Homeless College Students: The Plight Of America

We’re all aware of the tragic homeless population across the US and around the world.  However, how many of us are aware of the existence of homeless college students?

Current Events
Sadly, homeless college students are a real thing in America.  Students are yearning for higher education yet are forced to pay high tuition rates at the expense of a regular roof over their heads and solid food in their stomachs.  Yes, students are couch-surfing, sleeping in their cars, sleeping while pretending to study at the library, or grabbing a spot in the park just to pay for books and that almighty college degree.  They’re then grabbing a quick shower at the school gym, heading to class, then back to looking for a place to lay their heads for the night.

“That journey was a little traumatic for me,” said 23-year-old Kyshawna Johnson, who lived in her 2014 Chrysler 200 while pursuing an associate’s degree at Citrus College in Glendora, California. “It affected my grades a lot. It affected my mental health. It affected my emotional stability. I was having different doubts about my future.”

Sadly, she is not alone.

According to a survey of nearly 86,000 students conducted last fall by The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice, 18% of respondents attending 2-year colleges and 14% of those attending 4-year institutions were homeless college students. Additionally, 60% attending 2-year colleges and 48% attending 4-year universities said they had difficulty paying rent every month.

“These are people who might not be on the street at this point but they do not have a fixed and regular place to sleep, and that creates stress that interferes with education,” said Sara Goldrick-Rab, founding director of the Hope Center. “If they are temporarily staying with a relative or couch surfing with a friend, that is also homelessness.”

Rising tuition rates combined with students attempting at all costs to avoid student loan debt are certainly behind the rise in homeless college students.  In fact, some former college students have stooped to fleeing the country simply to escape massive student debt.

“I had to escape this debtors’ prison — it felt like there was no other choice,” said graduate Chad Albright, who fled to China after mounting student debt left him feeling as if there was no other alternative. “That’s what America became to me, a prison. So I left.”

Some universities are at least trying to help but are finding it difficult to simultaneously be in the business of education and social services.

“Higher education is not a social service agency, and we recognize that,” said Ed Mirecki, dean of students at the University of Washington-Tacoma which launched a program providing 52 “micro-units” (or 255 square feet apiece) for homeless students or students at risk of becoming homeless.

“But on the other hand, if we really are focused on increasing access and providing these [educational] opportunities for students, we have an obligation to help support their success and that means creating these support structures around affordable housing and food insecurity.”

With the rising cost of tuition, financial aid packages that fail to keep up with the costs of food, gas and child care, and an overall lack of affordable housing, the crisis of homeless college students is in dire need of national attention.

OK WASSUP! covers Current Events:
Homeless college students on the rise in the US.