H.O.P.E comes to Southwestern College

Some Southwestern College students live with the harsh reality that their next meal, or even a roof over their head, is never secured.

As a part of Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week, the college held the Outreach and Awareness Campus Fair and Living Out of Your Car event this month at Mayan Hall.

“What we want to do is create awareness, but we also want an opportunity for our students to see that we’re here, to reach out,” said Director of Child Development Patricia Bartow. “To not be afraid and know that there are resources here and programs to help.”

Bartow, who organized this event last year, won the best Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Organizer award over cohorts at other universities like Yale and UC Berkeley. The event had booths circling the area, including Jag Kitchen, campus police and Community Through Hope.

Community Through Hope is an organization that sets up clothing donation centers, a farmers market for those facing food insecurity and community resources.

Signs that said “take 5” were taped across a tent that had tables of clothes organized by size. Two racks held shoes donated to Community Through Hope, and two volunteers greeted everyone that would pass by.

Donations coordinator Penni Neely and volunteer Jean Spafford made sure that students were able to pick out what they needed.

“What I love about this organization is that it’s not a handout, it’s a hand up,” Neely said. “I know you’ve heard that before, but it’s the truth because we offer opportunities [for people] to get out of their current situation.”

Martha Jimenez, a child development major, was among those impressed by the kindness of the volunteers giving out clothes.

“I usually stay all day and at night when I leave it’s so cold,” Jimenez said. “When it’s so cold, a lot of people would need jackets so it’s so nice for them to come and get them here.”

A study presented at a governing board meeting on Oct. 23 highlighted the urgent need students have for housing. It stated that food and housing instability is a key factor in college dropout rates. Community college students in California are especially impacted by the high housing costs. The study, “Struggling to Survive – Starving to Succeed,” by San Diego State University professors J. Luke Wood, Frank Harris III, and Nexi R. Delgado, showed that 33 percent of all community college students in California, and 44 percent of black students, struggle with housing costs.

The ASO set up a car that displayed what a student living out of their car would experience. Clothes hung around it, a laptop was on the seat and, of course, it had blankets to keep warm. On the sides of the car they gave information on where to park overnight and where to get free wifi.