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Student Research Reveals Student Homelessness Concerns

College students expect themselves and their peers to deal with emails, assignments and exams. What they are not expecting is to find out that some of their classmates experience homelessness. And what you also probably aren鈥檛 expecting is that 43% of four-year institution students nationwide experience some sort of housing insecurity with 14% being labeled as 鈥渉omeless鈥 in 2020, according to a report from The Hope Center.

Aimee Ward, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor

Jonathan Evanick, sophomore in the College of Public Health (CPH), is someone who never thought about homelessness impacting college students. Not until he attended a conference where the CPH dean spoke about the subject did Evanick realize that it was something he may be interested in researching.

鈥淟ike a lot of people, I wasn't aware that it was an issue,鈥 Evanick said. 鈥淟ike, how could so many students be in a homelessness situation? I felt like the topic was one that needed more research. There have been studies done but not throughout the entire country. Ohio was one place that was specifically lacking.鈥

Evanick said he wanted to conduct mixed-method research on college student homelessness throughout Northeast Ohio with the goal of getting a better understanding of the numbers of homeless students, their demographics and some practical solutions.

He started his research through the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience. SURE is a program from the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs that funds undergraduate students for eight-weeks over the summer to engage in faculty-supervised research.

Aimee Ward, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor

Evanick reached out to Aimee Ward, Ph.D., a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Geography, to help with the study.

鈥淗e approached me with a project in mind, which was awesome,鈥 said Ward. 鈥淚 really appreciate this opportunity to work with somebody in a different department than me, and I love it when students come to me with something new because I get to learn something, too.鈥

The pair began their mixed-method research by reaching out to four school administration departments and facilities similar to Kent State's CARES Center to conduct interviews and learn more about their student homelessness situations.

鈥淥ne of our findings was that universities are unable to establish their own student resources,鈥 said Evanick. 鈥淭his then overwhelms the resources in the local community.鈥 

They are currently surveying students on their awareness of the topic as well. If you are a student interested in participating in the please do so by the end of January 2023.

In April, Evanick will be presenting their results at the SURE poster presentation.

Evanick and Ward鈥檚 research on the topic will continue after the SURE program ends as his interest has continued to grow.

鈥淭he SURE Program, and especially the mentorship that Aimee has offered me, has created a lot of opportunities,鈥 said Evanick. 鈥淚t has helped me grow as a person, in the way I see the world, intellectually. It has really helped me understand what the world of research is about.鈥

To learn more about the SURE program, visit /research/student-research/summer-undergraduate-research-experience.

POSTED: Friday, December 9, 2022 10:54 AM
UPDATED: Friday, November 29, 2024 06:20 AM