New England Board of Higher Education » health insurance

Paving the Road to Higher Ed for Students Hit by Homelessness

John O. Harney — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 14:00:47 +0000

At age 18, Suffolk University sophomore Marc-Daniel Paul seems destined for success. A Brockton High graduate who experienced homelessness as a teen, Paul was chosen as a Bank of America Student Leader and published his first book, Breathing Ink: The Heart of Poetry, during his senior year in high school. As an intern in the office of state Sen. Mark C. Montigny (D-New Bedford) this summer, Paul wrote an amendment to the Massachusetts State Budget (Section 18 of Chapter 15A of the General Laws), which will save college students with MassHealth insurance coverage thousands of dollars by allowing them to remain on their health insurance and not be required to purchase their school’s health insurance. The bill was signed by Gov. Deval Patrick in July. (The law will not go into effect until July 2014 because it's is not yet known how the new provision will interface with the Affordable Care Act.)

But beneath the outward signs of Paul’s success is a dramatic example of how one determined young person can overcome the challenges of homelessness and fulfill his dream of a postsecondary education, despite the odds against him. It is a story heard infrequently among the organizations familiar with the circumstances of homeless and unaccompanied youth.

The National Center on Family Homelessness estimates only one in four homeless teens will graduate high school. According to the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey administered by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 13,157 Massachusetts high school students (4.1%) were homeless, including approximately 5,853 (2.0%) unaccompanied youth. Unaccompanied youth include runaways, youth abandoned by parents or guardians, youth who have fled unsafe home situations, and youth who have aged out of foster care. The annual ESE data collection shows that in 2011, homeless high school students made up one-third of all identified homeless students. One nonprofit organization in Massachusetts is working to improve these statistics by helping youth impacted by homelessness stay in school, graduate and pursue a higher education.

Four years ago, School on Wheels of Massachusetts (SOWMA), added a High School Plus (HSP) program to its menu of educational services. SOWMA is the only organization in Massachusetts providing one-on-one afterschool tutoring/mentoring, new backpacks and school supplies, college assistance, and educational advocacy and support to children impacted by homelessness in multiple communities. SOWMA develops an educational success plan for each student. The organization connects high school students with colleges, vocational programs and other agencies to help them move forward with their academic goals. In addition, HSP assists students with completing the applications for college and financial aid, SAT registration, college visits, and scholarship opportunities. When students need help meeting the cost of school fees, books, housing deposits, and dorm supplies, SOWMA assists them.

HSP places a special emphasis on the needs of unaccompanied youth and provides advocacy, guidance and support to all students impacted by homelessness throughout their postsecondary careers. The HSP staff has moved several students into their college dorm rooms and attended college orientations when students had no other adult to accompany them.

Jakiel Moses-Harris will enter UMass Boston with a double major in kinesiology and psychology this fall, thanks to the support he received from the HSP. After his family moved into a shelter during his sophomore year in high school, the teenager had trouble staying focused in school and didn’t have the money to play school-sponsored sports. He felt embarrassed to have friends visit him at the shelter.

Surrounded by turmoil and uncertainty about the future, Moses-Harris signed up for SOWMA while living in the shelter. The organization proved to be a lifeline throughout his ordeal. They matched him with a tutor who served as a role model, and helped him focus on his grades. They bought him a new laptop and a book bag filled with school supplies, and paid his basketball fees in school. Despite living in a shelter and “couch surfing” during his 11^th and 12^th grades, Moses-Harris graduated from high school, became a volunteer trainer for the Canton High School football team, and enrolled in Massasoit Community College. This fall, he will transfer to UMass Boston as a sophomore and work as an assistant coach for the Canton High School football team.

Moses-Harris’s positive experience stands in stark contrast to the tragic outcomes many unaccompanied youth undergo. According to a recent report from the Massachusetts Special Commission on Unaccompanied Homeless Youth, unaccompanied and homeless students may endure “multiple school transfers, significant educational gaps, frequent absences and tardy arrivals, a lack of supplies and space to do homework and projects, poor medical, dental and mental health care, distractions, and an inability to attend to lessons.” In addition, young people who experience homelessness as adolescents often face futures marked by increased risk of death, exposure to violence, susceptibility to exploitation and high-risk behaviors, and poor academic performance with increased risk of dropping out of school.

