Journal of Social Work Education
ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/uswe20
“I’m Supposed to Be Helping Others”: Exploring
Food Insecurity and Homelessness for Social Work
Students
Rashida M. Crutchfield , Jennifer Maguire , Charmaine D. Campbell , Dianka
Lohay , Stephanie Valverde Loscko & Rachael Simon
To cite this article: Rashida M. Crutchfield , Jennifer Maguire , Charmaine D. Campbell , Dianka
Lohay , Stephanie Valverde Loscko & Rachael Simon (2020) “I’m Supposed to Be Helping Others”:
Exploring Food Insecurity and Homelessness for Social Work Students, Journal of Social Work
Education, 56:sup1, S150-S162, DOI: 10.1080/10437797.2020.1741478
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2020.1741478
Published online: 04 May 2020.
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JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION
2020, VOL. 56, NO. S1, S150–S162
https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2020.1741478
“I’m Supposed to Be Helping Others”: Exploring Food Insecurity
and Homelessness for Social Work Students
Rashida M. Crutchfield, Jennifer Maguire, Charmaine D. Campbell, Dianka Lohay,
Stephanie Valverde Loscko, and Rachael Simon
ABSTRACT
ARTICLE HISTORY
Some students in higher education experience food insecurity and homelessness; however, the experience specifically for social work students has
not been explored. This qualitative study investigates the experiences of 16
social work students in 4-year universities who lacked basic needs and
examines how their need to seek support influenced their educational
careers. Findings show that students faced tremendous challenges in their
physical, mental, and academic well-being. Social work students navigated
their circumstances while learning their professional roles in service to
marginalized communities. However, some students were hesitant to seek
resources because they perceived themselves as helpers, not help seekers.
Social work educators can ensure student success by normalizing helpseeking behavior and support the development of on-campus resources.
Accepted: December 2019
Recent research has raised awareness that there are students in higher education who are food and
housing insecure (Broton & Goldrick-Rab, 2016, 2017; Crutchfield & Maguire, 2018, 2019; Hallett &
Crutchfield, 2017; Hallett et al., 2019; Hallett & Freas, 2017). Although research on food and housing
insecurity for general populations of college and university students has grown, no literature has
focused on social work students specifically and their experiences with basic needs. Social work
students who lack basic needs such as food and housing simultaneously learn how to provide
support for marginalized communities while negotiating their own need for services. This study
explores the experiences of social work students who were food and housing insecure and how their
lack of basic needs informed their progress in social work education.
Understanding basic needs: Homelessness and food security
Research on basic needs in higher education has often relied on a definition for homelessness in the
the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act,
which defined homelessness for youths as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence
(Hallett & Crutchfield, 2017; Hallett et al., 2019). This definition, which is broader than that of the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has provided a frame of reference for
understanding and often exemplifies the experience of college students who are homeless
(Crutchfield & Maguire, 2018; Hallett & Crutchfield, 2017; Hallett et al., 2019).
Community colleges appear to have high rates of homelessness and housing insecurity, ranging
from 30% to 50% of students experiencing housing instability and 13% to 14% experiencing
homelessness (Goldrick-Rab et al., 2017; Wood et al., 2016). Similarly, 41.7% of City University of
New York students experienced housing instability (Tsui et al., 2011). Research at the University
of Massachusetts Boston found that 5.4% of students experienced homelessness, and 45% of
participants reported housing insecurity (Silva et al., 2017). A national study found that 12% of
CONTACT Rashida M. Crutchfield
rashida.crutchfield@csulb.edu
College of Health and Human Services, Ringgold
Standard Institution - Social Work, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA 90840-8306.
© 2020 Council on Social Work Education
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community college students and 9% of university students experienced homelessness (GoldrickRab et al., 2018). In a study of the California State University (CSU) system, 10.9% of students
experienced homelessness in a 12-month period (Crutchfield & Maguire, 2018).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service defines food insecurity as
being low or very low food secure (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2017). Low food security refers to
a reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet with no reduced intake of food and includes food
of diminished quality because people cannot afford healthier food. Individuals experiencing very
low food security often report multiple examples of disrupted eating patterns, reduced food
intake, and at the farthest end of the spectrum, missed meals because of limited financial means.
