By Let’s Go Basic Needs Fellow: Julianne Jamir
College: University of California San Diego
Housing insecurity and homelessness amongst college students are more prevalent than ever. According to the 2019 #RealCollege annual survey conducted by The Hope Center for California Community Colleges, 60% of community college students experience housing insecurity and 19% experience homelessness. At the University of California 16% of students experience housing insecurity and 5% experience homelessness. In the case of Cal State University students, the 2018 CSU Basic Needs Study found that 10.9% of students experience homelessness. This is an absurd amount; however, since housing insecurity and homelessness can manifest in many ways, it is possible that a percentage of college students did not participate in these studies because they were unaware that they experienced housing insecurity.
Most California colleges only guarantee on-campus housing for the first two years, which means that all students have to seek off-campus housing at some point. Some students start even earlier because on-campus housing is unaffordable, especially for low-income students and undocumented students. That being said, the most common causes of housing insecurity and homelessness amongst college students are the impractical requirements that landlords demand and the affordability of rent.
First, the majority of off-campus housing apartments require renters to have a credit score of at least 650 or higher but in order to be approved for a credit card, a reliable source of income plays a huge role. This requirement is impractical considering that most students would have just started working and building their credit scores at this time. Additionally, landlords require proof of income that is double and sometimes even triple the amount of rent. College students tend to work part-time, minimum-wage jobs because of their hectic schedules or lack of experience.
These requirements present unnecessary challenges that set up students to fail in securing stable housing throughout their time in college. The second reason why housing insecurity and homelessness is prevalent amongst college students is the affordability of rent. This is dependent on location but because of rising living costs and prices in California, most colleges are considered unaffordable.
For example, the University of California San Diego is located in La Jolla, which is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in San Diego. To offer a better picture, a single bedroom apartment in La Jolla usually ranges from $2000-$3000, not including utilities and other bills students would have to pay monthly, which average around $100 depending on usage.
This forces students to choose between staying with their families, where they may be unable to focus on their studies (true with most low-income first generation students) or living with multiple roommates, of which some might reside in the living room. These options are used to alleviate the burden of monthly expenses; however, they are not always sustainable. These barriers prove how difficult it is for students to get safe and secure housing.
Overall, I believe that we as a community and the people in power need to do a better job with resolving these issues. No one should ever have to experience being housing insecure and/or homeless. All public institutions in California should increase affordable and guaranteed housing for students, especially for low-income and undocumented students.
By doing so, it would not just help college students to get stable housing, it would also help when it comes to decreasing students’ list of worries so that they have more time to focus on getting their degree. Students would not have to worry so much about how they would pay rent and would actually have extra money for other basic necessities, such as food. As we know, food insecurity is highly likely to occur simultaneously with housing insecurity and homelesness. This prevents students from being in a position where they would have to choose whether to prioritize food over rent or vice versa.
