SRL and KQED team up to investigate student homelessness

Jacob Yanto, a recent graduate of SRL’s Hillsdale High School Lab in San Mateo, California, played a pivotal role in the newest episode of KQED’s “Above the Noise” on student homelessness by connecting the station to his friend Dante Wilson, who was homeless for 6 months in middle school.

In the episode, Dante tells KQED: “You’re not going to want to tell anybody because you think being homeless is like being someone on the street, you know, dirty, not clean, nowhere to stay, like those things go through your mind, so you feel like as if you have no reason to tell anybody.” The episode explores the ways in which homeless students are often erased from the national conversation on homelessness and how schools struggle to identify these students and provide them with financial and social services.

KQED’s original video series, “Above the Noise,” seeks to present well-researched, fair and balanced reports on trending topics that matter most to young people. This year, Jacob produced a video on an immigrant family’s reunion for SRL’s series New Americans. By helping KQED feature Dante’s life, Jacob demonstrates the power of youth perspective in connecting people and platforms to important stories.