Studies have also shown high rates of students in colleges and universities experiencing food
insecurity. Research conducted with college students found that between 21% and 52% of
students experienced food insecurity including reduced intake of food, nutritional deficits, and
worry or anxiety about having access to enough food (Chaparro et al., 2009; Crutchfield &
Maguire, 2018; Freudenberg et al., 2011; S. Goldrick-Rab et al., 2015; Martinez et al., 2016). In
a study of 10 community colleges across the United States, 39% of students were found to be food
insecure (Goldrick-Rab et al., 2015). In the University of California system, 42% of students
experienced food insecurity (Martinez et al., 2016). In a national study, Goldrick-Rab et al. (2018)
found that 42% of community college students and 36% of university students experience food
insecurity. Crutchfield and Maguire (2018) found that 41.6% of CSU students were food insecure.
Although some policies and practices in higher education are designed to help retain lowincome students most at risk of stopping out of higher education, very few safeguards and
retention supports exist specifically for students who lack basic needs. Research suggests that
students who experience homelessness and food insecurity struggle to meet a variety of competing needs, including management of personal and financial responsibilities and navigating
college environments (Crutchfield & Maguire, 2019; Goldrick-Rab et al., 2015, 2017; Gupton,
2017). The myriad of problems associated with a lack of basic needs undoubtedly impedes
academic success. Students experiencing housing and food insecurities have higher levels of
stress (Crutchfield & Maguire, 2018; Eisenberg et al., 2016) and are often in the precarious
position of having to sacrifice their well-being in the pursuit of their education (Broton &
Goldrick-Rab, 2016; Cady, 2016; Crutchfield & Maguire, 2018, 2019; Freudenberg et al., 2013).
Moreover, state and federal programs intended to support low-income individuals and families,
like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often fail to help struggling students
because of restrictive eligibility requirements specifically for those in higher education
(Crutchfield & Maguire, 2019).
Social work students, perceptions of poverty, and basic needs
Students pursue social work as a profession for many reasons, and according to research, students often
pursue the profession to support marginalized groups (Bogo et al., 1995). Values and ethics that support
the social good are the cornerstones of social work, and those who wish to work with disempowered
populations should have familiarity with local needs and a desire to advocate for change (Freund et al.,
2013). The alignment of principles of social work practice with individual values has been found to be
a driving factor in choosing the social work profession (Mizrahi & Dodd, 2013). Additionally, many
students become social workers based on personal experiences (Mizrahi & Dodd, 2013; Yabe, 2015).
Rompf and Royse (1994) found that a history of psychosocial trauma was positively correlated with
social work students’ choice of profession. It may be that many social work students who face basic
needs insecurities may also be drawn to the helping profession because of their familiarity with adversity.
However, more contemporary research is needed to uncover the influence basic needs insecurities have
on social work students and their motivation to pursue degrees in the helping professions.
In examining the impact of a lack of basic needs on social work students, it is imperative to
consider the underlying perceptions of those experiencing poverty and how they might affect
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their self-image. Although poverty has many different explanations, some of them focus on the
responsibility of individual faults (Sun, 2001), whereas others take account of societal structures
(Feagin, 1975; Jennings, 2004; Kluegel & Smith, 1986; Mickelson & Hazlett, 2014; Segal, 2010).
Individuals of varying backgrounds seem to accept discriminatory views of poverty despite the
fact that their own experience fails to validate such negative representations. Even recipients of
public social supports often subscribe to the belief that the need for welfare is because of
personal inadequacies (Pearson, 2006; Seccombe et al., 1998). Students who access public social
services may differentiate themselves from this perceived other and continue the cycle of
stigmatization by subscribing to these beliefs (Pearson, 2006; Seccombe et al., 1998). Social
work students are not immune to hegemonic beliefs that stigmatize and blame individuals living
in poverty but may have the capacity to have a more nuanced understanding about the receipt of
services. Social workers are more inclined to attribute poverty to structural reasons after
completing course work in the social work field (Schwartz & Robinson, 1991). Students who
complete their initial social work courses are less likely to ascribe personal responsibility to those
experiencing need, and graduating seniors are better able to differentiate the causes and
implications of poverty than their less experienced undergraduate counterparts.
