Homeless on Campus
Homeless campus students are on the rise because of the lack of proper measures to facilitate needy students. Bader highlights a few examples of homeless students who have to cope with homelessness and at the same time keep up with school. Most homeless students find themselves on the streets due to unavoidable circumstances. Although there are many homeless students, the government, as well as universities and colleges, fail to provide housing assistance. The statistics on the number of homeless college students do not exist.
Once a person reaches 18 years, they are considered adults. Thus, the federal and state governments are only responsible for homeless children up to the high school level. However, the government should get to the ground and find the approximated number of homeless college students. In so doing, the government will set up emergency housing units according to the statistics available.
More homeless college students will come forward if the government and institutions start social programs to help homeless students. As Bader states, many homeless students are reluctant to disclose their homeless status since they want to blend in with other students. However, Bader also gives examples of university professors and staff that secretly helped homeless students. Therefore, homeless students can disclose their status if there are emergency housing units set up for homeless students.
Bader ends her essay with a narrative on how homeless students who got help from their professors succeeded after their college education. Despite their homeless status, homeless students understand the importance of education. Seeing the determination of such students, living in the streets and still attending classes, the government should collaborate with higher learning institutions and get the statistics of homeless students. From the statistics, universities and the government can start emergency housing facilities to house homeless students.