A study on disparities revealed that Black people in California experiencing unstable housing are more likely to struggle with mental health at a higher rate, stated a report by the Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) at the University of California Los Angeles.
Although suicide is a concern among all age groups, the return to in-person learning and the role social media plays in the lives of young people are raising red flags related to their mental health that need to be addressed to prevent lives from being lost.
In March 2020, when college campuses across the country closed and sent students home, many HBCUs continued to house hundreds of students who did not have homes to return to. Groups of students were stuck on campus without the funds to pay for transportation back to their home cities. This challenge was a byproduct of several students losing the jobs they used to help fund their education, along with loss of family income. Many students became both food and housing insecure without the critical resources that HBCUs often provide.