There is a gap in research demonstrating how social work students negotiate working with
clients while needing services themselves. Research also does not address how social work
students feel about having to seek and receive services and what can be done to support and
encourage them. The unintended effects of subscribing to negative representations of poverty by
social work students may affect their own receipt of services by perpetuating welfare stigmas.
This article examines the experiences of social work students who experience food and housing
insecurity and how their own need for support with these basic needs may influence their
experience in social work education.
Methodology
Interviews were used in this study to obtain rich, thick, descriptive data indicative of the experiences
of social work students experiencing housing and food insecurity (Geertz, 1973; Guest et al., 2012;
Huberman & MiJorge, 2002). This methodology allowed the exploration of the phenomenon of
social work students’ lack of basic needs and how they make meaning of it (Creswell, 2007; Merriam,
2009). The research plan and procedure for this study were reviewed and approved by Crutchfield’s
university’s institutional review board.
Participants
Participants were drawn from the study of basic needs for the CSU system (Crutchfield & Maguire,
2018) and were recruited as a part of their participation in a survey that was disseminated to 23
California State University campuses. Almost 6% of all CSU students participated in this initial
survey (N=24,324). Student participants volunteered and were selected for interviews and focus
groups based on reported levels of food insecurity and homelessness from the survey. Students who
indicated food or housing insecurity or both were contacted to participate in interviews or focus
groups at 11 CSU campuses (n=213). Of those, 16 identified as social work students. The data from
these social work students were analyzed for this study (Table 1).
At the time of their interview, participants were enrolled in a BSW or MSW program in a 4-year
university. Students were enrolled at campuses from northern, southern, and central CSUs to include
perspectives from urban, rural, and suburban areas. A majority of participants identified as people of
color, which may, in part, be because of the high proportion of students of color in the CSU
population (CSU, 2018) as well as the disproportionate prevalence of basic needs insecurity in
student communities of color (Broton & Goldrick-Rab, 2016; Crutchfield & Maguire, 2018, 2019;
Goldrick-Rab et al., 2017; Hallett & Crutchfield, 2017).
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Table 1. Individual participant demographics.
Pseudonym
Anna
Brat
Brenda
Cathy
Delilah
Faith
Fernanda
Fiona
Gianna
Holly
Jill
Kenny
Kianna
Rain
Raven
Tania
Gender
Female
Male
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Male
Female
Female
Female
Female
Race or Ethnicity
White
Latinx
Latinx
Black or African American
Black or African American
Latinx
Latinx
Latinx
Latinx
White
White
White
Black or African American
Latinx
Black or African American
Latinx
Social Work Program
MSW
BSW
Undergraduate social work minor
MSW
BSW, human services
MSW
MSW
Undergraduate social work minor
MSW
MSW
BSW
MSW
MSW
MSW
MSW
BSW
Age
39
51
20
23
26
43
23
21
24
26
54
49
29
22
25
22
Participants were offered a $15.00 gift card as an incentive to participate. Students took part in
semistructured interviews and focus groups, which lasted 60–90 minutes. Participants were asked
broad, open-ended questions about their experiences with food and housing insecurity while
enrolled in higher education. Students were asked to select pseudonyms to protect their privacy as
this study relied on recruitment of participants who were willing to discuss their experiences with
basic needs insecurities. This inevitably left out students who were unable or unwilling to participate,
were uncomfortable exploring these issues, or do not consider themselves insecure in basic needs.
Participants were asked questions focused on four areas: (a) their experience with food and
housing insecurity, (b) the barriers and supports they experienced while in higher education (c) their
knowledge of support services and how they used them, and (d) their social connections.
Data analysis
Qualitative data analysis took place throughout the data collection process before being formalized at
the conclusion of the study using the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Open
coding was conducted on each transcript (Corbin & Strauss, 2008), maintaining openness to all ideas
presented by the participants without preconceived notions about what codes and themes might
appear (Saldaña, 2009). Preliminary codes and themes were developed (Creswell, 2007), and then
a second cycle of coding reduced, analyzed, and compared the data to develop more accurate codes
and themes (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
This study examined two research questions for social work students who experienced food and housing
insecurity: How do social work students describe their experience with food and housing insecurity, and
How does students’ education in social work influence their experiences? Throughout the coding of these
transcripts, three central themes emerged from the data: (a) the general experience of lacking basic needs as
a university student, (b) the unique experience of social work students facing basic needs insecurities, and
(c) how the social work practice influences students’ personal and professional perspectives and lives.
