MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
In "A Christmas Carol," the Ghost of Christmas Past takes Ebenezer Scrooge back to his childhood. Old Scrooge sees his young self sitting alone at school. All the other students have gone home for the holidays. Well, that seems more reality than fiction for some college students who are also former foster children. They have no home to go home to. Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reports on a university that's trying to make the holiday break a little less bleak for them.
JENNIFER GUERRA, BYLINE: It's final exam week for lots of college students. No doubt they're stressed right now, but once they hand in that last paper or take that last test, they are done for semester. Pack up the suitcase. It is time to go home for the holidays.
TRUDY GREER: I have no for-certain home. That's the thing.
GUERRA: Trudy Greer is 22 years old and a sophomore at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. She says she's had lots of folks at EMU ask her where she lives. Where's home?
GREER: And I just say this is my home. Like, home is where the heart is, and right now, my heart is at EMU, so that's my home.
GUERRA: Greer has been in and out of foster care. She hasn't lived with her parents in years. She says she always feels like she has to hustle for everything - clothes, food, money - and the holidays are a stark reminder of just how alone she often feels.
GREER: Last break - like, last year, I was at my old foster home, and I stayed there. And that's always welcoming, but it's never, like, my home. But other than that, it's nothing looking forward to.
GUERRA: It's supposed to be a joyful time, right?
GREER: Yeah, it's supposed to be, but I haven't had a joyful Christmas in years.
GUERRA: Trudy Greer will probably spend a few days of the holiday at her old foster home, a few days with her godmother, whom she still keeps in touch with, and a few days alone in her dorm room. Believe it or not, Greer is one of the lucky ones. Eastern Michigan University, where she goes to school, keeps a few residence halls open over break for students who have no place else to go. But not all schools do that, and students can stay there for free. There is a catch, though. None of the cafeterias are open, so students are on their own for food. That's were Joi Rencher comes in.
JOI RENCHER: I got Ramen noodles, chips in here - a bunch of other junk - granola bars...
GUERRA: Rencher has a filing cabinet near her office on campus that she fills with snacks and stuff you can pop in the microwave. Students like Trudy Greer are encouraged to drop by and grab whatever they want. Rencher admits it's not the healthiest stuff, but, hey, it's something. Rencher heads up an EMU program called MAGIC. It's for students on campus who've experienced homelessness or foster care or both. She has about 20 students on her roster, and it's her job to help them figure out where they're going to go and what they're going to eat when campus is closed for roughly two weeks during winter break.
RENCHER: Honestly, you can see the terror in their eyes when I bring it up. I just ask, have you thought about what you'll to do for Christmas, and they're like, wait. And you can just see the confusion their face. And they think, no, I haven't.
GUERRA: Rencher will sometimes take her students grocery shopping before the break, and she also hooks them up with bus tokens and things like shampoo and toothpaste. Barbara Duffield says a wide range of supports, like housing and mentorship, are essential for these students. Duffield is with the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
BARBARA DUFFIELD: It's not reasonable to expect students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds to get through to college without that kind of support. It really does need to be part of the support that's provided because otherwise, there's just a tremendous chance of dropping out.
GUERRA: For students like Trudy Greer, having a dedicated support person on campus and a free place to stay over the break - it can make a real difference. For NPR News, I'm Jennifer Guerra.
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