Homelessness In College Students By Eleanor J. Bader

When we think of homelessness, we often think of people middle aged and older. For many years now, the problem has become more real to the younger generation. Some are there by choice but still, many are there because of circumstances beyond their control. In the report written by Eleanor J. Bader, she uncovers some of the faces of homeless people that just happen to be college students. According to Mary Jean LeTendre, who was interviewed in the report, “no college has ever asked for help in reaching homeless students” (638).
Bader wrote her report for the The Progressive, a liberal political magazine. It appears that she is trying to raise awareness of college students who are homeless. She has taken a great deal of time to go out and research and interview the many different angles of homelessness, from the actual person that is homeless to the professors and faculty that are trying to help those students.
One student, Aesha, was homeless due to being physically abused by her child’s father, she spent 30 days in a temporary shelter and then was moved to an emergency assistance unit. She told The Progressive, “It was horrible’... ‘We slept on benches, and it was very crowded. I was so scared I sat on my bag and held onto the stroller day and night, from Friday to Monday.’” (635) Aesha and her son were eventually moved to a family shelter in Queens which presented problems of its own. The ordeal of being homeless had taken a toll on her and her studies. The Progressor has a quote by her saying, "I spend almost eight hours a day on the trains," she says. "I have to leave the shelter at 5:00 a.m. for the Bronx where my girlfriend watches my son for me. I get to her house around 7:00. Then I have to travel to school in Brook...

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...of the people simply will not have the choice. Bader is very clear in showing the true problems of homeless college students. There truly needs to more done on this level, as there is for younger students, to help combat this problem. The homeless students deserve an education just like any other student. Even since this article was written in 2004, the economy has declined tremendously and there are possibly more students than ever that fall into this category. I would hope that after the article was published, that more time and effort was put forth to find out true statistics of this group of students. If and when ways are found to provide homeless students with an education, they will be able to graduate, get jobs and provide for themselves and their families for many years to come. Now let’s do our part and start finding ways to help those less fortunate.