Photo by: Nicholas James
Wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, Southwestern College psychology student Jessica Rodriguez looks much like any other student on campus. Most would not guess she is homeless and living at the St. Vincent de Paul shelter in downtown San Diego.
On Mondays and Wednesdays she works in Room 104B unpacking and hanging the clothes donated to the SWC Cares Closet, a place students can get free professional clothing for job interviews and clothes for school.
SC Paralegal Program Director Emily Lynch Morissette founded the Cares Closet in the Academic Senate boardroom next to her office. She said she remembered when Rodriguez showed up looking for assistance.
“What impressed us is that she came in and immediately began organizing the closet for us and I said you could have a job (here),” Lynch Morissette said.
Rodriguez said she came to the Cares Closet for clothing about two months ago when she moved here from Los Angeles. She said she took the job without hesitation.
“When (she) told me I could be working here, I (realized) I could help some students (in) my situation,” she said. “I live in a shelter, so I need all the help I can get to be successful in college.”
Green velvet curtains and a room divider separate the racks of shoes and clothes from the business part of the room. More clothing is stacked on a table and smaller items go into baskets on shelves. Rodriguez said the job soothes her.
“I’m so grateful to be here, I really love it,” she said. “To be with the students, it’s like therapy for me.”
Lynch Morissette said she hired Rodriguez to organize the Cares Closet and to help direct students to the other free campus resources. She said having a student helping other students has a powerful impact.
“I told her there was a big psychological component to it because we have all of these students she said. “You could learn about the Jag Kitchen and tell students about it (as well as) the showers (and) the free legal clinic.”
Angie Arietti, administrative assistant for the Academic Senate, volunteers for the Cares Closet. She said many students are scared when they first come in.
“(Some) are embarrassed and maybe a little ashamed to say that they’re in need of particular items, daily items that they don’t have enough money for,” she said.
Arietti said the students that need clothes sometimes live in their cars, parks or shelters.
As winter approaches they will come in looking for a jacket or an umbrella, she said.
The SWC Cares Committee recently invited Lynch Morissette to join. She said the group is looking to create a central hub on campus by December where students in need can come in to get clothes, food, emergency grants and legal help.
The Cares Closet is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. With a valid student ID, students can take up to eight items, Lynch Morissette said, depending on the inventory. She said donations of new or lightly worn clothes and money are always welcome.
