Three interns in the Missouri Legislature recently helped Missouri school districts gain access to federal funding to help students experiencing homelessness. Why were schools missing out on funding, and how did the interns find it?

This year, three interns at the Missouri Legislature who worked for Representatives Deb Lavender, Peter Merideth and Maggie Nurrenbern received a resolution commending them for a unique project. Santino Bono, Alanna Nguyen and Dylan Powers Cody found out that Missouri school districts had access to about $9 million in federal funding to help students experiencing homelessness. But many districts weren’t using that money.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with intern Santino Bono and Representative Deb Lavender to discuss how he and his fellow interns reached out to dozens of education officials, legislators and homeless liaisons across the state to connect them to resources before a September deadline — and what comes next.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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