Basic Needs Support for Students During Academic Breaks

Many institutions provide wraparound supports for their students facing basic needs insecurity, whether that’s food pantries, counseling services, financial wellness resources or housing support. While students may have accommodations during the academic terms, however, resources often run out or are unavailable during breaks.

In August 2022, the Higher Education Housing and Opportunities (HOUSE) Act went into effect in Illinois; it requires colleges and universities to support students who lack fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residences outside of on-campus housing. Under the new act, colleges and universities must provide on- or off-campus housing over academic breaks to unhoused students and those with foster care experience.

To both meet the requirements of the HOUSE Act and go even further to best serve students, Southern Illinois University expanded resources for its housing-insecure students across campus, connecting with university and outside partners to support student success.

The need: This May, a national survey from Trellis Research found 44 percent of undergraduate respondents were housing insecure, 5 percent explicitly identified as homeless and 15 percent had experienced homelessness at one point during their college career. Students were more likely to be housing insecure at a two-year institution, but 40 percent of surveyed students at four-year institutions experienced housing insecurity.

The survey found three in five participants had experienced at least one type of basic needs insecurity in the past year, and 10 percent of respondents experienced food insecurity and housing insecurity or homelessness.

Nationally, around 14 percent of students at four-year institutions are considered homeless by definition, and SIU’s preliminary data put that number at around 20 percent of students experiencing homelessness, says Jaime Clark, director of student health services at SIU.

Clark ties the concept of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to student success: if students are worried about food or housing insecurity, they’re less likely to reach higher levels of academic success. Clark previously served as the director of the counseling center and found a significant number of students referred for mental health services really needed basic needs support.

“There’s a lot of research that shows that if basic needs aren’t being met, you’re not going to retain students and it’s going to lead to poor mental health symptoms,” she adds. “Stress and anxiety are going to go up when you don’t know where your next meal is going to come from, where you’re going to stay that night.”

HEROES to the rescue: This past year, Southern Illinois University created a new basic needs office within the student health center, expanding wellness services to encompass basic needs insecurities. The Higher Education Resources and Opportunities for Salukis in Need (HEROES) program offers a physical center for destressing, a food pantry and a peer support program, among other wellness resources.

The initiative is both a retention strategy to support current students but also a recruitment tool, to assure students that if they’re admitted and enrolled, the university will support them through whatever situation they might be in, Clark says.

Under the HOUSE Act, SIU must support students with housing during academic breaks like Thanksgiving, winter or spring break. The act does not extend into the summer, but the university does provide housing during that time as well.

The HOUSE Act is specific to homeless students, but SIU expanded opportunities for housing support for certain learners, such as international students, who might also face difficulties with residency over breaks.

Staffers partner with internal departments, such as the financial aid office and academic advisers, to figure out the minimum number of credits needed for a student to remain enrolled and connected to resources while not overstepping their eligibility for financial aid. SIU leaders also remain connected to outside partners and grant support to cover basic needs.

Wraparound care: University leaders recognized that students may be covered by free housing but lacking other essentials.

“At SIU and many campuses across the country, when the residence halls close for breaks, the dining halls are also closed. Even if we found a place to put them up in the residence halls, we needed to account for food and some of the other services that really fall short,” Clark explains. “We are looking at that holistic wraparound care, even during the breaks, of how do we get those needs met.”

Previously, the university offered counseling and psychological services over summer breaks but not shorter breaks. Recently, the campus extended coverage for students to access help 24-7 from licensed clinicians during those gaps. SIU also subsidizes student health care and mental health care, so it comes at little to no cost to the student.

“We also have worked with the community and our resources, whether it be churches, food banks, those types of things, to provide food over those breaks,” Clark says.

The food pantry on campus, Saluki Food Pantry, now offers both nonperishable items and toiletries, mini-fridges, air fryers, microwaves, utensils, pots and pans, sheets and towels, thanks to donations from outside partners and grant funding.

Additionally, SIU provides money for books and internet access, as well as education on navigating various systems that students may encounter.

“We also want them to become consumers of their own health care,” Clark adds. “So instead of just giving them things, we also do workshops on how to file for SNAP benefits, financial literacy, how to apply for low-cost housing, how to get affordable childcare, some of those things.”

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