With higher education offering a potential avenue out of a bleak alternative, SOWMA has devoted countless hours to increasing the educational opportunities for young people impacted by homelessness, The HSP program works with both students who are currently homeless as well as those who moved from shelter to housing. SOWMA first meets a student when he or she is experiencing homelessness. Once part of the SOWMA family, the student can continue to receive services for as long as he or she needs support.

For Marc-Daniel Paul, HSP created the foundation for the future he dreams of having. “I never would have had the political exposure I had in high school with the Bank of America Student Leader program without School on Wheels,” he said. “They helped me find the program, assisted with my essay, and gave me a clearer vision of what I wanted to do. They’ve had a tremendous impact on helping me get on the path I am on today.”

Cheryl Opper is founder and executive director of School on Wheels of Massachusetts.

The New Indentured Educated Class

John O. Harney — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:25:43 +0000

If only they had their health …

President Obama has emphasized the importance of higher education, and recently implemented ambitious higher education finance reform that will serve to benefit college students now and in the future. Although these changes are noteworthy, little has been done to help the many individuals who currently owe student debt, particularly private debt, and are no longer in school. With high unemployment and a stagnant economy, many student debtors are finding it increasingly difficult to repay their student loans and also cover the basic cost of living. An array of situations make it difficult for student loan debtors, whom I call the “indentured educated class,” to effectively pay their loans. This article will explore the relationship between student loan debt and its effect on those with health problems, using testimonials of those who have experienced this crisis and my own experience as the founder and executive director of the nonprofit All Education Matters Inc., where I receive hundreds and hundreds of stories a week from individuals who owe student loan debt.

Mrs. V received an MBA in 2007, and her husband recently graduated with a doctorate in Chemistry. Mrs. V has been struggling with health problems since the birth of her daughter, suffering from complications after having a cesarean section. In addition, the couple’s health insurance barely covers the basic cost of medical treatment, and their premiums are high. Because of this, Mrs. V and her husband realized they had no choice but to borrow more money once they had their daughter.

“I had to have surgery to fix a complication with my c-section. Again it cost us thousands of dollars out of pocket, even after paying incredibly high insurance premiums,” said Mrs.V. In many ways, Mrs. V and her husband are fortunate—they are able to make their loan payments. Mrs. V’s medical problems were short-term, but the couple continues to struggle financially as a result. Other debtors, with persistent and lifelong health problems, find themselves falling deeper into debt. Many of them fear there is no way out.

The testimonials from another indentured graduate, Mrs. P, and her two daughters, Amy and Jessica, illustrate the perilous situation that so many debtors with chronic health problems face. The two sisters attended DePaul University in Chicago, and both are recent graduates. Learning of my work as an advocate for student-loan debtors, their mother was the first person in the family to reach out to me. She has her own student loan debt, and she cosigned on her daughters’ loans.

Jessica has always struggled with serious health problems. When she was 16 years old, she had a heart transplant. A year and a half ago, she had her second organ transplant, this time it was a kidney, donated by her sister Amy. Despite these major surgeries, Jessica always wanted to go to college, as did her sister—they thought degrees from a good university would ensure that they would make decent livings. Even though they had received a few scholarships, they found that they needed to take out loans to cover the total cost of tuition. Fortunately, they were able to avoid taking out private loans, in which lenders can garnish wages without a court order and use other harsh ways to deal with debtors. But now out of school, Amy and Jessica are finding it increasingly difficult to pay their student loan debt.

At this juncture, Jessica said, “the total debt, it is safe to say, between the three of us is around $90,000, and that does not include the cost of late fees and accruing interest for the time my mom’s loan was put into forbearance.” One would assume that the two women, who have business degrees from a well-established university, are at least making decent wages. Like so many student debtors, however, that is not the case. Jessica earns $12 an hour, and Amy makes $8 an hour, plus tips.

Sadly, Jessica also continues to have health problems. “I just recently got over a cold. For most people this is not too much of a concern. But for me, I almost had to go to the ER. I still had to miss a day of work, which adds up. I am out of sick days, and any days that I have to take off will be taken out of my paycheck.” Moreover, her recent transplant makes it necessary for her to have regular tests. “I get a least two [tests] every month or so. This last transplant made things even more difficult to pay my student loans. It has really been hell.”

Another member of the indentured educated class, Ms. T was able to go on disability for medical problems that she attributes to the stress of owing $177,000 after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Southern California. That mindboggling sum has mostly to do with the amount of interest (as high as 10% on the bulk of her loans) that has accrued on four loans she has through the lender ACS. In addition, Ms. T’s aunt was a cosigner on her loans, something that causes her a great deal of emotional distress.

