About one-quarter of today’s college students are also parents, and they’ve been hit with a double whammy by this pandemic.
“They were already vulnerable to begin with,” said Lindsey Reichlin Cruse, study director at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. “Their economic insecurity was already pretty stark.”
About nine in 10 single mothers live in poverty or with low incomes, according to Reichlin Cruse. Not only are they possibly losing their jobs in the economic crisis, they’re also losing their childcare and community or college resources. And they’re being asked to suddenly take courses online while also helping their children learn online.
