With exams, jobs and student loans to worry about, college students do not always have it easy. Students can take comfort knowing the burden of these stressors can be alleviated by tutors, career fairs and financial advisors—all accessible resources at Southeastern. However, not all problems college students face are so readily attended to by the community. A growing concern in Hammond is student homelessness, a problem which there are few, if any, resources offering solutions. 

Marc Settembrino, a sociology professor, was approached by a student who was living in his car during the Fall 2013 semester. According to Settembrino, the problem of student homelessness is more prominent than one might think.

“I’m not the only faculty member that’s ever had a homeless student in their class,” said Settembrino. “It’s sort of this unspoken experience that some college students have.”

According to Erin Matheny, co-chair for the Northlake Homeless Coalition, 375 people between the ages of 18 and 24 sought services for housing crisis remediation throughout the five parish regions between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014. Settembrino speculates that number may be even higher, as many students facing homelessness either choose not to seek services or are ineligible for them. 

The Northlake Homeless Coalition provides services to five parishes: Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Tammany, Washington and St. Helena. According to Matheny, units of local government within the region, in total, received $184,000 in federal funds during the last allocation of Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) monies to pay for rental assistance for persons who are facing evictions or have already been evicted. With such a limited budget, services must be oriented toward those who are experiencing chronic homelessness, often neglecting cases of short-term homelessness. Most college students experiencing homelessness find themselves struggling temporarily, couch surfing or living in their cars in between semesters. This leaves them ineligible for many services.  

Additionally, many programs combating homelessness have strict eligibility requirements that people may fail to meet such as too much or too little income, not having a diagnosed disabling condition, not having the appropriate household composition, etc. 

“In order to qualify, you have to show that you are financially stable,” said Settembrino. “They have income requirements. There are many cases where people are told, ‘I’m sorry, but you don’t make enough money to qualify for help.’”

This lack of available services leaves students grasping at straws, trying to better their circumstances. 

Some local religious organizations have taken on the responsibility of providing assistance to homeless students. 

“[We] have housed abused students, students who were destitute and could not afford housing and school at the same time,” said Emile Tasso, owner and minister of the Wesley Foundation of the United Methodist Church in Hammond. “We have fed hundreds of students through our food pantry. We have provided furniture and bicycles to international students, [and] we have housed international students during hurricanes. We have paid many electric bills, rent deposits and rent assistance over the last eight years for international students.”

Helping college students facing homelessness pays off in the long run. Alumna Tao Zhang faced the threat of homelessness during her time at Southeastern. Thanks to the help she received from the Wesley Foundation, she was able to earn her undergraduate and master’s degrees in accounting and is now financially stable.

“[The Wesley Foundation] provided me with a place to stay,” said Zhang. “That really helped because I was at the end of the semester and couldn’t figure out where to go. I desperately needed a place to stay. The Wesley Foundation provides you with a place to stay. Not only that, but an important thing is the encouragement I received from Emile. He always encouraged me to try new things and try my best. I feel like I could not be where I am right now without him or the Wesley Foundation.”

If services such as homeless shelters were available in Hammond, many would not choose to take advantage of these services. Reasons for denying services range from feeling unsafe around other people experiencing homelessness to being too embarrassed to admit the need for help.

“One of the things I found in my own research is many people don’t want to go to homeless shelters, and they have different reasons why they don’t want to,” said Settembrino. “They might be too proud. They may not want to follow the rules that the shelter has.”

Settembrino believes in order to truly be effective in alleviating homelessness, not only must services be made available, but the community should work toward reducing the stigma toward those who need help.

“I think, as a community, we really need to be a little bit more compassionate about people who have less,” said Settembrino. “I remember when I first was getting ready to move here; I was reading the Daily Star online, trying to get an idea of what Hammond was all about. I remember last summer they had an issue with vagrancy, and that the police were arresting vagrants, panhandlers and people asking for money. I think we have this attitude about homelessness that we don’t want to see the homeless. We don’t want them around. People internalize that, and they see the stigma, so they’re not going to ask for help.”

Students currently struggling with homelessness may reach the Wesley Foundation at (985) 345-1675.