Together, these themes presented a picture of how social work students perceived their journey in higher
education while experiencing insufficiency in their basic needs.
Findings
Participants expressed a passion for social work and a desire to graduate and find fiscal and social
stability through service. However, they described facing unique supports and obstacles in higher
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education as they attempted to manage academic demands while navigating basic needs insecurities.
Social work students who experienced food insecurity and homelessness often felt they had more
stability than many of the clients they served in their internships but were exhausted from their own
unmet needs. Many of the participants expressed a passion for learning and becoming successful
social workers; however, they were challenged with incompatible feelings of seeing themselves as less
deserving of support services than their clients yet having an omnipresent urgency to see that their
basic needs were met.
Experiences of basic needs insecurity
Students in this study provided their own voices to shape how social work educators could view their
experiences struggling with basic needs. These students were honing complex survival skills that aided
them as they served in internships at field placements and achieved their course work. The social work
students in this study were tasked with demanding academic course work, required internship hours, and
often paid employment beyond internship. Moreover, social work students lacking basic needs experienced strains on their mental health and in personal relationships. Students spoke of the social isolation
associated with instability and the relief that campus programs provided emotionally and physically.
Providing a bridge to accessing services is a keystone of social work practice, and social work students
who balanced demanding schedules while accessing supportive services demonstrated a deep understanding of the challenges their future clients may face.
The social work students in this study spoke of regularly skipping meals or changing their diets to
save money, and the physical and mental consequences of food insecurity took a toll on their
personal and educational lives. Most students, like Faith, spoke of getting headaches, feeling fatigued,
and an inability to concentrate. Faith described these common concerns when she said, “The
physical repercussions … I’ve recently experienced, dizziness, loss of balance, trouble focusing,
[and] a little bit [of] depression.”
Many students spoke about gaining weight because of the impact of food deprivation and eating
inexpensive food that was high in salt and fat content. Jill, who regularly missed meals because of the
cost, thought she would benefit from doing so. She found the opposite to be true and that she
regularly gained weight and felt sick, sluggish, and absentminded:
I know not eating don’t work [to lose weight]. It makes it worse, because the next time you eat, your body
thinks you’re starving so then it stores everything you eat… . Now, I got a few days here where I’m like, oh my
God, I feel like crap, I get shaky.
Students spoke about making food stretch when money was tight. Delilah struggled to find resources
to feed herself and her young child while covering the costs of her social work education. She
discussed sacrifices she made to tighten her budget at the end of every month: “I’ll just let the baby
eat. I won’t eat [today], or I’ll miss breakfast, I’ll have lunch. Or, I won’t have breakfast or lunch, I’ll
just have dinner.” Like Delilah, many students, found creative and sometimes drastic strategies to be
healthy and save money.
Fresh food made students feel better but was more expensive and could not be stored. Faith was
not a vegetarian but stopped eating meat to save money. Still, she found it was difficult to store food,
given her unstable housing and limited financial stability:
I try to supplement with lentils and beans, lots of dark leafy greens etcetera, that sort of thing, but I find that
I couldn’t eat things fast enough before they would go bad, I couldn’t buy a good amount of food items to
sustain me for a couple of weeks.
Faith, Jill, and Delilah, similar to many students, wanted to consider healthy eating; however,
nonperishable and unhealthy foods were less expensive. Rain discussed finding low-cost, nonperishable food, saying that “it was okay to have two meals and make it … crap food or whatever [from
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a food pantry] or gotten with whatever amount I had but you know, that’s not enough for a person.”
Many students discussed wanting nutritious food but could not afford it.
Social work students also spoke about the short- and long-term effects of homelessness on their
academic and personal well-being. Students described living in a state of constant anxiety as they
scrambled to find shelter while trying to achieve academically to become professional social workers.
Rain, who often considered abandoning her studies, discussed how difficult it was for her to stay in
her social work program:
I’d be in class wondering like, “Okay, tonight where should I go?” I contemplated dropping out, really
strongly … . I love social work and I love the classes and everything, but it just was not fun. I was falling
behind. It was really bad.
