College Student Homelessness
December 1, 2020
College Student Homelessness
Most people know or have encountered homeless youth at some point in their lives without even realizing it. Persons 18-24 years old are eligible for homeless and preventative services. This older subpopulation of youth is often referred to as transitional aged youth, as this is when young people transition from reliance on their families to independent living. This is also the age when many youths might leave home to go to college, where they are dependent on their campus’s housing services while pursuing an education on their own. The impermanent nature of transitional aged youth’s housing thus makes them more vulnerable to homelessness if they lose their place to stay during a period of change.
Estimating the exact number of homeless youths can be difficult due to the invisible nature of transitional aged youth. Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) counts the number of persons experiencing homelessness on a given night in January. The latest count in 2019 included 46,629 18- to 24-year-old youth that were in emergency shelters, taking part in transitional living programs, or unsheltered. This number, of course, does not account for the youth who are couch surfing (sleeping in friends or acquaintances housing in different places) or living in hotels, as these youth still do not have a stable home environment and might not consider themselves homeless despite their circumstances. Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago estimated that one out of every ten youth have experienced homelessness over a 12-month period, which places the number of homeless transitional aged youth close to 3.5 million.
Data shows that college students are more likely to experience at least one form of housing insecurity than they are to have all their needs successfully met. In 2019, a survey of college students in the United States by The Hope Center found that 39% of respondents had been food insecure over the last 30 days; 46% of respondents had been housing insecure over the last year; and 17% of respondents had been homeless in the last year. Homelessness is more of a problem now for college students than it was a decade ago because of the rising cost of tuition, the lack of affordable housing, and financial aid packages that do not adequately provide for the cost of living, such as food, childcare, and gas.
Experiencing housing and/or food insecurities can affect a college student in several ways. College life is inherently stressful with the many conflicting deadlines, exams, midterm papers, and endless hours of studying required. Dealing with the additional stress of not knowing how they will pay their bills, where they will sleep, or when they will eat their next meal can make managing college life that much more difficult. Not only can housing insecurity negatively impact grades, but it can also impact mental health and emotional stability.
Unfortunately, many college students fear the stigma associated with being labeled as homeless or not having enough to eat. Some are embarrassed. Some do not even realize that what they are experiencing is homelessness. These are just a few of the many reasons that homeless college students are sometimes considered the invisible population. Further, housing insecurity does not always entail sleeping on park benches or on the streets. It can also be staying with a friend or relative or couch surfing. In fact, this is the reality for most homeless students. It is not always outwardly obvious.
Students who are traditionally marginalized in higher education (black and Indigenous students, nonbinary or transgender students, part-time students, and returning citizens or former foster youth) experience essential needs insecurity at higher levels than other students. When looking at racial/ethnic disparities of homeless college students, American Indian and Alaskan Native (28%), or Indigenous (31%) students experience the highest rate of homelessness, followed by Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (23%) students and black (20%) students.
LGBTQ+ students can be faced with higher rates of food insecurity and homelessness, as service providers report that 33% of youth served are LGBTQ+. This is typically due to a lack of familial connections, as LGBTQ+ students are more likely to use university campuses as their primary homes after being rejected by family for coming out. Furthermore, LGBTQ+ students typically struggle to find identity-affirming resources off campus, especially emergency shelter for those who are transgender or non-binary. College campuses must understand these unique circumstances when looking at housing options for LGBTQ+ students who are struggling.
In 2015, there were 44,753 children who were at risk of aging out of the foster care system in the United States. These are adolescents who were not assigned a permanency plan while in foster care, requiring them to navigate the world as a new adult, unsupported by family of their own. The National Kids Count in Michigan Data Book from 2019 highlights that in our state specifically, 58% of older foster youth will age out of foster care. Though there are a significant amount of programs that claim to fund and support those who age out of foster care, oftentimes, these allocations of funds are still not sufficient to support a young adult in their entirety.
For many of these individuals, college or university is a next step for them. When they arrive on campus it is often assumed that because of their status as a previous foster child, the state has accommodated them with the appropriate funding to live a comfortable life as a college student. This is an example of a population that oftentimes falls through the cracks when considering essential needs security such as food or housing at the collegiate level. During college it can become seemingly “normal” to live off loan money and repay the debt later. However, this privilege can oftentimes only be accomplished with the addition of cosigners who are usually parents or family members.
