Close to Home: College Homelessness

For this month’s current event, we decided to focus on a topic that remains heavy on our hearts. An article in the New York Times, In College and Homeless, aims to shed light on the increasing number of students who attend college and experience homelessness... 

First hand we know students who cannot afford housing or lose housing due to not having enough money to make rent, tuition, food and other necessities. They end up sleeping in their cars, staying with friends, or finding another way to survive not having a shelter to call their own. Oftentimes we find ourselves perceiving college students as privileged for even attending college, and while some truth to this sentiment exists we must also acknowledge that many college students attend college and experience homelessness, food scarcity, a lack of clothing, and other basic needs. Even in La Crosse and other cities across our nation, students in colleges and universities continue to face how to balance experiencing homelessness with being a student, work, life, and basic necessities. We must continue to ask ourselves, how can we denormalize and destigmatize homelessness, develop empathy, and call for change? Please read In College and Homeless to learn more about this topic. 

Kindly,
People Seeing People
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Article Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/education/learning/college-homeless-students.html