In June 2017, the Los Angeles Times reported that one in five of Los Angeles Community College District’s 230,000 students is homeless and nearly two-thirds can’t afford healthy food to eat. The study, commissioned by the district’s board of trustees, revealed the staggering number of students challenged with housing & food insecurity, which is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as lacking enough to eat to sustain an active and healthy life. The report found: 19% said they were recently homeless 8% reported being thrown out of their homes 4% said they had been evicted 6% had stayed in an abandoned building, car or other location not meant for housing 65% cannot afford balanced meals 60% are unable to buy more food when their food runs out Students surveyed reported struggling with the high costs of housing. Students living independently must pay more than $20,000 each academic year when housing, commuting to campus, textbooks and supplies, and other school related costs are considered. However, a California community college student, after being awarded all of their financial aid, still faces a shortfall of nearly $7,000 each year. For many students, this set of circumstances makes them particularly vulnerable to homelessness. Current measures used to estimate housing costs are outdated and grossly underestimate the actual cost of living and fail to accurately account for the high cost of living in California. LA County students have resorted to sleeping in their cars on campus parking lots, couch surfing, and, in far too many instances, are without a roof over their heads at all. Homelessness is a barrier to students’ goals of completing their postsecondary education, which so many students rely upon in order to lift them from one socioeconomic level to the next. The impact of homelessness on students academic achievement is correlated to poorer physical health, stress, depression, and emotional well-being, which causes students to drop out.
