University of Arkansas Journalism Students Honored in National Investigation of Homelessness

The Investigative Reporters and Editors has honored students in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media and six other colleges for their work on a national investigation of homelessness.

The Investigative Reporters and Editors, a nonprofit group that trains journalists, awarded the #NowhereToGo series of stories a finalist in the Student (Large) category in its annual awards competition, which involves journalists worldwide.

The #NowhereToGo project was led by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland, which spearheaded the largest collaboration of university journalism programs on a single investigative project. The University of Arkansas was in a coalition that included the University of Maryland, Arizona State University, University of Oregon, Stanford University, Boston University and University of Florida.

The Arkansas students working on the project included Michael Adkison, Mary Ellis, Mary Hennigan, Whitney King, Matthew Moore, Abbi Ross, Katy Seiter, Brooke Tomlin and Abby Zimmardi. All were students in an Advanced Reporting course or an independent study taught by Rob Wells, associate professor of journalism.

The IRE Awards judges said of the #NowhereToGo series: "These stories illustrate why collaborations can lead to groundbreaking investigative work. These stories laid out how cities around the country were responding to homelessness, including criminalizing the people that need the most help."

The Arkansas stories included:

• Life in a homeless encampment in the shadow of the University of Arkansas, by Katy Seiter

• Milwaukee evictions spurred by COVID-19, longstanding racism and poverty, by Mary Hennigan and Abby Zimmardi

• Many homeless college students are hiding in plain sight, by Abbi Ross

• Homeless women face extra health, safety worries, by Moe Ellis and Brooke Tomlin

• Homeless counts in Northwest Arkansas are hit or miss, by Michael Adkison