College Student Recalls High School Homelessness

When Tierra Jackson was in high school, she was struggling. She kept getting yelled at for being late to school.
What most of her teachers and administrators didn't know was the reason for her tardiness: Jackson was homeless. Her mother was in and out of prison. She and her brother were living with her aunt and cousins. All seven of them shared a single room in one of Chicago's homeless shelters, a long bus ride from her school.
Her story (ttext and audio) can be found on the NPR Web site:
http://www.npr.org/2012/09/21/161473187/college-student-recalls-high-school-homelessness?ft=1&f=4516989&sc=tw

Advanced education is available, free in many instances.
Ocean County Library offers more than 500 courses thru Universal Class: http://theoceancountylibrary.org/UniversalClass.htm

Another source of classes is :

http://www.openculture.com/2012/09/new_additions_to_our_list_of_530_free_online_courses_from_top_universities_.html