♪♪♪ Narr: In the heart of Los Angeles, amidst the towering skyscrapers and the lights of Hollywood.

Sits another bright spot on a hill called Dunamis House.

This is home to more than 50 students in the Los Angeles Community College District, and it is where they are preparing for a successful future.

Xavier: Journalism.

So I go to school and I'm studying journalism to -- I want to become a TV sports broadcaster and also do something with real estate.

Faith: So I want to do something to kind of motivate foster youth as well, like a youth advocate.

Narr: These students have a lot in common besides big dreams.

Before moving into Dunamis House, a renovated architectural gem with walls, intentionally painted with flowers and inspirational quotes, each of these students experienced homelessness.

Sam: You know, we have an incredible team of people who are passionate about the intersection of what it means to struggle with housing and food and... and get through college.

Narr: Sam Prater is the founder of L.A. Room and Board.

It's part of a multimillion dollar pilot program through the Los Angeles Community College District to support students experiencing homelessness.

Sam runs three large homes for students, including Dunamis house, with 24 hour live-in staff providing a continuum of care and access to health and social services, as well as guidance and direction.

Make no mistake, Dunamis House is not a shelter.

It is a sanctuary made up of resilient students in pursuit of their college degree.

Sam: Our youth are coming to us with so much complex trauma and so our staff is helping them to unpack that, to cope with it, to turn trauma into -- and turn, pain into purpose and... and the like.

And so that's... that's the real work.

Narr: Sam knows what he's talking about.

He is one of 14 kids whose mother died suddenly when he was only 11 years old.

Sam dropped out of high school at 16 and experienced homelessness.

At 23, Sam was ready for change.

He earned his GED at his local community college in Detroit and then turned his energy towards getting a college degree.

Sam: That is when my life changed.

And I like, I swear by it, like college changed me, and the experiences that I had there opened my eyes to the world.

And so now I'm passionate about sorta like... make sure that everyone else can see and unlock the power and the potential and the promise of higher education.

Dr. Rodriguez: I understand fully the students -- I am the students that we serve.

So when there's an opportunity to put in supports, policies, resources that will help to serve the unhoused.

In this particular case, it's deeply personal.

Narr: Dr. Francisco Rodriguez is chancellor of L.A. CCD, the largest community college district in the state of California, with more than 200,000 students across nine college campuses.

More than half of the students are housing insecure, something Dr. Rodriguez is fighting hard to change.

Dr. Rodriguez: I know that in one generation, education can have transformational impact on a student, on their family, and on the neighborhoods that they come from.

This idea that education is the greatest accelerant towards social and economic mobility, that education should be accessible, affordable and available to all persons who walk through our door irrespective of citizenship status, age, ethnicity, zip code, color of skin, who they love.

They should be welcomed and embraced when they come through our doors.

So I just have this unflappable belief that education is the solution.

Narr: And back at Dunamis House, named for the family that stepped in to help Sam's family when his mother passed away, excitement is everywhere.

Right now, Sam's first 23 students under L.A. room and board just graduated.

The current students living here are ready to serve others and themselves by paying it forward.

Xavier: Just keep going and don't look back.

There's nothing back there.

Only look forward because there's more to come.

Faith: The bad things don't last forever, like, it does get better, and like just keep... keep that positive mindset because what you believe will happen.

Sam: What I know is that that all of us have the capacity to make deep impact.

What I know in my soul is that, like, the positivity that you sow, the good that you sow in people there is a bountiful and positive harvest.

Period.

And that I know in my soul.

Narr: Experts say California's housing crisis is impacting higher education.

One in five students at California community colleges report experiencing homelessness at some point during the academic year, according to a recent memo.

At four year universities, the cost of housing often exceeds tuition.

At a CSU, 53% of the total cost of attending college went to housing, while 28% went to tuition and fees.

UC students spend an average of 45% on housing and 39% on tuition and fees