Rashida Crutchfield, MSWCSULB School of Social Work

FacultyDoctoral Candidate in Higher

Education AdministrationCalifornia State University,

Long BeachNovember 7, 2011

• Trained Social Worker •Experience in community-based practice, advocacy, homeless youth services, and social work education

• Employed at a shelter for homeless youth• CSULB School of Social Work Faculty• Participated in similar research• Community College Adjunct Faculty

•Name•Work affiliation and role•What brings you to the room?

• Homeless youth as a pathologized and voiceless group• Research on homeless youth is limited• The gap in literature• Practice and policy•Practice from a validation theory and strengths-based perspective

• Homeless youth in college are invisible•Shift of responsibility from school to students

• Research on homeless youth has pathologized them•Deficit-focused research

• Gap of literature on homeless youth in college

•Demographics•10,875 homeless youth, highly underestimated (particularly for youth) (LAHSA, 2007)•Unsheltered youth more male than female, but more even in shelter•More people of color•LGBT community•Foster youth

• Vulnerability, symptomology, and risk •Overlapping problems of substance abuse and psychological and physical challenges• Instability, violence, and neglect•Lack of social capital, face discrimination, stigma•Resilience

• Academic Preparation •Cognitively similar capabilities•Limited access and support

• Comparing marginalized students to homeless youth•Adaptation to the college environment • Inspirational people as support

• Student Social Capital and Retention• Institutional support – usually in the form of support services, but not for certain students •Work study opportunities•Faculty and staff have to be instrumental

• 47,204 Homeless youth in college• HY like other marginalized students are meeting many demands• Housing is available for foster youth, not homeless youth unless they have foster care history• Lacking social capital, beyond their similar peers

•Coping mechanisms are important for survival, but may counteract help in college• There are services for FY that overlap and could be helpful for homeless youth• The overall story is untold

Yesenia David•19-year-old enrolled in community college•Living doubled-up with her aunt and sisters with two other families in one home•Working part-time at a local restaurant

•21-year-old enrolled in his third year at a state college

•Residing in a transitional living homeless shelter•Utilizing financial aid for school and living expenses Given the literature and your experience with

homeless children and youth: •What challenges, barriers and strengths might exist for these youth in college?•What supports should or could be made available to them?

Rashida Crutchfield, MSWDoctoral Candidate

School of Social Work FacultyCalifornia State University,

Long Beach(562) 985-7029

rcrutchf@csulb.edu