It is almost summer time here in the lovely Santa Cruz, California. UCSC students are excited for summer break: a time for us to head home, do laundry for free, eat decent food, and get our rooms back; however, people do not realize that hundreds of homeless students are left looking desperately for a place to sleep where they will be safe and that provides a food source.
UCSC students are feeling the full effect of the housing crisis and over admittance in Santa Cruz—there are more people trying to live in Santa Cruz than the town can hold and rent is skyrocketing beyond what poor students can afford. While UCSC has promised to build more housing, none of it will be reserved for students who need year round housing. Currently, 53.3% of undergraduates …show more content…
In reality, resources all over the state are strained due to high demand. Others will say that homeless students may turn to the emergency shelters that provide temporary or nightly shelter beds to people experiencing homelessness, but they do not realize that space is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Then people will suggest transitional housing that provides homeless people with up to 24 months of housing and support services, but these are usually only given by referral and require intensive interrogations. Their third solution is safe havens that provide temporary shelter and services to hard-to-serve individuals, but they can only provide a place to sleep for a few days. While there are other types of beds that are targeted at recently homeless populations such as rapid re-housing that provides short-term and medium-term rental assistance, housing relocation, and stabilization services to formerly homeless people experiencing homelessness, programs like this focus more on families instead of individual people. Permanent Supportive Housing provides long-term housing with supportive services for formerly homeless people with disabilities, but the quality is often poor and mainly reserved for those with severe handicaps. Other Permanent Housing does not require people to have a disability, but …show more content…
Since UCSC has a higher than normal percentage of LGBTQ and abused students, UCSC also has a higher percentage of students who are at risk of homelessness or currently are homeless. They are kicked out by their families for being LGBTQ, for having mental or social problems, or had been put in child services and are no longer supported by them. Studies show that one in seven young people between the ages of 10 and 18 will run away; UCSC reported an enrollment of 17,335 so around 2,476 students have or attempted to run away from home. Between 20-40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. UCSC promotes itself as a safe space for LGBTQ students, but because of the high homeless rate in the community, resources for LGBTQ students also act as housing support program. These youths are usually kicked out of their homes for being LGBTQ with nowhere else to turn. Youth flee from home because 46% of runaway and homeless youth reported being physically abused, 38% reported being emotionally abused, 17% reported being forced into unwanted sexual activity by a family or household member, and 75% of homeless or runaway youth dropped out or will drop out of school. Imagine if 75% of UCSC students just dropped out of school, that would get people’s attention. While some people would like to say that California has enacted laws that try to prevent this mass amount of students from dropping
UCSC students are feeling the full effect of the housing crisis and over admittance in Santa Cruz—there are more people trying to live in Santa Cruz than the town can hold and rent is skyrocketing beyond what poor students can afford. While UCSC has promised to build more housing, none of it will be reserved for students who need year round housing. Currently, 53.3% of undergraduates …show more content…
In reality, resources all over the state are strained due to high demand. Others will say that homeless students may turn to the emergency shelters that provide temporary or nightly shelter beds to people experiencing homelessness, but they do not realize that space is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Then people will suggest transitional housing that provides homeless people with up to 24 months of housing and support services, but these are usually only given by referral and require intensive interrogations. Their third solution is safe havens that provide temporary shelter and services to hard-to-serve individuals, but they can only provide a place to sleep for a few days. While there are other types of beds that are targeted at recently homeless populations such as rapid re-housing that provides short-term and medium-term rental assistance, housing relocation, and stabilization services to formerly homeless people experiencing homelessness, programs like this focus more on families instead of individual people. Permanent Supportive Housing provides long-term housing with supportive services for formerly homeless people with disabilities, but the quality is often poor and mainly reserved for those with severe handicaps. Other Permanent Housing does not require people to have a disability, but …show more content…
Since UCSC has a higher than normal percentage of LGBTQ and abused students, UCSC also has a higher percentage of students who are at risk of homelessness or currently are homeless. They are kicked out by their families for being LGBTQ, for having mental or social problems, or had been put in child services and are no longer supported by them. Studies show that one in seven young people between the ages of 10 and 18 will run away; UCSC reported an enrollment of 17,335 so around 2,476 students have or attempted to run away from home. Between 20-40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. UCSC promotes itself as a safe space for LGBTQ students, but because of the high homeless rate in the community, resources for LGBTQ students also act as housing support program. These youths are usually kicked out of their homes for being LGBTQ with nowhere else to turn. Youth flee from home because 46% of runaway and homeless youth reported being physically abused, 38% reported being emotionally abused, 17% reported being forced into unwanted sexual activity by a family or household member, and 75% of homeless or runaway youth dropped out or will drop out of school. Imagine if 75% of UCSC students just dropped out of school, that would get people’s attention. While some people would like to say that California has enacted laws that try to prevent this mass amount of students from dropping