Student Basic Needs Research Group
Basic needs are the essential resources that impact your holistic health, belonging, persistence, and overall well-being. This includes having or being able to access sufficient food to eat every day, along with safe and stable housing. Being aware of and able to connect with needed resources is a critical component of a student’s ability to succeed in college. The Real Resource and Referral Project’s goal is to support that. Insufficient food and a lack of stable housing remain major challenges for many college students in the U.S. The COVID-19 pandemic increased rates of both food and housing insecurity among college students. The 2021 #RealCollege study found that access to support for emergency aid was limited among students facing basic needs insecurity.
These challenges continue to burden students both academically and holistically, as they are confronted with wellness impacts in the form of stress, anxiety, and depression. This project is a part of our research effort titled Understanding and Addressing the Effects of Food and Housing Insecurity on HBCU Students. The inability to meet basic material needs may sabotage a student’s well-being and potential for success. Our project teams’ aim is to establish a baseline for food and housing insecurity among HBCU students utilizing a mixed-methods approach and to investigate the implementation and impact of a centralized, interactive resource and referral website as an effective intervention to address food and housing insecurity in this population.
Our Impact
Food and housing insecurity among college students is both an emerging concern and an established issue of public health. Further research is needed on its prevalence, impact, and the ways to best address it. In particular, there has been little research on the unique food and housing insecurity challenges of students enrolled at Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs), and the ways to best assist them when they most need it. Growing evidence suggests that access to and receipt of emergency aid can be a determining factor in degree completion.
Findings will be shared upon the project’s completion.
DonateProject Collaborators - Florida A & M University (FAMU)
