ALPENA — Imagine leaving school each day and not having anywhere to go.

Homework is challenging enough when you have a safe place to return to each day, but for homeless students, that makes it even more challenging.

Every night, more than 300,000 men, women and children in the U.S. stay in homeless shelters. Untreated mental and substance use disorders can cause serious functional impairment that interferes with or limits a person’s ability to participate in everyday activities.

Many homeless people have coexisting mental and substance use disorders. One reason homelessness is a problem is that it leaves people in a compromising and often dangerous position. Without a place to live, homeless people have limited access to basic sanitation, food, warmth, and healthcare.

What is being done in Alpena to combat this situation? The Association of Lifelong Learners is hosting a panel to discuss the issue of homelessness at 2 p.m. on Monday in the Madeline Briggs Center at Alpena Community College.

Panel members include Vicki Densteadt who is with the McKinney Vento Homeless program; Barb Mathern, the Sunrise Mission director; Victoria Purvis, the director of Homeless and Prevention/Community Program; and Art Ohlrich, Veteran Services coordinator at the VA Clinic. Call 989-358-7207 for more information.

This program is free and open to the public.