California’s high cost of living and limited housing availability poses many challenges for Californians, including California Community College students. Students facing housing insecurity and homelessness lack the stability, safety, and support they need to focus on and meet their educational goals, oftentimes putting their academic and career dreams aside due to an inability to meet this basic need. 

Foster youth are especially vulnerable to the housing crisis, with approximately 4,000 California foster youth a year aging out of the system with no college or career support, leaving them more likely to struggle with low educational attainment, unstable employment, and homelessness. In 2019, a survey conducted by the The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice reported homelessness rates of 43 percent and housing insecurity rates of 82 percent among former foster youth, meaning they were experiencing challenges such as an inability to pay rent or utilities, not having a permanent place to stay, or needing to move often. 

The Foundation’s Foster Youth Housing Project aims to address this need by laying the groundwork to build student housing for California community college students.

The Foster Youth Housing Project will build off of current work occurring in Los Angeles, where one third of homeless youth were in the foster care system. 

Through research conducted in partnership with experts and advocates in the housing space, the project aims to identify opportunities to build student housing to support students and meet the unique needs of more vulnerable populations, with a specific focus on former foster youth. Findings will help inform and create a roadmap for future housing initiatives and developments across the California Community Colleges, aiming to ultimately provide students with more holistic, wrap-around support to help improve economic and social mobility statewide.

Guided by the work led by the Chancellor’s Office for California Community Colleges, including existing college dorms and housing currently being offered at eleven campuses across the state, the Foundation will work to expand these efforts with the help of advocates, experts, and foster youth. In line with our ultimate goal to benefit, support, and enhance the California Community Colleges, the Foundation will plan and partner with necessary stakeholders to leverage the full range of knowledge, expertise, buy-in, and resources needed to ensure that housing insecurity among California Community College students can be addressed at scale.

Support from philanthropic partners is integral to the success of the Foster Youth Housing Project. To learn more about how to support student housing efforts in your region, contact us today.