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On Campus Blog
Alex Friedrich

Video on homelessness at Minneapolis Community and Technical College

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In December 2010, I reposted a Star Tribune story on homelessness among Minneapolis Community & Technical College students.

Two and a half years later, an MCTC class led by former Star Tribune photo director Peter Koeleman has produced a 16-minute documentary on the subject, called "No Place to Call Home."

MinnPost has it written up here.

Koeleman says 1,400 MCTC students are homeless -- 10 percent of the student body -- a figure that's "staggering" compared to the state average of 1 percent.

The video profiles four homeless students.

A common theme: the inability to concentrate on homework because they're constantly on the move looking for a meal or a place to sleep.

A student named Cheyanna describes not getting to a place to sleep until midnight and then having to leave at midnight.

She says homeless students:

"... put more in effort just to find a place just to even do some work than to being able to accomplish their full ability on an assignment."

A student named Daniel says:

"The first couple of weeks of school, I was missing a lot of class. Just because when you don't have a roof over your head, unfortunately math might get put on the backburner."

Read the MinnPost story here.

One note: The strain of paying for tuition and fees, books and supplies -- all the while navigating the financial-aid and social assistance programs -- must be staggering for them as well. I have no idea how it's possible.