[Wsssc] FW: RELEASE: Six in 10 community or technical college students struggle with food, housing

Tue Feb 25 09:26:27 PST 2020

Colleagues: here is a press release and a link to the HOPE Center RealCollege Survey results for Washington state. Your presidents, chancellors and PIOs received it as well.

                             [Joe]
[Compass]
Joe Holliday
Director, Student Services
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
jholliday at sbctc.edu<mailto:jholliday at sbctc.edu>• o: 360-704-4334 • f: 360-704-4418
sbctc.edu<https://www.sbctc.edu/> • Twitter: @SBCTCWashington<https://twitter.com/SBCTCWashington> • Facebook: @WASBCTC<https://www.facebook.com/wasbctc/>

From: Laura McDowell <lmcdowell at sbctc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2020 5:22 AM
Subject: RELEASE: Six in 10 community or technical college students struggle with food, housing

Good morning,

We sent the following news release just a moment ago.

Sent to:  State Board members, trustees, presidents, presidents assistants, PIOs and State Board staff

[Compass]Laura McDowell
Director of Communications
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
lmcdowell at sbctc.edu<mailto:lmcdowell at sbctc.edu> • o: 360-704-4310 • f: 360-704-4415 • c: 360-280-0670
sbctc.edu<https://www.sbctc.edu/> • Twitter: @SBCTCWashington<https://twitter.com/SBCTCWashington> • Facebook: @WASBCTC<https://www.facebook.com/wasbctc/>

From: SBCTC Communications <sbctccommunications at sbctc.edu<mailto:sbctccommunications at sbctc.edu>>
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2020 5:10 AM
To: Laura McDowell <lmcdowell at sbctc.edu<mailto:lmcdowell at sbctc.edu>>
Subject: [Test] RELEASE: Six in 10 community or technical college students struggle with food, housing

[Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges logo]<https://www.sbctc.edu/default.aspx?utm_source=News+releases&utm_campaign=bf7c24cd55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_11_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ee50a1b2a-bf7c24cd55->
News Release
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
1300 Quince Street | P.O. Box 42495
Olympia, WA 98504-2495
360-704-4400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — February 25, 2020
Contact: Laura McDowell, 360-704-4310, lmcdowell at sbctc.edu<mailto:lmcdowell at sbctc.edu>

Six out of 10 community or technical college students struggle with food, housing

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A new report out today<https://hope4college.com/washington-state-community-and-technical-colleges-realcollege-survey/?utm_source=News+releases&utm_campaign=bf7c24cd55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_11_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ee50a1b2a-bf7c24cd55-> shows that six out of 10 community or technical college students in Washington state experienced hunger or housing insecurity over the past year, even though most of them are working.

Nearly 13,550 students from 28 community and technical colleges participated in the #RealCollege Survey from the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice at Temple University in Philadelphia in the fall of 2019. The Washington state survey was part of the nation’s largest assessment of basic-needs security among college students.

The report found that 41 percent of students who responded to the survey were food insecure in the prior 30 days, 51 percent said they faced some level of housing insecurity the previous year and 19 percent said they were homeless.

In the surveys, students were asked questions like whether they could afford to eat balanced meals, whether they worried about running out of food, and whether they had difficulty paying their rent or a mortgage. More than two-thirds of the students who experienced homelessness temporarily stayed with a relative or friend, or couch surfed.

Another finding: 63 percent of students experiencing food or housing insecurity were already employed.

“Our students are sleeping in cars, crashing on couches, holding down jobs and getting food from pantries and food banks to make their way through college, because they know that a college education will improve their lives,” said Jan Yoshiwara, executive director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges<http://www.sbctc.edu?utm_source=News+releases&utm_campaign=bf7c24cd55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_11_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ee50a1b2a-bf7c24cd55->.

Some groups of students were particularly hard hit by basic needs insecurity. These include students of color, students who identified as LGBTQ, and students who had once been in foster care or incarcerated.

In the area of food insecurity, 55 percent of American Indian or Alaskan Native students, 54 percent of Black students, and 47 percent of Hispanic or Latinex students said they struggled to put food on the table, compared to 39 percent of white students.

Similar disparities existed in the area of housing insecurity. Sixty-five percent of American Indian or Alaskan Native students, 63 percent of Black students, and 57 percent of Hispanic or Latinex students said they struggled with housing, compared to 51 percent of white students.

