Senator Rubio Bill Adding Education Advocate on State Homeless Council Signed by Governor

SACRAMENTO, CA – Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed legislation by Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park) that adds a higher education representative to a state homeless program to advocate for college and university students who are homeless.

SB 687 will increase the effectiveness and diversity of the state’s efforts to address California’s homelessness crisis by adding a representative of the public higher education system to the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council.

“The homeless population in higher education is increasing, and we need to find new ways to craft the best approach to help these students,” Sen. Rubio said.  “This adds a critical voice to the conversation.”

California has more people experiencing homelessness than any other state in the nation. According to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2017 annual homelessness report, in January 2017, California has approximately 134,000 homeless individuals, which represented about 24% of the total homeless population in the nation.

One of the largest segments of the state’s homeless population is homeless college and university students. A 2019 report by the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice found that 19 percent of community college students in California faced homelessness in the past year. Research in 2018 also found that 10.9 percent of California State University students reported homelessness in the past 12 months. Additionally, the University of California system found 5 percent of their students faced homelessness in the past 12 months in 2017.