The Homestretch

What does it mean to be young and homeless in America today while striving to build a future? The Homestretch follows three homeless teens as they fight to stay in school, graduate, and create a new life. Roque, Kasey and Anthony will surprise, inspire, and challenge audiences to rethink stereotypes of homelessness as they work to complete their educations while facing the trauma of being alone and abandoned at an early age. While told through a personal perspective, their stories connect with larger issues of poverty, race, juvenile justice etc. The Homestretch follows these kids as they move through the milestones of high school while navigating a landscape of couch hopping, emergency shelters, transitional homes, street families, and a school system on the front lines of the homelessness crisis. The program examines the struggles these young people face in obtaining a high school level education, and follows them beyond graduation to focus on the transition when the structure of school vanishes, and homeless youth often struggle to find the support and community they need to survive and be independent. This is part of a public media initiative supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help local communities across America address the dropout crisis.