Like many others, Kenny experienced high anxiety and depression while homeless. Often living in
his car under a bridge, he occasionally found refuge on the couch of a friend. Kenny described how
significant a thing such as having housing could be on his health and well-being.
Every time I go to bed, I’m thanking God … I don’t know what it is, but just any laying down and being able to
lay my head down somewhere is a tremendous thing… . . people, they really don’t realize how that little thing
like that is outrageous.
Homelessness also had consequences for students’ social support systems. Some worried that someone would find out they were homeless. Students worried that their peers would not understand, or
they felt a burden to have to explain their situation to others. The fear of stigmatization resulted in
social isolation and negatively affected their mental health. For Rain, managing homelessness, course
work, seeking services, internship, and paid employment made building and retaining relationships
feel implausible:
I don’t feel good or I don’t feel ready. I don’t want to socialize. I don’t want to do anything I don’t have to do ’cause
I already felt like I was just overwhelmed all the time. Interacting with others just wasn’t pleasant anymore… .
Coming to school for me has always been a delight, something I look forward to. But all of a sudden, school was
probably one of the things that I hated, (crying) … because all of it was just more stress; everything … homework
assignments. Something as simple as not having Wi-Fi, an outlet to plug in a computer, phone, and necessities that
you don’t really realize that you need as a student … even texting, like group messages, group projects, that’s all
about texting. If you don’t have an outlet, you don’t know where to go.
The burden of homelessness and food insecurity made students feel frustrated and alone. All the
students described wanting to be able to perform academically and personally as if nothing were
wrong. Many students discussed trying to seem like a typical student but feeling overwhelmed, sick,
and exhausted. In class and in internships, they attempted to be attentive and engaged learners.
However, every day presented new and compounding challenges, hunger, homelessness, isolation,
and constant pressure to achieve despite their circumstances.
Experiences as a social work student
Basic needs insecurity is an untenable circumstance for any university student. Findings from this
study pinpointed the notion that students’ social work identities and academic and internship
experiences influenced their experiences in a unique way. For some, their knowledge and ability
to find and navigate support was expanded by their practice education. However, even with this
knowledge, some students felt hesitant to seek services because of their roles as helpers in the field
and did not perceive themselves as deserving of support.
Social work identity
Many students expressed the importance social work had on shaping their professional and personal
identity. Raven said becoming a social work student gave her the unique opportunity to discuss
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complex systems in and outside the classroom. She, like others, spoke about learning critical
perspectives in working with marginalized communities and being challenged on her views on
resourcing services when in need. Having regular discussions on social justice allowed her space to
evolve her sense of self:
I’ve been able to be really challenged a lot … to develop this sense of self power, self worth, that I don’t think
another program or a different experience would have allowed me to do … I have really critical conversations
that you wouldn’t walk down the street and talk about, like [the] patriarchy and stuff like that, just as a normal,
natural thing.
Other students spoke about how their social work education helped them on their journey to redefine
normalcy for their own situations with basic needs. In addition, some students felt that the mix of their
life experiences and education helped prepare them to work with clients without judgment. Rain said she
was once hesitant to seek help for support in her basic needs, and after her own experiences and
education, it was easier to understand why clients might have a similar response:
Because of my experience … I’ve realized how when we are ready to come looking for help, there’s a certain level
of vulnerability where we think [that] whatever is offered is enough or sufficient … Like, maybe my situation is
what it is, instead if thinking of the social economic difference, how for us it’s normal to be crumped up in a place
with many residents to a place. Our perspective is just very different, so when someone comes with something as
simple as, “I don’t have a place,” no matter what the situation is, I think it deserves value.
Participants said that their personal and unique social work perspectives were helpful in assisting
clients experiencing adversity as it helped put things like self-determination and acknowledgment of
cultural, ethnic, and economic differences at the forefront of their practice.
These social work students were educated to support individuals holistically while acknowledging the
impact of ever changing and interconnecting systems and social problems. Many participants described
developing advocacy skills to help others overcome the personal and structural barriers that they
themselves were grappling with. A salient theme found throughout the stories was a desire to educate
peers about the intricacies involved in accessing resources. Giana spoke of the influence that being
a social work student had on her desire to advocate and provide hope for her future clients: “That’s my
mission, whatever I learn, I want to be able to share it with some other people, eventually … It’s not
gonna be easy but it is possible.” Participants often expressed a passion to support clients and work with
communities to ensure equity and resource support. For some, this also translated to seeking support for
themselves. For others, this advocacy was only for clients, not themselves.
