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- Featured Story
The Housing Crisis: Inaugural Symposium Addresses Homelessness
Alumna Stephanie Jeffcoat’s journey of homelessness spurred her interest in learning more about the challenges faced by people living on the streets.
“For many years, I was caught in a destructive cycle of addiction that slowly consumed every part of my life,” said Jeffcoat, founder of Families Inspiring Reentry and Reunification 4 Everyone, a nonprofit that offers support to individuals impacted by the justice system and homelessness.
Jeffcoat spent stints in jail and battled with drug addiction, relaying she lost hope after she gave birth to a daughter who was taken away from her because of her addiction.
The loss of her parental rights, repeatedly being arrested, and her car impounded with no place to sleep except on the streets fueled her to seek a new direction in her life.
After finding support at a shelter, she found work, enrolled in community college and earned five associate degrees. She transferred to Cal State Fullerton in fall 2022 and completed her bachelor’s degree in political science in August 2024. She plans to attend law school next fall.
“My story is a reminder of what is possible when someone is given the chance to break the cycle of hopelessness,” Jeffcoat said.
As an undergraduate, Jeffcoat partnered with Jon Bruschke, professor of human communication studies, on a pilot study to gather firsthand experiences from individuals living on the streets in Fullerton and neighboring Anaheim.
Jeffcoat shared her story and presented the research with Bruschke at the university’s inaugural “Housing Crisis and California’s Evolving Policy Environment Symposium.”
The Oct. 16 symposium was presented by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs’ Titans Thinking Together initiative. Tabashir Nobari, assistant professor of public health, served as symposium chair.
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