How Higher Education Can Be a Lifeline for Homeless Youth

When you’re homeless and struggling, the challenges of daily survival often overshadow any dreams of pursuing higher education, so college is likely the last thing on your mind. In an unstable situation, however, college can provide a point of stability and a turning point in your life.

November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, and it’s a good reminder of the difference that education can make. If you’re facing homelessness, college can provide you with a much-needed support network and open doors to better job opportunities.

This guide tells you how college can help homeless youth with their immediate needs and in creating a better future for themselves. When you have no other options, the college admissions process can be a step in the right direction for your safety, stability, and prosperity.

Creates a More Stable Future

Pursuing higher education offers homeless youth a pathway to a more stable and secure future. Besides academic knowledge and the skills you need to work in your chosen field, college can also teach life skills like time management, financial literacy, and critical thinking, to name a few.

All of these, along with a degree, can lead you to a well-paying career that can finally break the cycle of poverty. Until you get to that point, universities can support you with services like housing, food programs to help overcome food insecurity, and counseling. You can then focus on your education instead of on your basic needs and build a solid foundation for a better future.

Learning and Building on Knowledge

It doesn’t matter what you study in college; any learning can improve problem-solving and critical thinking abilities and equip you with necessary career and life skills. Besides your major, you also tackle subjects like science, math, and the humanities. This knowledge expands your understanding of the world and gets you thinking more critically about the real-life issues you face.

Knowledge and new perspectives can empower homeless youth, helping them approach new challenges in an informed way. These critical thinking skills don’t just stay in the classroom but extend into real-world situations.

Accumulating Skills

Higher education isn’t about knowledge for the sake of knowledge or just about soft skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and general knowledge, though these are all valuable. College is also about acquiring marketable skills – hard skills like programming, marketing, accounting, data analysis, research, and design. Whatever career you pursue, you build a skill set that makes you attractive to employers.

For homeless youth, these skills are invaluable since they offer a direct route to stable employment. Once you’ve learned useful skills, you can access opportunities previously out of reach. With secure employment, needs like housing and food are less of a concern.

Networking

College also provides a vital opportunity to build connections that can significantly shape your career and your relationships. Homeless students in higher education connect with peers, professors, and professionals in their desired field, creating a much-needed support system that extends far beyond graduation. Networking can lead to internships and job offers that would otherwise be inaccessible. Besides the professional benefits, you can grow a personal community and make friends through these types of connections.

Provides Immediate Needs

It’s hard to worry about your future when you don’t have a safe place to sleep or enough food to get through the week. Colleges and universities immediately address these and other basic needs through programs specifically for their homeless students since they know that eight percent of undergraduates and five percent of graduate students – that’s more than 1.5 million students – experience homelessness while in college. These resources include meal plans and the ability to stay in the dorm during extended breaks. From housing to community support, higher education can provide a safe and stable space for students to thrive.

Housing

Since many college students face homelessness, higher education institutions often come prepared to tackle this issue. No student should have to worry about their studies while homeless, so many offer housing plans. While most students need to leave their dorm during long breaks, it’s possible to get this requirement waived. This provides year-round housing even during summer breaks, either in on-campus dorms or through other local housing. As a homeless student, your placement in these programs is typically prioritized.

Resources

In addition to housing, colleges offer a wide range of resources to support homeless students. These include access to food pantries, free/discounted meals, financial aid, academic advising, and mental health services. Services that may cost money are typically free or reduced cost for homeless youth.

Additionally, if your income falls below a certain level while you’re a student, you may qualify for free or reduced-cost health insurance like Medicaid. Though coverage depends on the state in which you live, it generally means you can get the medical and mental health care you need.

Many schools also have dedicated staff who assist students in navigating financial aid and scholarships for their education. Since many financial resources for college are need-based, homeless students can find ample resources to afford college without it resulting in an insurmountable mound of debt.

Community

Homeless youth often feel isolated and disconnected, but higher education can create a vital sense of belonging and community. On a college campus, you can join clubs and organizations, make friends in your classes, and meet people in your dorm. Life is challenging enough without friends to help you through it, and going to college plugs you into a wider network that can provide that essential emotional support.

Hope

Perhaps most importantly of all, higher education instills hope for a better future in students. Picking yourself up when you’re homeless and so many opportunities feel out of your reach can feel overwhelming, but going to college offers the stability you need to learn and grow. Also, earning a degree is the first step towards a higher-paying job and a stable career path. It proves that you can succeed despite your circumstances.

Promotes Collaboration with Community Partners

Higher education institutions often work closely with community agencies to provide homeless youth with access to essential services beyond campus boundaries. These partnerships connect students with local housing programs, food banks, healthcare providers, and employment services. These necessary services help combat homelessness and its effects by ensuring all students have their basic needs met. Thanks to this, your life is immediately more stable and secure than before you signed up for college. Instead of worrying about getting enough to eat, you can worry about getting good grades in your classes.

Strengthening Existing Support Programs

Universities play a key role in strengthening existing support programs for homeless youth. By integrating these community resources into their student services, students can more easily access housing, food, and healthcare.

Many schools also expand their outreach through partnerships with local shelters, mental health services, and food assistance programs, ensuring students always have access to a safety net. These efforts often include providing emergency financial assistance or other forms of aid through community organizations.

No college wants its students to drop out due to personal struggles. For this reason, most make sure that community support is available for those who need it.

Identifying Liaisons

Many universities also appoint specific staff members, such as homeless student liaisons, trained to connect homeless students with both on-campus and community resources. Besides helping students navigate housing options, financial aid, and other vital services, these individuals also serve as advocates for homeless youth in the student body. They make sure no one struggles alone. If you attend college as a homeless student, look for your homeless student liaison or other support staff to be your lifeline in getting help and needed services.

A Necessary Step: Understanding Legislative Policy

Several laws and provisions have been enacted to address the unique challenges homeless students face. Understanding this is key to getting support since it determines what services homeless students are entitled to and the steps needed to get help.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is one example of a legislative policy designed to help homeless students. Aimed at K-12 education, it means homeless youth learn college readiness skills through counselors and local educational agency liaisons. If you’re in high school, talk to your counselor for help applying to college and getting financial aid.

The FAFSA Simplification Act is another example. This policy makes it easier for homeless students to apply for and receive federal financial aid since, for example, they don’t need to include parental information.

On a state level, bills like the California Assembly Bill 801, also known as the Success for Homeless Youth in Higher Education Act, help homeless and foster students in various ways. Bills like these provide things like homeless student liaisons, admission fee waivers, and priority for enrollment and housing.

This basic understanding of legislative policy when it comes to homelessness and getting an education means there is a structure in place to help clear the path for students struggling with homelessness. Additionally, understanding legislative policy is also important for those who want to work with the homeless in the future.