HOME IS WHERE THE CAR IS – Cesar Vizcaino Garay sorts through his school bags to find his homework and the textbooks he needs for the day. Garay has been living in his car since September.
Photo by: Nicholas James

For Cesar Vizcaino Garay, home is not so much where his heart is as where his buddy’s couches are. Homeless since coming out to his disapproving family, Garay has not surrendered his dream of earning a college degree and transferring to UCSD as a linguistic major. He credits Southwestern College with helping him keep his dream alive.

“Southwestern College is the perfect bridge between the students and the universities because they truly give you a lot of support,” he said. “If you ask, they’ll give you everything you need to succeed.”

Dr. Malia Flood, dean of Student Services, said Garay is one of many homeless students at SC.

MOBILE HOME – Garay sleeps in the parking lot at a Jewish Family Services, a safe zone for the homeless who spend the night in their cars.
Photo by: Nicholas James

“Last year we had 44 students come forward and say that they were homeless or unsheltered for a variety of reasons,” she said. “During the first two weeks of this semester we had 17 students come in.”

Flood called the increase in homeless students a growing problem on campus. SC Campus Police Chief David Nighswonger agreed.

“Everyone is reporting this rise and how we are responding to it,” he said.

Nighswonger said the safe parking initiative would allow students to sleep in their vehicles at night on campus, a plan he said deserves study.

“There are a number of different ways to focus on the bigger problem, so it is a big discussion going on,” he said. “Right now, we are in the stage of trying to offer resources and direct people to shelters and South Bay services.”

Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) is working on a bill to allow community colleges to provide parking spaces for students who live in their vehicles. His original bill, Assembly Bill 302, stalled due to concerns about the high costs of maintaining the parking lots, but Berman said he will not give up. He pledged to work with Gov. Gavin Newsom to find a way to provide campus parking spaces for students.

Nighswonger said SC is looking at efforts by Imperial Valley College and Orange Coast College to provide permanent housing.

Flood said many students need more than just financial aid. Hundreds of students suffer housing, food and clothing insecurities, she said, as well as lack of money for bus passes and gas.

“We are really trying to connect them with our campus resources, because we do have a lot of good resources,” she said. “We have agreements with a few community partners that do rapid rehousing, so we are working with students to get with those partners, too.”

Campus resources includes the Jag Kitchen food pantry, shower facilities in the gyms, enrollment priority and emergency grants.