The number of homeless students in the US is the highest in more than a decade according to a new study. Most of the 1.5 million homeless schoolchildren stayed with other families or friends after losing their homes.

But 7% lived in abandoned buildings or cars, the report by the National Centre for Homeless Education showed. It is often caused by job insecurity, unaffordable housing, domestic violence and recently the opioid crisis. Living without a fixed address has a seriously impact on children’s education and health.

Less than a third of homeless students were able to read adequately, and scored even lower in mathematics and science, the report showed. “Homeless children are in crisis mode, and because they don’t have the luxury of focusing on school, they often fall behind,” Amanda Clifford, of the National Youth Forum on Homelessness (NYFH), told the BBC.(BBC)…[+]