Thread by @elizashapiro

There are 114,00 homeless students in New York City. We spent a day with two of them, to capture how much effort, help and luck it takes for these children to have a shot at a decent education.

Meet Darnell and Sandy.

nytimes.com/interactive/20…

The 114,000 homeless students represent a city within the city. There is no way to understand inequality in New York’s schools without grasping how much these children need to get by.

The city could be doing so much more to help them.
nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Darnell is 8 and commutes 15 miles a day from a homeless shelter to school. He loves football practice, but sometimes finds school bewildering: in 4th grade, he still struggles to read.

A third of the students at his East Harlem school are homeless.
nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Sandy is 10 and has moved 7 times in 5 yrs. She shares a bedroom with her mother and four brothers. Sandy devours books and loves school, but her teachers still worry about her.

Half of the children at her Lower East Side school are homeless.
nytimes.com/interactive/20…

I want to thank the team that made this story possible. Brittainy Newman was a true partner on this project and she is a remarkable photographer. @salcedonews met us in Bensonhurst at 5 a.m. to translate for Maria. @dodaistewart, @mlouttit, the Metro photo team brought it life.

@salcedonews @dodaistewart @mlouttit Many people have already asked what they can do to help. I'm working on it, and will respond to people individually and post more info here. But in the meantime, it's worth asking your elected officials what they are doing to help. There is so much more these kids need.

@salcedonews @dodaistewart @mlouttit Here are some ways you can help these families and many others:

https://twitter.com/elizashapiro/status/1196921922451312641