Knowledge, navigation, and receipt of services and support
Services on- and off-campus provided critical resources to mitigate students’ basic needs insecurity.
Often as a part of their academic and internship training, social work students developed their
knowledge of available services and how to navigate accessing them. This knowledge and skill not
only helped develop their ability to assist clients but also provided them with the opportunity to help
themselves. When faced with the inability to pay for her social work classes, Faith put theory into
practice and found her voice while negotiating with her campus financial aid office and said, “It was
just a real tangled mess and I had to go and advocate for myself. The thing is, I have a voice. I know
I do. I walk in there and I say what I need.” Faith had the self-determination and skill to advocate for
herself, whereas Anna spoke about her knowledge of navigating off-campus services:
SSI [Supplemental Security Income], housing assistance, disability, [I am] navigating [a lot of] services. I get
SSI. Rent is SSI, I’m Section 8. I’m fighting with them right now because they raised my rent by $80 because
they counted my financial aid as income [which they shouldn’t but] I think what happened [was] I got
a scholarship … and they’re counting it as income … . That’s why I’ve been [so] bad [about] the food because
I run out of money.
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Anna exemplifies many of the issues experienced by social work students who are basic needs
insecure. As a college student, eligibility exemptions and coordination with social services and
financial aid required a great deal of navigation. Generally, public social services are not supposed
to count financial aid as income; however, it was apparent that students were faced with benefit
workers who were unclear about stipulations for students in higher education. Many social services,
like Supplemental Security Income and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often
required extensive checks and verification for students. Seeking these resources required students
to be persistent, insistent, and often educate benefit workers on student eligibility requirements.
Social work students proved to be highly skilled at accessing services when they chose to.
Many students talked about how CalFresh, California’s iteration of the federal Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program, was particularly difficult to navigate and recounted a convoluted
application process. Cathy said she was denied when trying to apply for CalFresh, but she used her
social work knowledge of practice to ensure that county workers were responsive:
Any time anything wasn’t going right, I was like, let me call and make sure they put … in [their] notes that
I called. One of the workers that I spoke with, he said it was good that I called and they put it in the notes,
because if they would have closed my case, they wouldn’t have been able to open it up again… . But they didn’t
close it because of all of the contacts I made saying I was having a difficult time getting in contact with my
worker.
Anna received CalFresh benefits, and this experience taught her to navigate complex public benefit
programs and influenced her personal and professional trajectory.
When students were able to access supports, they found relief that helped their retention at the
university. Students discussed the positive impact that on-campus supportive programs had on their
well-being and their ability to focus on academics. Rain’s campus offered emergency food and
housing, emergency grants, and a food pantry. When she received these services, she saw a change in
her life: “Something as simple as getting the right food, oh my gosh, did my body feel better. It’s
crazy.” In regard to emergency housing, she said, “I was so happy. I was able to rest. I wasn’t anxious
24/7… . When the housing came, joy returned.” Rain’s comments illustrate the explicit connections
between accessing emergency supportive services and academic engagement.
Many students described the importance of having support services and safe community spaces in
their universities. Many students, particularly those who were homeless, spent long hours on campus
because it served as respite from homelessness. Participants described extensively using open-access,
on-campus study centers and computer labs, printing services and Wi-Fi access as a survival tactic.
Kenny, who was largely living in his car, used his campus as a place where he could spend most of
his time, be safe, and concentrate on his studies:
The best part about it though is I get a lot of work done … I’m either here [on campus] or I’m sleeping, and
so … in my last semester of my bachelor’s, from February until May of last year, basically being homeless, I got
straight As because I spent all my time here [on campus] doing my work, getting my papers on point and
everything.
Many students who experienced homelessness said their campus provided a refuge and that they
spent much of their time on campus studying. This benefited some students because they reported
high grade point averages; however, many students also reported poor health, poor mental health,
and a feeling of exhaustion. As they progressed, social work students demonstrated confidence when
presented with obstacles and empathized with their clients. However, although some participants
used these skills to meet their basic needs, many participants did not apply these skills for services
for themselves.
