Advocating for and with Student Parents: 2022 Policy Priorities Recap
Generation Hope’s 2022 Policy Agenda was guided by the lived experiences of our Scholars and our overarching Policy Priorities. Launched in late 2021, our Priorities focus on the following three areas over the next three years:
Higher Education Affordability and Accessibility
Childcare Affordability and Accessibility;
and Economic Mobility.
We are committed to advocating for policy change in these areas at the local, state, and federal levels to positively impact the lives of our Scholars and student parents nationwide and combat barriers that hinder their success. In 2022 we held multiple policy-related events that amplified student-parent voices, worked with our Scholars and external partners to advance our Policy Priorities, and created opportunities for student parents to share their stories and influence change.
2022 Recap
In February of 2022, Generation Hope Alumna and Student Advocacy Coordinator, Yoslin Amaya Hernandez, wrote a blog post to commemorate the launch of our annual Policy Agenda. Yoslin recounted her experience as a Generation Hope Scholar and advocated for increased affordability and accessibility of higher education:
“Stories like mine are why Generation Hope is committed to removing systemic barriers and ensuring that college is not a luxury — but a right.”
Higher Education Affordability and Accessibility:
In March, we partnered with Higher Learning Advocates (HLA) to meet with Representative Rick Allen of Georgia. During this virtual meeting, Generation Hope staff and Scholar Joshua Castillo shared their stories and highlighted the importance of continuing emergency aid post-pandemic.
In March, our Founder & CEO participated in a virtual roundtable hosted by Higher Learning Advocates (HLA) on the importance of emergency aid.
In April and June, we held self-advocacy workshops for Scholars. Our June workshop culminated in a letter-writing campaign to members of Congress, highlighting the importance of continuing emergency aid.
In June, our Founder & CEO participated in The 19th’s 50th anniversary of Title IX event to reflect on the progress made and the work ahead regarding the rights of parenting and pregnant college students. During this month, Scholar Jahkeer Wainwright authored an op-ed, which appeared in The Grio, on his experience of being a Black father in college.
In September, to commemorate National Student Parent Awareness Month, we released a new report titled “Higher Together: The Impact of a College Degree for Young Parents" and hosted a Twitter chat and webinar to discuss the findings with various audiences. The first of its kind, this report dives into the impact a college degree has had on our Alumni.
In late September, Generation Hope’s Director of Programming and Student Advocacy Coordinator joined Scholars Julia and Brett in a meeting with Maryland State Delegate Jared Solomon and his Chief of Staff to talk about the importance of collecting robust data on student-parents. We also discussed championing legislation that would make data collection mandatory for public higher education institutions in Maryland.
Left to right: Caroline Griswold Short (Director of Programming), Yoslin Amaya Hernandez (Student Advocacy Coordinator), Maryland State Delegate Jared Solomon, Brett Renfrew (Scholar), and Julia Calvina Essome (Scholar).
Childcare:
In August, a Generation Hope Scholar authored an op-ed in Essence discussing her experiences with accessing childcare and how a lack of childcare supports impacts student parents’ education and economic mobility.
In late December, we surveyed all of our Scholars to collect information on their experiences with childcare. Informed by this data, we will launch a report in early 2023 to help community, education, and philanthropic leaders better understand the connection between teen parents’ and student parents’ educational success and affordable, quality childcare as well as best practices for supporting them and accommodating their childcare needs as they pursue a degree.
Karen Escobar, a Generation Hope Scholar and author of a blog post on student parent invisibility on campus. She is pictured here with her children.
Economic Mobility:
In 2022 we organized and amplified multiple Instagram takeovers, blog posts, and op-eds pertaining to economic mobility. We provided our Scholars with ongoing opportunities to advocate for policy change to reduce financial hurdles to earning postsecondary credentials and increase awareness of the student-parent experience. The topics covered were:
What’s Next?
Read more Scholar stories and follow Generation Hope on Instagram to see our work in action and hear more from student parents. Stay tuned for our 2023 Policy Priorities, launching soon, as well as information on exciting policy events that we’ll host throughout the year. Sign up for our e-newsletter so you don’t miss a thing! To get involved or learn more about Generation Hope’s policy and advocacy work, click here or email policy@generationhope.org.
