Hamilton, 28, has worked in poor inner-­city schools and affluent suburban schools, and says he’s not surprised poverty and homelessness exist in both. He’s come to recognize the so-­called “red flags” of kids in trouble and advocate for them—mainly because he, too, lived on the brink as a teen. He lived with his mother and brother in a decrepit mobile home for much of his life. Now he’s a mentor for homeless and at-risk students.