ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ

This article is one in a series at ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ which profiles the heroes, victories, success stories and random acts of kindness to be found at schools all across America. Read more of our recent inspiring profiles at The74million.org/series/inspiring.

“If you don’t have the basics of food and shelter, you can’t hope to attain the higher things,” Brown told. “Their sense of self-worth kind of changes.”

So Brown put her teaching career on hold to instead first build awareness around these basics.

She and 29 other cyclists are now traveling 3,932 miles from  with  in support increasing access to affordable housing.

“Tackling and adjusting the affordable housing cause is something that has to come first in order to help (low-income students) achieve,” Brown told .

Along the way, the group is building houses and giving presentations about affordable housing.

Brown stops often to talk about her students and their need for stable housing to build a foundation for their academics.

“When you have kids that needs aren’t being met at home, whether hunger or homelessness, then it’s that much harder to teach them in the classroom,” Brown told the .

Brown is a graduate of University of Florida, where the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies that for every 100 extremely low-income households in Florida, there are just 31 affordable, available rental units.

If you’d like to get involved in affordable housing projects in your community, Brown recommends  and .