Document Tag: housing insecurity
Update on California Student Housing Assistance (2025)
In 2019‑20, the state created rapid rehousing programs at the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and California Community Colleges (CCC) to assist students experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness. In addition, the state created basic needs programs at UC in 2019‑20 and at CSU and CCC in 2021‑22 primarily to provide students with housing and food assistance. In 2023‑24, the state is providing a total of $31 million ongoing General Fund for rapid rehousing programs and $85 million ongoing General Fund for basic needs programs across the segments. State law requires each segment to report annually on these programs, with specific reporting requirements varying by segment and program. In this brief, we examine how each segment is implementing these programs and review the available outcomes data.
Breaking Barriers: The Hidden Struggles of Student Parents and Housing Insecurity (2025)
Housing insecurity creates significant barriers for student parents, jeopardizing their academic success, economic mobility, and mental health. Addressing these issues through targeted interventions is crucial to support this vulnerable population and ensure they have the opportunity to complete their degrees and improve their families’ long-term outcomes.
Providing for a Community How a Basic Needs Center Uses Assessment to House Students (2024)
This article discusses how practitioners at the University of Colorado Boulder use
assessment to refine an Emergency Housing Assistance program through a Basic Needs
Center. Leaders of the center use people-driven practices combined with quantitative and
qualitative assessment practices to provide housing relief for students. We show how
equity-centered assessment practices improve student health and well-being. Practitioners
across the country can apply actions from this center’s assessment to assist students at
their own universities to secure reliable and safe housing.
Food and housing insecurity among community college student-veterans (2024)
In this manuscript, the authors examined the rates of food and housing insecurity experienced by student-veterans enrolled at community colleges in fall 2020. The results of a multi-institutional survey of student-veterans at 113 community colleges suggested that 37.6% of community college student-veterans experienced food insecurity and 52.5% of community college student-veterans experienced housing insecurity. Additionally, 17.8% of community college student-veterans experienced homelessness in the past year. The results also suggest that community college student-veterans who experienced food and housing insecurity had lower grade point averages, higher rates of clinically significant generalized anxiety disorder, and higher rates of clinically significant major depressive disorder. Examples of strategies to support community college student-veterans experiencing food and housing insecurity are included.
Arizona Student Food and Housing Insecurity (2024)
College students nationwide are increasingly facing food and housing
insecurity, issues that are often hidden and not immediately apparent. The
Hope Center’s research surveys provide the largest assessment of basic needs
security among college students in the United States, revealing that students
in Arizona are also experiencing these challenges.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services describes housing
insecurity or instability as the lack of secure shelter due to factors like “having
trouble paying rent, overcrowding, moving frequently or spending the bulk
of household income on housing.” The The U.S. Department of Agriculture
defines food insecurity as “a lack of consistent access to enough food for every
person in a household to live an active, healthy life.”
According to a study of college students in the U.S. published by the
National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine, food insecurity is
inversely associated with degree completion and educational attainment.
Study results show that among food-insecure college students, 43.8 percent
completed their college degree compared with 68.1 percent of food-secure
college students.
Arizona’s educational attainment – the percentage of adults who earn a twoor four-year degree – is below the national average. Increasing educational
attainment is a priority for the board, as individuals with degrees not only earn
higher salaries but significantly enhance the state’s economic prosperity. To
address this, surveys were conducted at Arizona State University, Northern
Arizona University and the University of Arizona to assess student experiences
related to basic needs, particularly food and housing insecurity.
In response, student regents and the Arizona Board of Regents initiated a
tri-university work group in the 2020-21 academic year. This group was tasked
with assessing student food insecurity and housing needs, and providing
guidance on evidence-based policies and practices to address these issues.
A key recommendation, approved by the board in June 2021, requires each
university to submit an annual report detailing efforts to assess and alleviate
student food and housing needs on campus. Additional recommendations
include establishing a Basic Needs Committee at each university, and
developing a communications plan and portal to highlight and explain the
universities’ initiatives