55% of ACC students face housing insecurity, survey finds

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Community College (ACC) is putting an emphasis on connecting its students with affordable housing.

The college announced a partnership with Housing Connector on Wednesday, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to removing barriers to housing.

Housing Connector links students with local property owners who are willing to offer accessible and affordable housing options.

“Rental prices is a huge barrier for our students because their income is limited,” said Christie Curtis, director of basic needs outreach, with Austin Community College.

According to a recent survey from the college, which has more than 44,000 students enrolled, 55% of ACC students indicated they are housing insecure.

Also, 57% of students would have difficulty getting $500 cash or credit in an emergency, according to ACC’s survey.

“It certainly makes it harder to achieve those academic goals when there is a bucket of basic needs that are not being met,” Curtis said.

Curtis said not having a place to call home can have an impact on a student’s grades or mental health, and that’s one reason they partnered with Housing Connector.

The average one-bedroom apartment rental price in Austin is about $1,400 a month, according to apartments.com.

How does the program work?

“We provide that access by partnering with properties to give them risk mitigation, insurance essentially, in exchange for them reducing the barriers that often keep people from accessing housing,” said Shayna Dunitz, managing director for Housing Connector in Austin.

Dunitz said there are a number of factors that can keep students from finding safe, affordable housing.

“If they have low credit score, if they have never rented before, maybe they have some past rental debt from something that did not work out, and so all those things will basically keep them from getting access even when it is the cheapest property available,” Dunitz said.

According to ACC, this work is made possible through Housing Connector’s partnership with the city of Austin’s Homeless Strategy Office, which provides funding to expand access to housing for individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness.