Dean of Students

HOUSE Liaison

Columbia College Chicago has designated a campus HOUSE Liaison, dedicated to supporting students experiencing homelessness and/or who have ever been in care and legal custody of the Department of Children and Family Services. This page serves as a landing page for resources and contact information.

Overview

Through the State of Illinois, the Higher Education Housing and Opportunities Act (Public Act 102-0083) was enacted in 2021. This act requires all state institutions (public and private) to designate a "HOUSE" (Housing and Opportunities that are Useful for Students' Excellence) Liaison to support students facing housing instability and students in care.

Columbia's HOUSE Liaison assists students with financial aid, on-campus housing access, and resources for students sho may be lacking stable, adequate nighttime residence.

Columbia's HOUSE Liaison is Kelli Collins, Director of Student Assistance and Community Standards.
Email: kcollins@colum.edu
Phone: (312) 369-8595

Submit Request

Definitions

Students experiencing homelessness: An individual enrolled in an institution who lacks or is at imminent risk of lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence [ i.e. currently living temporarily with others, in a shelter, hotel/motel, car, park, abandoned building, public spaces, train or bus station, or a similar setting] or whose parent or legal guardian is unable or unwilling to provide shelter and care and includes a homeless individual as defined under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. For the purposes of this definition, the term "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" does not include residence in an institution of higher education's on-campus housing.

Students in care: Any person, regardless of age, who is or was under the care and legal custody of the Department of Children and Family Services, including youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal responsibility, youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care who have been adopted and were the subject of an adoption assistance agreement or who have been placed in private guardianship and were the subject of a subsidized guardianship agreement.

Resources

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