Rising Financial Stress affects Bronx College Students' Mental Health

Photo from Lehman Website

By Jennifer Estrella

As mental health challenges continue to rise in the Bronx, college students across the borough say the pressure of working full-time, supporting their families, and keeping up with classes is pushing many to seek counseling or step away from school entirely.

Karen Salazar, a 29-year-old Bronx college student and mother of two, said she paused her studies before her final semester after developing anxiety.

“I was working full time, taking classes, and taking care of my daughters,” Salazar said. “I felt like I was constantly behind. I couldn’t sleep. It just built up.”

For Salazar, rising rent, grocery bills, and transportation costs made it harder to focus on school. “You want to finish,” she said. “But when you’re stressed about money all the time, it affects everything.”

Jessenia Fajardo, a student at Lehman College, said many students 
are constantly worrying about basic needs before they can even think about their coursework.

“The cumulative impact of unmet essential needs leaves your mind thinking more about ‘Where am I going to get the money to pay my light bill?’ instead of thinking about reading Shakespeare,” Fajardo said. “Your brain stays stuck in survival mode.”

That constant pressure often affects academic performance, she added. “That kind of overthinking leads to anxiety, depression, and procrastinating on schoolwork.”

Jaylene Rodriguez, a New York Police Department officer who works in the Bronx and a former Lehman College student, said financial strain and emotional distress are often connected in the 
communities she serves.

“A lot of people are overwhelmed,” Rodriguez said. “When someone is juggling bills, childcare, and school, stress builds up fast. It doesn’t just disappear.”

In the study, Association Between Food Insecurity and Mental Health 
Among College Students in the Bronx, New York (NY), by Brown et al., the researchers identified a strong link between financial insecurity and mental health struggles among students.

Marta Gil, a psychologist with 15 years of experience working with college students in the Dominican Republic who now resides in the Bronx, said those findings mirror what she has seen professionally and personally. Her daughter currently attends college in the borough.

“Students today are not just students,” Gil said. “Many are providers, caregivers, and full-time workers. When basic needs are unstable, anxiety becomes almost inevitable.”

“They keep pushing through exhaustion,” she emphasized. “But long-term stress eventually impacts performance, health, or both.”

Although there are resources aimed at helping students, such as Lehman’s Counseling Center, many students may not know how to access them or may not have the time.

“I wouldn’t be able to name them specifically off the top of my head, but I know the school does have resources,” Fajardo said. “The real 
question is whether students know about them, feel comfortable accessing them, or even have the time to go.”

“Schedule flexibility, online classes, weekend options, weeknight classes, and those things matter,” she said. “And honestly, more grants and scholarships would make a real difference.”

Photo from Lehman Website