100 Homeless High School Students Graduate in New York City, Awarded New Laptops for College

100 Homeless High School Students Graduate in New York City, Awarded New Laptops for College
(Illustration - Shutterstock)
1/21/2020
Updated:
1/21/2020
As the peak heat of summer 2019 hit New York City, so did rents across the city’s four boroughs, rising at their fastest rate since 2016, according to Street Easy market reports. And with the ever-higher rents came more and more homeless students living in the city’s shelter system while trying to finish school.

Despite the bleak outlook for many of New York’s working families living on the streets, the Department of Homeless Services took a moment over the summer to honor the more than 100 homeless students who had graduated high school in 2019.

As homeless student and valedictorian of her class, Alexus Lawrence, who celebrated winning a scholarship to Brooklyn College, told Spectrum News NY: “It doesn’t matter how you start, it’s where the finish line is, and make sure you go to the finish line and aspire to be anything you want to be.”

A report from Advocates for Children of New York for the 2018–2019 school year found that 1 in 10 students in the area, a total of 114,085 students, 85 percent of whom are black or Hispanic, were homeless. Per a press release, “More than 34,000 students were living in New York City’s shelters, and more than twice that number (73,750) were living ‘doubled-up’ in temporary housing situations with relatives, friends, or others.”

In these conditions, succeeding at school can often seem like the least of their concerns. Even highly motivated students like Alexus Lawrence have to live with the embarrassment of not having a real home. “You have your head down because it’s shameful,” Lawrence explained to WABC. “[S]ome people may bully you if they knew you lived in the shelter system.”

But for Lawrence, when her family was no longer able to afford rent, despite her dad working full time as a chef in a Brooklyn hospital, being homeless motivated her to reach higher. “It makes you stronger. It prepares you for unforeseen adversity. It makes you into the person you will become or aspire to become,” she told Spectrum News NY.

As for fellow graduate Ronaldino Crossdale, who also won a scholarship and started his bachelor’s at Baruch College in fall 2019, he told WABC, “I didn’t keep [being homeless] a secret. I just didn’t really make it a part of me, you know?” He credited his high school sports team and a kind case worker from the Department of Homeless Services for helping him achieve his goals. “I didn’t believe in miracles until I got here,” he said in his graduation speech after receiving his scholarship.

Part of the graduation ceremony involved each of the 100 students receiving a brand-new laptop to help them with their transition to college, along with a duffel bag that contained many of the things they would need for their freshman year.

“To see the light in the eyes of young people who we have been able to provide stability in the shelter system, now a helping hand to get to college, and just knowing what a difference they’re going to make—it’s an inspiration to keep doing the work that we’re doing,” Banks said.

As Banks explained, homelessness in New York isn’t about families not working. “They’re homeless because of the economics, the gap between rents and income,” he told WABC. As these amazing graduating seniors showed, all they need is a chance to show what they can do.

Ronaldino Crosdale told his fellow homeless graduates, per Spectrum, “Even though it may seem like you’re down now, there is no down because that down is going to lead you higher up.”