that prevent them from getting an opportunity. In ...

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