Roughly half of the students reported that they have been struggling with high housing costs. Some 19% said they were recently homeless and 8% reported being thrown out of their homes. Another 4% said that they were recently evicted and 6% had stayed in an abandoned building, car or other non-housing location. Some 65% can’t afford balanced meals, and 60% are unable to buy more when their food runs out, the study said.
Students raised in foster care represent a significant percentage of this homeless class. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors this month designated homeless college students among the beneficiaries of the tax fund, which is expected to produce $3.55 billion over 10 years.
Last year, the California State University system found in a preliminary study that 1 in every 10 of its 460,000 students was homeless.