1 in 5 college students at Humboldt State University in California are homeless. It's among the worst-affected public colleges in a nationwide crisis. This is what they face every day.
Jasmine is a 23-year-old kinesiology major at Humboldt. She's been living homeless amongst her peers for a year and is open with friends about it to learn who is going through something similar. She has a full ride academic scholarship. She carries what would be her bedroom closet in a shoulder bag.
California's unaffordable housing crisis and the rising cost of college are putting students in a rough spot. An estimated 50,000 students in the California State University system are experiencing homelessness.
Nolan is a junior at Humboldt state studying geology but you'd never know that he's homeless. Nolan lives out of his car. According to Jasmine, 3 or 4 students can be seen sleeping in their cars in the parking lot overnight.
Chante Catt, off-campus housing liaison at HSU, blames the local student homelessness on the housing stock, Airbnb, and the policies and practices of the property managers in the area. Nolan and Jasmine have avoided taking out student loans to pay for housing because of the future financial burden.