Jade Roeder 'Undroppable': Missouri Teen Shares Experience In Homeless Shelter (VIDEO)

This video is part of "Undroppable," a documentary project from @Jason_Pollock that tells the stories of young people who have overcome significant obstacles to graduate from high school.

After a deadly tornado ravaged her hometown of Joplin, Missouri, high school student Jade Roeper and her father moved into a storage shed without running water or heat while he tried to rebuild their house. Two months later, overwhelmed by the stress of her living situation combined with the everyday pressures of school, Jade moved out of the shed and into a homeless shelter.

Jade is now on her own in a program for independent living, paying her rent with the $600 per month that she receives in surviver benefits from her mother's death. Although her current situation is a step up from the shelter, Jade has found it challenging to focus on school when the difficulties of living by herself feel overwhelming.

'I've grown up a lot faster than everyone around me," she says. "In the last two months I've missed a lot of school because I don't have someone to help me get up in the morning and actually push me to go to school. Everything going on in my life is so overwhelming."

But Jade has grown up and she's on track to graduate high school. The budding detective knows exactly what she wants to do when she's finished. Jade plans to earn her bachelor's of science at Missouri Southern State University, and then go on to Florida State University for her master's in criminology. One day, she hopes to work for the FBI.

Watch the video above to hear Jade tell her story, and visit the "Undroppable" YouTube channel for more videos.

HuffPost Live will be taking a comprehensive look at the persistence of poverty in America Sept. 5 from 12-4 p.m. EDT and 6-10 p.m. EDT. Click here to check it out -- and join the conversation.