Snotti Prince St. CyrDisplaced Student Advocacy Tentative ProposalThursday, September 22, 2016

What is the Main Problem?: A confluence of familial, financial, and legal issues cause thousands of Americans from seeking valuable college degrees and subsequent employment in professions in which they are passionate.

What are the Secondary or Tangential Problems?: They include but are not limited to the following:

1. According to a Government Accountability Office study (via ThinkProgress), students—normally K-12, but increasingly adults with previous vocational or college experience—are subjected to complicated processes involving too much paperwork. Many times, this paperwork is based on laws/practices that result in advisers providing either misinformation or correct information after the fact.

2. Traditional students’ stereotypes about “homelessness” are initially reinforced when considering the concept of displaced college students because they have never been in a position to seriously consider the issue.

3. An “overexposure to poverty,” for lack of better terms, set the stage for many families to withdraw support from promising students and learners. This concept includes physical and verbal abuse, parental job loss, rent hikes, low-wage jobs, outsourcing deals, and being targets of the War on Drugs.

4. Most off-campus organizations addressing displacement only offer particular services on particular days, so logistics and more paperwork are paramount.

5. Most professors and other staff are at a loss for ways they can help despite having displaced students in previous classes.

Why Does This Matter?: Fewer people are able to obtain a Georgia State education if they are too busy trying to satisfy the lower two levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The notion of a displaced student is a public health, socioeconomic, and psychological matter directly impacting Atlanta’s reputation as a global city.

What is the Purpose of this Program?: The goal is to demonstrate that students who have experienced displacement, grew up as foster children, and/or endure chronic familial and financial problems are no less intelligent, talented, or capable of serving their communities. We do this by creating a system to figure out how many Georgia State students endure these predicaments and then help them as efficiently as possible.

What are the Potential GSU-Specific and Federal Solutions?: 1. Combine the following Offices or Organizations and designate them as

an “Academic Retention Center:” Dean of Students Office; Panther’s Pantry; SSS-TRIO Office, Department of Sociology; TRIO--Student Support Services; Testing and Counseling Center;University Career Services; University Housing, Enrollment Services Center; Scholarship Resource Center; University Advisement Center; and Alumni Association. This cross-disciplinary partnership can develop techniques to simply count the number of Georgia State students either displaced or at risk for displacement, which is the most important part of this project.

2. Reach out to The United Way and the Atlanta Housing Authority for collaboration and create proposals for reserving housing for displaced students, including a “Social Services Resource Packet” within the Admissions packet for newly accepted Georgia State students.

3. I will continue pursuing a relationship with the National Alliance to End Homelessness by becoming a member of the Eric Jungels Consumer Advisory Board.

4. Write multiple articles about my experiences within The Signal and other publications.

5. Establish a student-run clothing closet.6. Propose for both Piedmont Central and the eventual 120 Piedmont

Tower to be open year-round.7. Contact Airbnb and ask its Staff to help reserve houses or rooms for

displaced students.8. Connect Panther’s Pantry with Truly Living Well and Good Measure

Meals (via Nutrition Department) for affordable meals in case students still cannot afford any Meal Plan option.

9. Expanding the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to displaced students for support until they get their Master’s degrees, with the College of Law.

10. Emulate Salt Lake City’s housing-first approach—get at-risk students in housing and employment based on financial aid packages and offer mental health counseling, as soon as possible.

11. Attend many events (e.g. the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth’s 28th National Conference in Orlando, FL from October 28-November 1) and utilize my LinkedIn connections to spread the word.

12. Encouraging at-risk or displaced students, via University Advisement Center, University Career Services, and off-campus networking/industry organizations, to find mentors immediately.

13. Connect the Scholarship Resource Center with the Alumni Association and Black Graduate Students Association to create a new scholarship and inclusion into Dinner with 12 Panthers networking event for displaced students.

14. Create a documentary and book about displaced students’ efforts to get degrees.

When and How Will I Work?: 20-30 hours per week, with 15 in the University Housing Office and other hours through attending events

What is the Compensation?: $600-700/month and potential reduction in Housing and Meal Plan costs for remainder of 2016-17 Academic Year