Overview

Being a student is costly and time consuming. Far too often, students have trouble meeting their basic needs such as housing, food, and child care needs. It is an unfortunate reality that students are often choosing between paying tuition or paying for food. In this white paper, YI presents a way young adults, including those with intersectional identities, can be supported in meeting their basic needs through higher education institutional support.

This solution is an on-campus Benefits Navigation Center with trained Benefits Navigators to help students access the public and community supports they need to succeed. The white paper contains a brief overview of marginalized students and their basic needs, ideal components of a Benefits Navigation Center, and the current legislative and administrative landscape across the county. 

With this information, decision makers are encouraged to design and implement responsive, flexible, and effective Benefits Navigaton Centers that serve all of their students.