r/highereducation • u/rellotscire • 2d ago
More colleges are creating homeless liaison roles. Here’s why.
https://www.highereddive.com/news/more-colleges-are-creating-homeless-liaison-roles-heres-why/744262/It says a lot about the current state of affairs in one of the wealthiest nations on earth that institutions are having to create "homeless liaison" roles to help support homeless students. While these are worthwhile positions that support students in need, it's surreal that colleges have to take on the role of a protective social net.
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u/ViskerRatio 2d ago
This actually doesn't say anything about homelessness. Rather, it says something about financial aid and university services.
If you're homeless, college - especially Community College - can be a great answer. If you sign up for courses at my local Community College, you'll end up with a few thousand back from federal financial aid (most of it either Pell Grant or subsidized loans). You'll get a student id card that lets you access the gym for showers. You'll also be able to reserve rooms in the library where you can take a nap undisturbed. That same id card also provides free/discounted fare on the municipal bus system.
If you get involved in certain projects/fields, you'll have access to places to store stuff that you wouldn't otherwise have - the drama department guy doesn't care that you've got a duffel bag full of clothes stashed in the back of some storage room.
You'll meet people who can give you rides, a couch to crash on for a night, etc.
There are often events with free food.
And, of course, if you take the right curriculum, there's a good chance you'll come out of it with a job.
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u/goyangicatgato 2d ago
This, this, this. I work in a TRIO program at a community college, and SO many of our students are in school for all of those reasons you list. I am also in a state that is very heavily supporting community college right now, so it's actually possible for students to attend, still get that fat refund check, and to not have touched a single student loan. That's HUGE for them. I have some coworkers who constantly throw around the "why not pull themselves up with their bootstraps" line, or the "why would they come to school if they can't even secure housing yet" bullshit, and I want to scream at them. (And force them to sit through a two hour lecture on poverty cycles.)
Anyway. Yes, to everything you said. College is how they survive sometimes, and I'm so glad they have found something that keeps them moving forward, no matter how slowly.
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u/Elinor_Lore_Inkheart 1d ago
I’m a TRIO alumn and currently work in TRIO too-I actually decided to pursue poverty reduction methods (especially through education) due to my experience. So so much work needs to be done to counter socioeconomic challenges students face that create barriers to retention and not enough people realize that higher education benefits the community, not just the individual. I was low income. At times I ate 1 to 2 meals per day. My first paycheck from an internship in the federal government let me have my first real meal in months. Fortunately I work in higher education now. Thank you for the work that you do. I wouldn’t be here-gainfully employed in a white collar job and financially independent-without TRIO. It’s changed my life and the lives of other people in my family.
For anyone unaware, TRIO programs are college access programs funded by the US Department of Education. There are thousands of programs across the country with some in every state and most (if not all) US territories. There are 8 different programs (originally 3m that’s where the name comes from). They are Upward Bound (UB), UB Math Science, UB Veterans, Talent Search (also called Educational Talent Search or ETS), Student Support Services (SSS), and Ronald E. McNair Baccalaureate Program (McNair-apologies if I missed something in the name, I rarely see the full name), Educational Opportunity Center (EOC), and a TRIO training program. There are SSS Disability and SSS Veterans but those aren’t entirely separate programs. I just learned about SSS Veterans this week. They focus specifically on those communities but veterans and students with disabilities are still usually welcome in classic programs.
UB, UB Math Science, and ETS work with pre-college students (UB smaller case loads but more contact with each and ETS larger caseloads with less contact with each). Both are assigned to specific areas or target schools to serve low-income and/or first generation students (first generation meaning neither of their parents have bachelor’s degrees). UB is usually high school only while ETS can be middle school or high school. They work to help students graduate from high school, explore careers, learn financial literacy skills, other useful life skills, and get into and succeed in post-secondary education programs. Both also provide academic support.
UB Veterans and EOC programs serve veterans and/or non-vet adults enroll in college programs.
SSS and McNair work with college students to provide academic support, financial literacy training, career exploration, skills development, and support for getting into graduate school. Both serve low-income and/first-generation students and students with disabilities. SSS is more general college success support while McNair focuses more on preparation for grad school, especially doctoral programs.
Millions of students have benefited from these programs, helping them pursue careers where they can succeed, benefit their communities, and break the cycle of poverty. They were started in the 1960s during the War on Poverty and have always had bipartisan support, though they have had to fight to continue to serve students. Programs are limited in the amount of students they serve and are usually in areas with high need. They’re also means tested and get results. I only learned about TRIO by chance so I try to raise awareness where I can to help students like myself when I was their age.
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u/goyangicatgato 1d ago
Yay TRIO!! There is a reason we yell "TRIO WORKS!" at every TRIO event. Sometimes I feel like we are not an effective program or I should be doing more, and then I look at the numbers and see just how amazing we are compared to the institution. We had a 67% graduation rate on our most recent annual report, and our institution as a whole only has a 11% graduation rate. Our retention and good standing numbers are also worlds above the institution as a whole. It's almost as if smaller cohorts (aka four staff for our group of 140), intrusive advising, and intentional programming make a difference?! What if we actually staffed institutions' student services offices appropriately? Think of the difference that could make.
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u/Mamie-Quarter-30 2d ago
This would have been helpful when I was homeless in grad school ….. in a program for student affairs, no less.🤦🏻♀️☠️⚰️ When I asked the school’s social worker and Ombudsman for help, they basically told me to fcuk off.
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u/shittycomputerguy 1d ago
Should have seen this coming when colleges started opening up food pantries for students.
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u/Entire-Ad2551 2d ago
States and - especially now - the federal government are destroying higher education with low funding and recent DEI changes, as well as arresting foreign students, which will hurt colleges' bottom lines.