Deservingness and stigma
Social work students often expressed the sentiment that their clients were more deserving of
resources than they were. When asked about using the on-campus food pantry and emergency
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support services, Giana viewed her situation as less serious than that of others, coupled with feeling
the need to be self-sufficient. Giana often skipped meals and moved from place to place to sleep but
said,
I don’t want to take advantage of something that I don’t absolutely need… . I’ve been in survival mode since
I was 16, so … I feel like I’ve been trained based on my experiences to be able to figure [something] out on my
own and make it work.
Many participants felt strongly about being helpers but not needing help. When Fernanda, who said
that she was stressed and lacked support, was asked if she had considered campus psychological
counseling, she said:
Being a social worker, I’m supposed to be helping others with their problems and stuff. Not that social workers
don’t have problems. (laughs). I’m supposed to be helping now. Me talking about my problems, I just put them
to the side. I like to help others before somebody help[s] me. I put that to the side and I’d rather help someone
else.
Many social work students who experienced food insecurity, homelessness, or both voiced a similar
desire to put others’ needs before their own. Social work students often spoke about how they were
less deserving of supports because their clients were experiencing higher instances of need. This
theme of hierarchical need and deservingness arose repeatedly, and often seemed to stem from
a desire to be self-sufficient or layered with stigma for needing help.
Social work classes at times reinforced students’ hesitation to seek support or disclose their
experiences with basic needs insecurity. Students reported that their classes were focused on the
development of knowledge, skill, and awareness of service and support for marginalized students.
However, participants also reported that many of their faculty members and social work student
peers were not always aware there were students in their classrooms who were struggling with issues
similar to those discussed in class. For some students, discussions in class that were intended to be
theoretical or conceptual conversations designed to be learning opportunities became uncomfortable
and reinforced feelings of shame and stigma. Rain, who was homeless while taking a class that
focused on homelessness, recalled:
In classes … a lot of our focus is on the high-risk populations and a lot of times those include a lot of the
categories I guess I fall into… . So, learning became a constant reminder of the situation I was going through.
I’d be often triggered during classes about my situation and not being able to fully separate my personal life and
my professional life… . so [there were] all sorts of readings on what [people experiencing homelessness] go
through and the symptoms and behaviors they have were all things that I was very aware of. So, it wasn’t
anything that I looked forward to and, often times, I dreaded and had to push myself to do and complete [the
work] and at least do the very minimum just to pass.
Students in this study spoke about positive and negative affects this had on their emotional health
and their educational experience. Some students found that they could understand concepts in
a nuanced way because of their own experiences. For others, discussions about marginalized
communities elicited feelings of dread rather than interest. In-class activities and assignments, and
field placements could be the source of painful reminders of students’ own circumstances and hinder
their ability to reach the full capacity of their academic career. Although the courses were constructed with no intentional malice, the unforeseen implications made a difficult situation worse.
Seeking help from faculty members
Although many social work students were hesitant to seek support or did not feel deserving of help,
one of their strengths was their willingness to seek assistance from faculty members. Participants
discussed their admiration for social work faculty members, found them to be genuine and willing to
inform them of resources, connect them to services, or simply listen to their circumstance without
judgment. Raven had been unwilling to seek resources despite spending months living in her car
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until she spoke with a faculty member who listened to her and explained why she would benefit from
support:
It just felt genuinely like [my professor] cared and that [she was not] looking to fix anything, but [she was]
looking to listen. I think that’s a huge difference. For me, I wanna fix it myself. I don’t ask for a lot of help.
I don’t need a lot of help, but if I do need it, sometimes I just want someone to listen so I can process it or
whatever … I think that’s what made me trust [her]… . [When she helped me find services] we sat here and did
the application… . If we hadn’t [done the application together] I would’ve never done it on my own.
Social work faculty members helped students begin shifting long-held beliefs about self-sufficiency,
which supported them in seeking services for basic needs insecurities. Rain spoke about her
conversation with her field instructor:
I just thought … it wasn’t that bad. That was my thing mentally, it isn’t that bad and talking to her was [an]
enlightening moment where she was like, “You deserve to have a [home].” And that wasn’t a thought that I had
had for … a very long time. It had just become my normal.
