New Brief Examines How to Support College Students Experiencing Homelessness
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
Nearly 14% of college students reported experiencing homelessness in 2024, while roughly 43-48% of students reported difficulty maintaining stable housing, according to a new brief examining strategies institutions, states, and federal policymakers can take to combat student homelessness.
The brief, led by SchoolHouse Connection, examines data from multiple sources on student homelessness, including Trellis Strategies’ 2024 Student Financial Wellness Survey and the Hope Center’s 2023–24 Student Basic Needs Survey. From these data sources, SchoolHouse Connection listed key findings on the state of student homelessness.
One key finding is that most students experiencing homelessness are not in shelters but rather are staying temporarily with others, and that food insecurity is very common among students experiencing homelessness. For example, 72% of students experiencing homelessness had low or very low food security, according to the Trellis data. That’s compared to 44% of first-generation students and 36% of students who had not experienced homelessness.
Additionally, students who have experienced homelessness report higher mental health burdens, with 48% of these students screening positive for a likely major depressive disorder. Meanwhile, 31% of first-generation students and 28% of students who had not experienced homelessness screened positive for a likely major depressive disorder.
Other findings included in the brief are that students experiencing homelessness report less institutional support despite greater need, with 49% of students who reported experiencing homelessness agreeing that their institution has support services for their financial situation. Additionally, transportation to postsecondary education, work, and child care demands can create educational barriers for students experiencing homelessness.
The brief lists four overarching strategies for institutions, states, and federal policymakers to better support these students. One strategy includes designating and training homeless higher education liaisons. SchoolHouse Connection noted that designated liaisons are especially important for students who enter higher education without family or other adult support systems. This liaison role helps direct individualized support to students experiencing homelessness, and can help these students with applying for financial aid, securing emergency and longer-term housing, and more.
Additionally, institutions, states, and federal policymakers should work to make emergency aid accessible and responsive to students. For example, Congress could provide funding for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) program. States could ensure that any state-funded emergency aid programs explicitly include housing-related costs. And institutions could make emergency aid broad and flexible for students, and should remove any eligibility restrictions that may exclude students experiencing homelessness.
Institutions should also support gap and year-round housing options for students. For example, institutions could utilize residence halls during breaks and for emergency housing and prioritize students experiencing homelessness for housing access.
Lastly, SchoolHouse Connection recommends multiple approaches to institutions, states, and federal policymakers to improve support for students transitioning from high school. For institutions that include assisting students to complete the FAFSA as early as possible, and helping high school students make informed decisions.
Publication Date: 3/26/2026
Amy P | 3/27/2026 12:14:32 PM
Jeff T., your idea is good as far as it goes but reminder that not all colleges have meal plans. And second on the progressive taxation, which might allow states to begin support their school the way they should.
That said, I think we need to keep an eye on the real problem. Too many of our students are not having their basic needs met and that is not a problem we can solve. We can, however, remind our elected leaders that the reason "students are borrowing too much" that they are borrowing to met their basic needs and that a repaired social safety net would prevent them from having to borrow to feed themselves and keep a roof over their heads.
Jeff T | 3/26/2026 6:0:05 PM
Here's an idea to curb food insecurity on campus: encourage all Pell-eligible students to apply for SNAP. Offer FWS to those students to help them meet SNAP eligibility criteria, and then every institution offering a meal plan should accept the SNAP card on campus (most institutions offer some version of a convenience store), and offer a FREE meal plan (at least 1 meal per day) to everyone eligible for the program. There's no reason why anyone eligible for SNAP benefits should have to pay full price for a meal plan, let's fix this. Oh, and every state should normalize a progressive tax system, not the regressive system that disproportionally taxes the families of our neediest students.
Debora B | 3/26/2026 11:53:41 AM
Those suggestions are good in theory but how are institutions supposed to support these ideas when they are struggling and funding is being cut left and right?
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