When Ms. T’s health problems began, she was terrified that she would lose her job for being ill and missing work. After six months of being at a job she had fought hard to obtain, Ms. T began experiencing chronic bladder infections. “I had an infection that was so bad, it turned into a kidney infection. I had to go to the hospital two days in a row to receive intravenous antibiotics and other fluids. I remember worrying so much about missing work. My life depended on work, because I wouldn’t be able to survive if I lost my job. The stress of not being able to pay my loan was [overwhelming]. I could not do that to my aunt, because then she would have to pay. I continued to have chronic bladder infections for the next five years. … I would miss days of work, and I would freak out because I knew that I did no have anyone to fall back on.”

Ms. T wanted more than anything to work for a nonprofit after graduating, but instead found herself working 12 to 14 hours day in a job that caused her to develop other health problems. For instance, she had to be around loud trucks. Every day for nearly five years, she was exposed to the noise of truckers releasing their air breaks and driving over speed bumps, which caused the containers of their chassis to lift, and then drop back. “Over time, my friend and I realized that I could not hear as well as I used to. I also started having ringing and pain in my ears.” She added, “here I am, I’m 29 years old. I have chronic bladder pain that occasionally goes away. I have carpel tunnel—my hands work like a 90-year-old woman’s. I have hearing damage so my ears are like a 90-year-old woman’s, and I have so much stress and anxiety that I have panic and anxiety attacks that are scary as hell.” Ms. T has not yet defaulted on her loans, but must endure a tenuous situation as a result of carrying such a high burden of debt.

Another indentured graduate, Ms. B presents the worst-case scenario for student borrowers. “I am the first in my family to go to college, and somehow I think I would have been better off with a high school diploma.” Unfortunately, her sentiment—the regret of obtaining a degree is shared by thousands of student loan debtors, especially among those who have found themselves dealing with mounting medical care costs. It raises an important question about the cost of higher education: What does the student lending crisis look like when understood from the perspective of an individual or entire family who affected by health problems and health costs, and who are also struggling or unable to service student loan debt?

Ms. B graduated in 2003 from Belmont University with a degree in Music Business. She has defaulted on her private loans with Sallie Mae and estimates that her total debt including federal loans is approximately $87,000. “I have been unable to keep up working multiple jobs to try and pay for my rent, utilities, medications, doctor’s visits, etc. With no insurance, the prices just keep going up.”

To make matters worse, Ms. B is harassed continually by her lender. She explained, “The calls [from my lenders] got more hateful and abusive, and I began having massive panic attacks. They called me at my work, my school, my parents. This year alone, I have missed over a month of work without pay, and I have to choose between medicine that makes me well enough to go to work, or things like food.”

As Ms. B explained, fitting student loan payments into her monthly budget has become impossible, and it is clear that Ms. B did not wish for her loans to go into default. “I am an overachiever and a hard worker. I have had the same job for six-plus years. My car is a ’99. I was not raised to spend money wastefully. Nevertheless, I will never be able to have anything. Own anything. Marry anyone. I have kept my job in a horrible economy, even when many in my industry [lost their jobs as a result of] downsizing. Yet I am sick and depressed. I am scared, and feel like I am in a hole from which I will never get out.”

These testimonials are just a few that illustrate why the U.S. and its educated citizens are facing a serious and significant dilemma. Indeed, recent reports show that student loan debt has now surpassed that of credit card debt with the estimates of outstanding federal and private loans nearing $900 billion. That number alone suggests that there is a full-blown student lending crisis, but the personal stories from indentured educated citizens provide us with an intimate snapshot of the human condition for a student loan debtor. When one’s education debt burden is combined with health problems and the cost of medical care, many student loan debtors experience severe depression and even suicidal ideation.

These stories reveal to us how difficult it is to be part of the indentured educated class. All of these individuals have had the misfortune of suffering from an array of health problems, which has made it difficult, if not impossible, to pay back their student loans. On top of the physical problems they have dealt with or continue to contend with, the emotional and psychological pain has taken its toll. Again, the Obama administration has made great strides in higher education finance reform—and health care reform too. However, these testimonials from current student loan debtors indicate that more reform is needed.

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Chase Cryn Johannsen is founder & executive director of he nonprofit All Education Matters, which advocates for student-loan debtors and a blogger for the Huffington Post.