Colleges Partner With Housing Authorities to Combat Student Homelessness

“We had mass migration to Tacoma and Pierce County,” she said. “Tacoma rent went up and displaced people. Our folks that were struggling became homeless, and the City of Tacoma declared a state of emergency.”

The college administrators searched for ways to help students with housing problems and found a unique solution. They partnered with the Tacoma Housing Authority and started the College Housing Assistance Program in 2014.

The program provides federal rental assistance vouchers to students who are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless because they can’t pay their rent and utilities. The program served about 50 students,76 percent of them with children, in the first year it started. It now provides vouchers for about 150 students annually.

Read the full article at Inside Higher Ed