College students these days have a lot more to juggle in their daily lives than just classes and homework. Some have to figure out where to lay their heads at night.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, nearly 92,000 people across New York state do not have a place to call home. Nationwide, more than 580,000 people experience homelessness.

Spectrum News 1 caught up with Omar Cunningham, 21, a college student and chess prodigy who has been on the move most of his life.

"We’re at the Corning Preserve. This was my stomping grounds for two months when I was homeless," said Cunningham.

Not long ago, that's were Cunningham lived. But as the summer came to an end and the temperature fell, it was time to find his next move.

"If it weren’t for chess, I most likely wouldn’t have been here," Cunningham said.

For the past few months, he's been staying in a repurposed wing of the Albany County Jail. The sheriff’s Home Improvement Project provides free housing for the homeless.

"When you've been through a lot of stuff in your life, especially when it's like, traumatic, or just like being a part of the system or like the legal system, or you don't have parents and stuff like that, you in foster care, it's hard to financially support yourself or even emotionally support yourself," Cunningham shared.

Chess is more than a hobby. It keeps him grounded. Omar learned the game at the age of 11. By 14, he was playing competitively across the country at a near-expert level.

But his teenage years took a troubling turn. He ended up in foster care, dropped out of high school and battled a crippling addition to alcohol.

"Everybody around me, like, all my friends, were dying or going to jail," he said. "I didn't want that."

Spectrum News 1

At 17, Cunningham left his life in Brooklyn to begin a new chapter upstate. He spent six months in rehab, moved into a new apartment and enrolled at Hudson Valley Community College.

Shortly after, he found his way back to the chess board.

"It stimulates my mind," said Cunningham.

While Cunningham likes to be one step ahead, sometimes life has other plans. This past August, just weeks before the start of fall semester, he was homeless and slept in the woods along the Hudson River.

He had some money saved through chess matches and financial aid, but not nearly enough to support himself.

"If we were to look at the price of rent with for one bedroom, it's like $1,200. Me being in school full-time, I rather be homeless. I would have had to pick up a full-time work, doing a whole bunch of hours, basically with nothing to eat," Cunningham explained.

During the day, you would find Cunningham on campus, and at night, on a bench, maintaining an "A" average in his classes.