The lived experience of being a homeless college student: a qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis (QIMS)

Food and Housing Insecurity for Latinx/a/o College Students: Advancing an Intersectional Research Agenda

“…According to Bowers and O’Neill (2019), estimates on the general percentage of students who experience food insecurity ranges from 14% to 59%. In one of the most nationally representative study to date, conducted among 86,000 students enrolled at 123 2- and 4-year U.S. institutions, 45% of individuals reported food insecurity in the 30 days before taking the survey (Goldrick-Rab et al, 2019).…”

“…Given that Latinx/a/o students are more likely than other racial/ethnic groups to work for pay, to live at home, and to be supporting their families financially (Núñez & Sansone, 2016), it can be speculated these factors are associated with increased housing insecurity. As with food insecurity, no consistent operationalization of what comprises homelessness or housing insecurity exists (Bowers & O’Neill, 2019; Hallett & Crutchfield, 2017). In their survey of 33,000 individuals at 70 community colleges across 24 states, Goldrick-Rab et al (2017) found that 51% of community college students experience housing insecurity, measured with an item set developed by the Hope Center (including not being able to pay rent, moving two or more times yearly, or moving in with others).…”

“…In their qualitative interpretative meta-synthesis of seven studies on homelessness among college students, Bowers and O’Neill (2019) found themes across these projects; namely, they highlighted that students may feel disconnected from university services, leading to a sense of invisibility on campus. These studies also indicated that homeless students have significant motivation to resolve their financial situations that can propel them toward completing college, and that making students aware of university resources available can increase the likelihood that students seek out these services, particularly when they assess that they have few or no other sources of support (Bowers & O’Neill, 2019)…”

“…A limited number of studies (15 out of 108 that the authors identified) employed qualitative methods to examine students’ experiences with basic needs insecurity. Some qualitative research suggests that food and housing insecure students can perceive attending higher education as a way to rectify their lack of access to these basic needs, in pursuit of economic and social mobility (Bowers & O’Neil, 2019; Henry, 2017). Open-ended responses to a survey conducted at a single institution with a sample of 6,823 students indicated that food and housing insecure students, through raising awareness about and encouraging one another to access resources, support one another in addressing their basic needs (Brescia & Cuite, 2019).…”

“…These findings illustrate ways that students with limited access to basic needs take agency to navigate their postsecondary pathways. Scholarship also shows that homeless students actively use social and institutional supports in the process of navigating higher education by finding places to stay overnight or locating helpful resources (Bowers & O’Neill, 2019). Together, this research suggests that examining how these students make meaning of their postsecondary experiences and how their sensemaking shapes behavior patterns like seeking help is critical to understanding opportunity structures for these students.…”