Centralia College was one of 28 colleges that took part in a report published Monday by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges that found six out of 10 students in the state experienced hunger or housing insecurities over the past year.
Around 13,550 students from technical and community colleges took part in the statewide survey, which was part of the nation’s largest assessment of basic-needs security among college students, a press release from the Board for Community and Technical Colleges said.
“The report found that 41 percent of students who responded to the survey were food insecure in the prior 30 days, 51 percent said they faced some level of housing insecurity the previous year and 19 percent said they were homeless,” the press release stated.
About 63 percent of students experiencing food or housing insecurities were also already employed, the report found.
Numbers for students of color were even more dire. In the area of food insecurity, 55 percent of Native American or Alaskan Native students, 54 percent of black students, and 47 percent of Hispanic or LatinX students said they struggled to put food on the table, when compared to 39 percent of white students.
“Our students are sleeping in cars, crashing on couches, holding down jobs and getting food from pantries and food banks to make their way through college, because they know that a college education will improve their lives,” said Jan Yoshiwara, executive director of the board.