The issue of college student essential needs is not new, however, the current global pandemic, COVID-19, has magnified its pervasiveness. A recent survey done by the Hope Center found that three in every five students were experiencing essential need insecurity. Out of the 38,000 plus students who responded, at least 58% of those students had a difficulty meeting an essential need. The pandemic has also affected university and college students’ employment. About 1/3 of employed students have lost a job due to the pandemic. The survey found that essential need insecurity is happening both at the university and college level, with 15% of students at universities experiencing homelessness. The pandemic has highlighted the issue by making these invisible populations more vulnerable than ever; and it is important that as faculty and staff within these universities and colleges, measures are established to support students in their entirety.
Homeless youth cannot be assisted without first being visible. Congress first declared November to be National Homeless Youth Awareness Month in 2007 to recognize the work of those who meet the needs of homeless youth, build awareness of issues experienced by homeless youth, and encourage organizations to expand their efforts to focus on homeless youth specifically during the month of November. Today, many groups use November as an opportunity to educate others on the topic of youth homelessness, but the issues continue year-round. Awareness is critical to addressing the challenge of finding youth safe, stable housing, as it reminds us that there is still a high number of youths without homes and continuous work to be done to address it.
Essential needs insecurity goes unnoticed and unreported among college students. It is not uncommon to hear stories of students receiving the maximum financial aid amount each semester and remaining shortchanged on accessing things that they need. This is where it becomes vital for college and university leadership to know what is going on and be purposeful in ensuring all students’ needs are being met. There must be built in supports for college students within the colleges and universities they attend to prevent students from falling through the gaps.
The following programs provide specific resources and support for students at Michigan State University: CAMP provides support for migrant and seasonal work students with academic, social, and financial support to enable them to complete their first year of college; TRIO provides support for first generation college students and students with disabilities; FAME is a campus-based support network for MSU students that have experienced foster care, kinship care, legal guardianship or homelessness; the Student Parent Resource Center provides support, resources, campus and community connections for all MSU student parents through graduation and beyond; the MSU Student Food Bank serves MSU students experiencing food insecurity by providing free food and related items; lastly, there are department funds that can potentially be allocated to students who need essential resources.
In addition to phenomenal programs like these, faculty and staff who work within colleges and universities can also play a crucial role to ensure students do not go without their essential needs met. Cultivating a culture of care creates openness and safety where students may be more inclined to share when they are struggling to meet basic needs.
Open office hours have been utilized for decades; however, student turnout is usually very low. Putting a new twist on office hours can encourage students to connect with their instructor 1:1. An example of this is holding mandatory office hours one time during the semester. The power differential between students and faculty can be intimidating and keep students from attending office hours. Having a time set for a professor to meet with a student 1:1 can oftentimes allow the student a place to connect, making it more likely for them to seek that professor out later in the semester and share when they are struggling.
Within the School of Social Work, students have also made strides to educate their community on student hunger and homelessness. Student Advocates for Basic Needs Security (SABNS), a registered student organization, seeks to end student hunger and homelessness on campus by educating university members on how to prioritize student needs and cultivate a culture of care for students. This group led a presentation with faculty and staff members on how to connect with students during the Racial and Social Justice Collaborative meeting on November 20th. Included in the training were strategies for identifying students who might need additional support, suggestions for having conversations with students regarding essential needs, and a list of resources that can be used for faculty and staff to seek support with the student.
What more can we do about this issue? At the individual level, you can pay attention. If you are a college student and you notice something that may indicate that your friend or a fellow classmate is struggling, say something. Offer your support and let them know there are resources available if they need them. If you are faculty at the university, you can add an essential needs security statement to your syllabus and offer your support to your students. If you are staff (or anyone else for that matter), you can become aware of the resources in the area, to ensure you are equipped to help and know where to best refer those who need services. At the institutional level, the university can implement an easily accessible list of campus and non-campus resources for students facing food and housing insecurity. The information should be widely distributed so students are more likely to be informed of how and where to get help. This will also help decrease negative stigmatization of the issue. Further, the university should strive to be actively supportive of the populations who are more likely to be marginalized, such as people of color and LGBTQ+. At the policy level, you can support and advocate for Federal and state policies and initiatives supporting Hunger-Free Campus legislation such as these 2019-2020 bills. You can also support legislation that incentivizes campus stores to accept EBT Bridge cards. For more suggested action items, visit this Michigan League for Public Policy article.
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