Helping students in crisis

CSUB now offering up to 30 days of emergency housing in residence halls

By California State University, Bakersfield

January 5^th, 2022

California State University, Bakersfield student Mark Torres never thought he would have to resort to living out of his car, but that was the situation he found himself in last year.

Torres had been living with a roommate for about two years when, in May, he was informed that his roommate would be moving out to pursue an internship in San Diego. Unable to afford the place by himself and having no family he could rely on, he moved out and ended up couch-surfing at the house of his girlfriend’s parents.

That only lasted a week, however, after which Torres was on his own again. With nowhere to go, he found himself living out of his car.

Torres reached out to Assistant Director of Basic Needs Dr. Jason Watkins, who he had kept in contact with after taking a psychology course with him during his first semester at CSUB in fall 2020.

After telling Dr. Watkins about his situation, Torres was able to get 30-day emergency housing in CSUB’s student residence halls in early June after spending over a week living out of his car.

“It was a great relief. I felt totally secure and safe,” Torres said. “There were a few times when I was in my car that I didn’t feel safe. I didn’t think I would be able to defend myself if something happened.”

While CSUB has offered emergency housing to students in crisis over the past several years, it only began providing up to 30 days of housing with the 2020-21 school year after the university received $40,000 in grant funding from the CSU Chancellor’s Office to support emergency housing. Prior to that, CSUB was only able to offer a maximum stay of seven days.

“When a student finds themselves homeless or in a crisis, seven days is barely enough time to catch your breath. It’s just not adequate,” Dr. Watkins said. “We wanted to make sure we were giving them enough time to regroup and get back on their feet.”

While the grant funding was only for one academic year, CSUB was able to receive recurring basic needs funding through the state that allows the university to provide the 30-day housing on a permanent basis, starting this school year.

“We now have a little more consistency, which I’m really happy about,” Dr. Watkins said. “We have dedicated money to cover four spaces in the dorms. We have taken them offline so that any time a student is in crisis, we have a place for them to go.”

Like with Torres, Dr. Watkins said students can suddenly find themselves in need of housing. Around 10 students took advantage of the emergency housing last school year.

“It can turn really quickly for people. You can have a stable home one day and then the next day, you don’t,” he said. “The students we serve are no different than any other student. They’re great students who just have a circumstance where they don’t have a safe place to go. This is something that can happen to anybody.”

A ‘supportive community’ for students

During their emergency stay in the residence halls, students are provided with linens and basic toiletries and are directed to various services and resources on campus. Meal plans are also available at no charge to the students.

Students also have weekly case management appointments with CSUB staff who help them develop a housing plan after their 30 days are up.

“In many cases, students decide that moving into the residence halls permanently is the best and most supportive option for them,” said Associate Director of Student Housing Ashley Scott. “Living on campus provides students with a supportive community that includes professional staff that are here to help residents be successful students.”

Torres is one such student. He opted to take out a loan that allowed him to stay in the residence halls this semester and has been focused on getting back to work after losing his job when COVID-19 hit in 2020.

Torres had been working part-time as a food server at The BLVD in downtown Bakersfield when he was laid off due to COVID. Starting with the fall semester, he began working a few shifts at the Student Recreation Center to get by.

Things are now looking up, however. In December, Torres resumed work at The BLVD in addition to his shifts at the SRC. He has also been concentrating on his schoolwork and plans to graduate in spring 2023. He is considering a career in either social work or sports psychology.

Torres said the assistance he has received from CSUB helped give him the peace of mind he needed to stay focused on work and school.

“It’s been a blessing. Getting to live on campus was a great step for me,” he said. “Everyone is respectful and has a positive mindset. It’s amazing. CSUB is starting to feel like home to me.”

Not all students have been able to make such a successful transition, however. While many students in crisis are willing to accept the emergency housing, there are still some who decline it. And even among students who do accept it, some are unable to or don’t want to continue staying in the residence halls.

“This is really where our gap is,” Dr. Watkins said. “We try to help them find affordable housing off campus, but the housing market in Bakersfield has gotten tighter and rent is going up, so it’s a struggle for some of our students. As a community, as a state, we need to find more affordable options for student housing. We’re constantly pushing our elected officials to do something about this and are working with community partners to develop long-term solutions.”

In the meantime, Dr. Watkins is grateful that CSUB can at least offer a longer period of emergency housing than it had been able to in the past and believes it makes a big difference for the students who take advantage of it.

“I’m really proud of the work we do and that we were able to move from seven days to 30 days,” he said. “I know it fills a critical need for students, but I also know we have a long way to go. There’s still work we need to do in this area to make sure students get the support they need.”

For more information about student housing and other services for students, visit csub.edu/basicneeds.

HOW TO APPLY

If you are a CSUB student who is in crisis and in need of emergency housing, contact Jason Watkins at jwatkins4@csub.edu or Ashley Scott at ascott12@csub.edu. Students must be enrolled full-time at CSUB to be eligible for the housing, which is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Dependents and pets are not accepted.