Yoshiwara said the report underscores the importance of Washington’s new financial aid program, the Washington College Grant. Created by the Legislature last year, the Washington College Grant replaced the State Need Grant and fully funded the program so eligible students are guaranteed financial aid without fear of ending up on a waitlist. The program also made financial aid available to more low- and middle-income families.

“Students who are hungry or wondering where they'll sleep at night have a hard time concentrating on their studies,” said Yoshiwara. “That’s why the Washington College Grant is so important; it helps provide some level of financial support so students can stay in school, graduate and get good jobs that support themselves and their families.”

###

Note to editor: Twenty-eight of Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges participated in the Washington State Community and Technical Colleges #RealCollege Survey. For interviews, please contact college public information officers<https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/commissions-councils/pic/pio-roster.aspx?utm_source=News+releases&utm_campaign=bf7c24cd55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_11_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ee50a1b2a-bf7c24cd55->.

Bellevue College
Centralia College
Clark College
Clover Park Technical College
Columbia Basin College
Edmonds Community College
Everett Community College
Green River College
Highline College
Lake Washington Institute of Technology
Lower Columbia College
North Seattle College
Olympic College
Pierce College-Fort Steilacoom
Pierce College-Puyallup
Renton Technical College
Seattle Central College
Shoreline Community College
Skagit Valley College
South Puget Sound Community College
South Seattle College
Spokane Community College
Spokane Falls Community College
Tacoma Community College
Walla Walla Community College
Wenatchee Valley College
Whatcom Community College
Yakima Valley College

Links within this release

  *   Washington State Community and Technical Colleges #RealCollege Survey: https://hope4college.com/washington-state-community-and-technical-colleges-realcollege-survey/<https://hope4college.com/washington-state-community-and-technical-colleges-realcollege-survey/?utm_source=News+releases&utm_campaign=bf7c24cd55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_11_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ee50a1b2a-bf7c24cd55->
  *   Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges: https://www.sbctc.edu/<https://www.sbctc.edu/?utm_source=News+releases&utm_campaign=bf7c24cd55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_11_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ee50a1b2a-bf7c24cd55->

[Facebook]<http://www.facebook.com/wasbctc?utm_source=News+releases&utm_campaign=bf7c24cd55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_11_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ee50a1b2a-bf7c24cd55->
[Twitter]<http://www.twitter.com/SBCTCWashington?utm_source=News+releases&utm_campaign=bf7c24cd55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_11_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ee50a1b2a-bf7c24cd55->
[Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges]<https://www.sbctc.edu/default.aspx?utm_source=News+releases&utm_campaign=bf7c24cd55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_11_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7ee50a1b2a-bf7c24cd55->
About the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges is led by a governor-appointed board and provides leadership, advocacy, and coordination for Washington’s system of 34 public community and technical colleges. Each year, about 363,000 students train for the workforce, prepare to transfer to a university, gain basic math and English skills, or pursue continuing education.

This email was sent to lmcdowell at sbctc.edu<mailto:lmcdowell at sbctc.edu>
why did I get this?<https://sbctc.us8.list-manage.com/about?u=deef59f1d8ee1e991514ca276&id=7ee50a1b2a&e=&c=bf7c24cd55>    unsubscribe from this list<https://sbctc.us8.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=deef59f1d8ee1e991514ca276&id=7ee50a1b2a&e=&c=bf7c24cd55>    update subscription preferences<https://sbctc.us8.list-manage.com/profile?u=deef59f1d8ee1e991514ca276&id=7ee50a1b2a&e=>
State Board for Community and Technical Colleges · 1300 Quince Street SE · Olympia, WA 98504 · USA

[Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp]<http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=monkey_rewards&aid=deef59f1d8ee1e991514ca276&afl=1>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ctc.edu/pipermail/wsssc_lists.ctc.edu/attachments/20200225/b68acda6/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 629079 bytes
Desc: image001.jpg
URL: <http://lists.ctc.edu/pipermail/wsssc_lists.ctc.edu/attachments/20200225/b68acda6/attachment-0003.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1030 bytes
Desc: image002.jpg
URL: <http://lists.ctc.edu/pipermail/wsssc_lists.ctc.edu/attachments/20200225/b68acda6/attachment-0004.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1958 bytes
Desc: image005.jpg
URL: <http://lists.ctc.edu/pipermail/wsssc_lists.ctc.edu/attachments/20200225/b68acda6/attachment-0005.jpg>