CHICO — Housing insecurity for Chico students was already an issue before Nov. 8, 2018. However, the affordability issues already present in Chico worsened homelessness and insecurity rates after the Camp Fire, university researchers say.

Three researchers completed a research project in fall 2019 about housing insecurity’s impact on students, “Assessing Housing Needs and Programs at Chico State After the Camp Fire.”

Two Chico State professors, Department Associate Chair and International Relations Coordinator Jennifer Wilking of the Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice, along with professor and School of Social Work Director Susan Roll, worked with Mariah Kornbluh of the University of South Carolina’s Department of Psychology on the project. Roll and Wilking previously worked together on a 2018 study titled “Understanding the Implications of a Punitive Approach to Homelessness: A Local Case Study.”

The study, primarily conducted in fall 2019, considered results from a report in 2017 by the California Department of Housing and Community Development which outlined the significant housing challenges in California, including a lack of housing stock alongside the rising cost of living.

The Chico State team’s new research is intended to analyze whether after the Camp Fire, the student population experienced significant impacts on housing security or were more likely to experience homelessness.

In the final study for fall 2019, some respondents did cite the Camp Fire as a major reason of their worries about finding housing. Insufficient funds and problems with roommates were overall the most common reasons for housing insecurity.

A total of 17.5% (60) of respondents provided specific reasons for their housing insecurity. Two out of six interviewed reported having enough money for a home, but could not find available housing.

In addition, 19% (64) of survey respondents to this question, and four out of six interviews reported having a conflict with someone they were living with.

The researchers analyzed the results of the hypothesis that those with greater financial need — captured by the number of hours students work for pay — are more likely to be housing insecure. Their hypothesis was supported — students working 20-29 hours/week have 2.75 times the odds of being housing insecure.

Working more intensively does not seem to improve a student’s sense of housing security — in fact, students working 30 or more hours a week have 3.66 times the odds of being housing insecure relative to their peers who do not work for pay, the highest likelihood of insecurity.

Wilking and Roll said they needed a method to measure student financial need without using student financial information. Using existing literature, they found other research had used hours worked by students as a proxy, a substitute for a more direct measure.

“It does feel counterintuitive at first, but if you think about it, a student who is working over 20 or over 30 hours, they are probably doing it because they are experiencing dire financial need,” Wilking said.

Other vulnerable groups are those who rent from a nonfamily member and those impacted by the Camp Fire, such as by a temporary or permanent move, or a rent or fee increase.

What was not supported was the hypothesis that students with children were less likely to find housing. It turned out that these students did not experience higher housing insecurity relative to their peers. Related Articles Oroville council to discuss state of emergency declaration at special meeting

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Some surprises to both professors included that members of the LGBTQ community still technically do not appear to be more housing insecure, just barely defeating one hypothesis the research posed.

Wilking said she was also surprised to not see as much housing insecurity in ethnic minority groups as expected.

In addition, housing insecurity was often related to a mean grade point average being significantly lower for both housing insecure and homeless students, relative to their housing secure and housed counterparts. On average, students who have experienced three or more incidents of housing insecurity had an average GPA of 2.7, while housing secure students had an average GPA of 3.0.

Having issues with roommates who could not afford rent, and carrying the burden, was a common factor for insecurity.

“We’ve heard lots of examples of where one of a group of roommates wasn’t able to pay, and then you also don’t have enough money to cover that person … that compounds the strain,” Roll said.

Increased homelessness

The study also analyzed the current rate of homelessness at Chico State, post-fire.

A total of 14.7% of students experienced homelessness at Chico State in either the last 30 days or the past 12 months, at the time they completed the survey — a significant increase over the previous estimate at Chico State of 3.3% according to the university’s Basic Needs Study done in 2017. Temporarily living in a vehicle or staying on another person’s couch were the most commonly reported types of homelessness.

Responding to previous information that at the start of fall 2019, there were between 300 and 500 units available in off-campus university housing, “There’s available units for people with the resources, and there are not available units for people without,” Roll said.

Roll and Wilking were concerned by the high prices for by-the-room housing available to students off-campus, such as Post on Nord and Campus Walk Chico — at $800 per student or higher, these units are “out of reach,” they said.

“Previously it had been a blanket narrative that we have plenty of units available so we don’t have a housing crisis and I think what our report really highlights … is that you have to qualify that,” Wilking said. “You cannot say that everything’s OK because there are units available.”

Mental health

While over 80% of students reported being in good physical health, 562 (42%) reported feeling unwell mentally for 3 or more days over the past 30 days.

“Even if you’re making it to class, it doesn’t mean you’re exactly present, right?” Susan said. “You’re concerned about where you sleep, or what’s going on with your roommate or when your financial aid’s going to come in.”

Both think more case workers are needed at the Student Health Center to address the problem. For now, an additional grant through Assembly Bill 74 is helping the Basic Needs Center hire a social worker to work alongside Director Joe Picard.

Affordability gaps

Data in this study also revealed that, while the city of Chico limited landlords from raising rents more than 10% following the fire, more than 22% of students reported their rent and/or fees going up after the Camp Fire.

Both were concerned about the implications in this study for students’ ability to perform well in college, if they are often “short on funds” with an increased need to work to pay rising rents.

“We have a big shortfall in how we’re funding education and in housing and this is why students are working 30-plus hours,” Wilking said.

The availability of jobs in Chico is also an issue. Students are limited to using 20 hours of work study money per week to work jobs on campus.

Despite the fact that students would often rather work on campus, they often need to work elsewhere in order to make ends meet, Wilking said.

“If students need more hours … would it be better to raise the limit if students are just working 20 here and then working another 20 off campus?” Wilking said. “Ideally the best situation would be if federal funding for education increased.”

Ultimately the goal of the research was to study implications for student performance and health based on the data on current housing insecurity, “to find what is working, what is not and identify gaps,” Wilking said.

The professors worked extensively with Chico State’s Basic Needs Project and said they are glad the project will have more funding from the state. Both said they hope more students learn about the project and the help that is available through the Wildcat Food Pantry and housing assistance from Director of Off-Campus Student Services Dan Herbert.