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A report published Oct. 27, 2026, recounts how Jasmine Budd-Ferguson and her mother spent years without stable housing, moving among relatives’ homes, friends’ homes and a motel. The report says she struggled with school and her mental health, later moved into a stable home at 16, and graduated six months early.
Jasmine Budd-Ferguson spent years moving between temporary places to stay with her mother in Georgia, an experience that disrupted her schooling and affected her mental health, according to a report published Tuesday by The 74. The account traces how the family’s housing instability began after a move to her mother’s home and how Jasmine later found a stable place to live, returned to her education and graduated six months early.
Jasmine had lived with her father and stepmother for more than six years before a change in her parents’ custody arrangement led her to move in with her mother at age 13. She recalled that school had been a safe place where she had friends, making the move and change of schools difficult. About a month after she moved, her mother received an eviction notice, giving them 90 days to leave, according to the report.
The two first stayed for about six months with a relative, while most of their belongings went into storage. After they had to leave that home in early 2020, Jasmine and her mother moved among the homes of her mother’s friends and Walmart coworkers. Some stays lasted a night or two, others a week or two; Jasmine recalled that their longest stay in one home during that period was about 45 days. At times, they had no available couch or bed and spent nights near a QuikTrip convenience store. Her mother later worked at both Walmart and the gas station, eventually securing a car and a motel room early in Jasmine’s freshman year, in fall 2020.
Jasmine said she began missing school during freshman year and stopped attending in January 2021, describing her mental health as severely affected. She passed the year after completing remedial classes, though she said she cheated through them. In October 2021, after being marked truant, she was transferred to an alternative school. Her mother found an apartment around that time, but Jasmine said she continued to expect another eviction and did not feel secure. By 2022, at age 16, she had moved into the home of her now-husband’s parents. She later tried to graduate early by taking extra classes and completed high school six months ahead of schedule, the report says.
Housing Instability Reached the Classroom
Jasmine’s account shows how unstable housing can interrupt school even when a student remains enrolled. Repeated moves, long journeys to school and uncertainty about where the family would stay coincided with her growing absences and eventual withdrawal from classes. Her experience also illustrates that finding a home does not immediately undo the effects of earlier instability: after her mother rented an apartment, Jasmine said she still feared they would be evicted again.
The report presents this as one young person’s experience, not a measure of how often such outcomes occur among students experiencing homelessness. Its relevance for readers is the connection Jasmine describes between housing, a sense of safety, mental health and participation in school. Her account also draws attention to the practical barriers involved, including transportation and the loss of a familiar school community after a custody change and move.
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From Eviction to a Stable Home
The sequence described in the report began with Jasmine’s move from her father’s home to her mother’s, followed shortly by an eviction notice. After six months with a relative, the family’s circumstances changed again in early 2020. Jasmine and her mother then relied on short stays with friends and coworkers, and sometimes had nowhere indoors to sleep. The report says the family’s belongings were stored while they moved between temporary arrangements.
A motel room and car arrived in fall 2020, but the account does not describe that arrangement as a lasting resolution. Jasmine’s attendance and mental health worsened during her freshman year, and she was later transferred to an alternative school. Her mother’s apartment provided a more stable place to stay, but Jasmine described continuing to distrust that stability. At 16, she moved to her now-husband’s parents’ home, which she described as the first time she had a stable roof over her head.
““I didn’t even realize it was homelessness until after the fact – until I was literally on the street.””
— Jasmine Budd-Ferguson, as quoted in The 74
Details Beyond the Account
The report is based on Jasmine’s recollections and does not provide independent records of the family’s housing placements, school attendance, or the events that prompted each move. It also does not identify the school district or give figures for how many students in the area faced similar circumstances. Jasmine’s remarks about severe mental health struggles are her account; the report does not provide a clinical diagnosis or describe treatment.
The account ends after stating that Jasmine graduated six months early. It does not specify the exact graduation date, her current housing situation, or what support services, if any, she received during the period described. Those details remain unreported.
What the Report Leaves Open
The report does not announce a new program, policy change or scheduled follow-up. It closes with Jasmine’s move to a stable home and early graduation, without detailing her plans after high school. Any further developments about her education, housing or support would require additional reporting; the account does not say that another update is planned.
Key Questions
What happened to Jasmine and her mother?
After Jasmine moved in with her mother at age 13, they received an eviction notice and spent years in temporary arrangements, including stays with relatives, friends and coworkers, and a motel. Jasmine later moved into her now-husband’s parents’ home at 16.
How did housing instability affect Jasmine’s schooling?
Jasmine described school as a safe place before her move. During her freshman year, she began missing classes and stopped attending in January 2021. She later attended an alternative school and graduated six months early, according to The 74’s report.
When did Jasmine find more stable housing?
Her mother found an apartment around October 2021, but Jasmine said she still feared another eviction. In 2022, at age 16, Jasmine moved into the home of her now-husband’s parents, which she described as stable.
What remains unknown about her situation?
The report does not give the exact date of her graduation, describe her current housing or explain whether she received mental health or housing services. It also does not provide records independently verifying the events in her account.
Source: the74million.org
