ON THE WESTERN SLOPE LUXURY HOUSING PROJECTS LIKE CRAWFORD ROW IN GRAND JUNCTION ARE DRIVING UP RENTAL RATES, MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR STUDENTS TO FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING. PHOTO: JACOB RICHARDS. COLORADO MESA UNIVERSITY AIMS TO EMPOWER STUDENTS FACING HOUSING INSTABILITY BY JACOB RICHARDS HANNAH VANDEHEI IS A PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR from Kalamazoo, Mich., heading into her senior year at Colorado Mesa University, in Grand Junction. Instead of enjoying the last days of summer vacation, she was trying desperately to find a room to rent within her budget of $500 a month. “Summer is supposed to be downtime, but now I'm stressing about where I'm going to be sleeping when I get to campus,” Vandehei said in an interview with Denver VOICE. Grand Junction's average rental rates have almost doubled in the last two years. In 2022, the fair market rate for a studio apartment was $682 a month. Today the average studio rents for $1,119 a month. “Not knowing where I'm going to live during the school year just adds a lot of stress,” said Vandehei. “Worst-case scenario, I will live in my car and bounce from friend to friend,” she said. Vandehei is not to assist resident students in Colorado, who experienced homelessness at any time while they were in high school, with additional costs above and beyond scholarships, grants, and other financial aid. For out-of-state students like Vandehei, EmpowerEd is not an option. Still, the program is needed locally — especially considering that Grand Junction has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the state. According to its website, REACH, which is a school-based program within School District 51, “responds to the needs of students in temporary or transitional housing situations.” During the 2023-2024 school year, REACH worked with a total of 832 students experiencing housing insecurity. District 51 has just over 20,000 students, which means that roughly one out of every 24 students experienced housing insecurity over the last school year. During the 2023-2024 school year, REACH identified 64 high school seniors as housing insecure. Twelve of them are bound for college, and another seven are heading to trade schools and should be eligible under Colorado's EmpowerEd program. Because the EmpowerEd program opened on August 9, information on the number of program registrations was not available by the time this article went to press. Meanwhile, with a week left until classes started, Vandehei still had not found a place to rent. “I feel like all of my friends have found places by now,” Vandehei said. But help was around the corner. According to Kelsey Coleman, director of public relations at Colorado Mesa University, if CMU has any enrolled students who are facing homelessness, the school will provide the resources, to fulfill that need. “Our campus is uniquely prepared to address the variety the only college student at CMU struggling with housing insecurity. More than 10,000 students at CMU also are directly impacted by the increasing rents, and according to CMU’s admissions numbers, they have admitted 280 students this semester who indicated on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) that they might be in danger of becoming unhoused. Of those, 82 have enrolled. According to CMU, Vandehei has been the only student to reach out to Student Services for help with housing. Colorado state colleges and universities do have resources available. The EmpowerEd Pathway to Higher Education Program was signed into Colorado law on April 29 this year and aims HEIDI VANDEHEI AND HER CAT CURBY. COURTESY OF HEIDI VANDEHEI. of challenges that our students face including housing,” said CMU Vice President of Student Services Jody Diers. “If and when students facing hardships or challenges around housing (before or during the semester) inform CMU they need help, the campus community has ample resources to address their housing needs, as you saw in the case of Vandehei,” she said. Vandehei recently reached out to CMU’s Resident Life office about student housing. She said she did not reach out to them earlier because she had been told they were already overbooked. By the time she arrived in Colorado to return to CMU, Vandehei had found temporary housing on her own. “My friend’s mom is letting me stay with her til’ I find a place,” said Vandehei. Classes started August 19 and with the assistance of friends and guidance from CMU, Hannah Vandehei was housed, and ready to hit the books. ■ September 2024 DENVER VOICE 5
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