Student Life

Housing and Opportunities that are Useful for Student Excellence (HOUSE) liaison

Homelessness and College Students 

Wisconsin's HOPE Lab completed the largest national survey assessing the basic needs security of university students. The results are troubling. The survey found that 36% of university students were housing insecure and 9% were homeless. In 2022 the state of Illinois passed the Higher Education Housing and Opportunities Act in an effort to provide assistance to students experiencing homelessness and students in care. This legislation created the Housing and Opportunities that are Useful for Student Excellence (HOUSE) liaison.

Do you qualify as homeless or student in care?

  • Are you an enrolled student who lacks or is at imminent risk of lacking a fixed, regular, or adequate nighttime residence?
  • Are you an enrolled student whose parent or legal guardian is unable or unwilling to provide shelter or care?
  • Are you living in a shelter, park, motel, hotel, public space, camp ground, car, abandoned building, or temporarily living with others?
  • Are you fleeing an abusive parent?
  • Are you unaccompanied (not living in the physical custody of your parent or guardian)?
  • Are you or were you under the care and legal custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, including youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a subsidized guardianship agreement?

Undergraduate, graduate, and International students who are experiencing homelessness can complete a Leatherneck Care Referral. 

Resources 

WIU offers on campus housing during the academic semesters and during break periods. 

Campus and community resources are available for students experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. 

Campus Liaison

Samantha Klingler

Director of Student Development and Success Center
125 Memorial Hall
sj-klingler@wiu.edu