SMU professors make comic book to teach educators about homeless students

DALLAS - Two SMU professors have designed a comic book meant to help counselors, teachers and administrators understand homeless students and help them get the resources that they need.

The 16-page comic, called Uprooted, comes from nearly ten years of data and academic research and focuses on the issues homeless students face in a very different and creative way.

"One of our colleagues, Dr. Kessa Roberts, she brought up the idea of Uprooted. The imagery of school is kind of the root, but kids that are experiencing homelessness, they tend to move very often, not only move where they're sleeping at night, but also change schools," said Alexandra Pavlakis, an Associate Professor of Education at SMU.

Pavlakis and fellow SMU associate professor Meredith Richards put together the book along with Utah State University's Kessa Roberts and Austin-based artist Kcy McKinney.

"These are sort of four intersecting stories. Students are experiencing homelessness in very different ways. One is in a shelter, one is living on the streets, in a car, one is living with their extended family because their dad is in prison. All of these stories highlight the ways in which these students might be hidden, but also just getting to school is hard," said Richards.   

The group decided to make it a comic book to help people understand the characters' stories better.

It is designed for people who work with kids.

"We're not just talking about teachers and principals, you know, bus drivers, people who staff our cafeterias as well as people who work in the non-profits like after-school tutoring and community centers, and we hope that it's a helpful tool for professional development for training," said Pavlakis.

The creators hope the book sheds a light on the 1.2 million known K-12 students nationwide who have experienced homelessness. Their data shows there are 100,000 homeless students in Texas and some 20,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth.

"Schools are that hub of social services for these students, so hopefully by increasing awareness within schools, we're increasing the ways in which schools can continue to help these kids," said Richards.

Uprooted is free online, and it is being distributed nationwide to school districts, nonprofits and other groups that work with homeless students.