Furthermore, social work students expressed how the help of faculty members increased their
connection to resources and thus improved their well-being and academic success. Anna, who was
food insecure, expressed gratitude for one faculty member who organized a donation drive for her.
Often Anna did not know where her next meal would come from, and because of the drive she was
able to cover her food expenses until a long-term solution could be found, which allowed her to
focus on being a student:
Just in passing [I told] her the story. The next time I saw her she pulled me aside after class, she gave me a $100
card. She had anonymously asked for it. She didn’t tell them who it was, just said there’s this graduate student
that’s struggling… . That made me feel really good … it’s very touching.
Students reported positive outcomes when seeking help from faculty members. Students felt faculty
members listened, reduced stigma, and provided linkages to resources. Participants said that social
work faculty support was the key driver in their retention and well-being.
Conclusion
Although all students experiencing basic needs insecurities should be located and supported in
higher education, social work educators have a particular responsibility to be attentive to the unique
experiences of their students. All social work students are tasked with balancing new responsibilities
alongside educational demands; however, aspects of social work programs add additional responsibilities to students facing basic needs insecurities, including mandatory internships and in-class
experiences that generate reminders of their situation. The inability to work or the demanding
workload of social work students on top of working to make ends meet can create dissonance
between attainting educational success and seeking basic needs.
The social work students experiencing food insecurity and homelessness in this study were
influenced by their education. Their social work education built students’ capacity for a more
nuanced understanding of how to conceptualize needs and service delivery, and personal experiences
influenced ideologies about stigma and deservingness. Awareness of systems, knowledge and navigation of services, and advocacy for access to services were high. However, social work students
expressed hesitancy in accessing services to meet their own basic needs insecurities as they felt
their experiences with adversity prepared them to be helpers and not to be helped.
These students offer social work educators important lessons on how to respond to those who
lack basic needs. Social work faculty members have a responsibility to find ways to discuss the
pervasiveness of stigmatization of those who are marginalized, not just for the populations they
serve, but for all members of the social work community. These learning opportunities must be
nuanced, taking into account the diversity of experiences of all the students in the room. This
reframing toward a strengths-based narrative of help seeking can facilitate the deconstruction of
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deficit-based thinking in and outside the classroom, simultaneously creating a system of trust and
support. This can create a more normalized vision of systems of support for students who are
experiencing basic needs insecurities.
In addition, faculty members must be trained to develop a community of acceptance and support
by enhancing their skills in identifying students in their classrooms who may be basic needs insecure.
Students who are distracted, irritated, tired, or anxious may not only be exhibiting the stress of
academic strain but may also be struggling with food insecurity or homelessness. When social work
faculty members showed concern and desire to intervene, students showed a willingness to seek help.
Faculty members can start with an open and conscious ear, listening to students and allowing them
to tell their stories. Incorporation of a syllabus statement that outlines available student support
services can also promote linkage between students and available help. Furthermore, social work
educators can be prepared to refer students to available resources if needed.
Beyond social work departments, social work students and educators can support the development of on-campus policies, programs, and services to support students who experience food
insecurity and homelessness. CSU and universities across the country are actively developing services
like food provision, emergency housing, and emergency financial support (Crutchfield, 2016;
Crutchfield & Maguire, 2018; Hallett et al., 2019). These promising practices often include placing
social workers and social work interns as case managers to refer students to services and provide
assistance with enrolling in public benefits programs like CalFresh (Hallett et al., 2019). Social work
educators should promote the development of programs such as these to expand critical services for
students and develop field placements for their students to support the program.
This is only the beginning of a meaningful discussion examining social work students’ experiences
with basic needs insecurities. To better understand the influence of these experiences on the
profession, these specific students must be considered, and further research with them on their
experiences is needed. Social work programs can strengthen educational attainment and professional
practice by expanding awareness of students’ basic needs insecurity and their role in addressing it.
Funding
This work was supported by the California State University Office of the Chancellor.
Notes on contributors
Rashida M. Crutchfield is associate professor at California State University, Long Beach. Jennifer Maguire is associate
professor at Humboldt State University. Charmaine D. Campbell is a community-based social worker. Dianka Lohay is
the basic-needs manager at Long Beach City College. Stephanie Valverde Loscko is a program specialist in crisis
response in the Orange County Department of Education. Rachael Simon is a systems policy fellow for Los Angeles
County.
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