When Rashida Crutchfield began her doctoral degree at Cal State Long Beach in 2009, she knew she wanted to study the college experience for homeless students. There was one problem. She couldn’t find any research about college homelessness, so she studied the impacts of rapid rehousing programs.

“The imposter syndrome in me thought I was just doing it wrong,” said Crutchfield, now a professor at CSULB’s School of Social Work.

So Crutchfield contacted Barbara Duffield, a leading advocate for children experiencing homelessness in the K-12 school system. “I said, ‘I’m not finding anything about the college experience for students,’” Crutchfield recalled. She said, ‘There isn’t anything. That’s your job now.’”

That job has kept Crutchfield busy ever since. Her 2018 research finding that nearly 11% of California State University students experienced homelessness coincided with an emerging consensus among California lawmakers and higher education leaders that housing and food insecurity can be a major barrier for would-be college graduates. Together with her colleagues at CSULB’s Center for Equitable Higher Education, the research arm of the university’s basic needs program, Crutchfield has also assessed how well college programs intended to help meet students’ basic needs are working, ensuring rapid rehousing programs are adequately supporting students.

One such program is College Focused Rapid Rehousing, launched in 2020 at selected community colleges and California State University campuses, including CSULB. Backed by tens of millions of dollars in state funding, the aim of the pilot rapid rehousing program is to help students complete college by first moving them into stable housing, taking a more intensive approach than emergency housing vouchers and other short-term help. In a rapid rehousing program, colleges and community housing agencies provide students with rental subsidies, academic support, and case management that prepares them to live independently.

The center’s final evaluation in 2025 found that students who participated in the rapid rehousing program were more likely to stay in school than those receiving only a short-term subsidy. About 70% of former rapid rehousing participants surveyed reported living in an apartment they directly leased or owned a year after leaving the program.

Read the full article about supporting homeless college students by Amy Dipierro at EdSource.