新闻 & 事件 新闻 2020 9月 New Housing Assistance Program for students

New Housing Assistance Program for students

2020年9月1日

市场营销 & 战略沟通

帕洛阿尔托学院 launched a Housing Assistance Program through a partnership with the 圣安东尼奥 Housing Authority (SAHA) to provide 阿拉莫大学 students with housing vouchers to offset rental costs by 50 percent.

“We are experiencing something that the rest of the country is experiencing, which is an insecurity crisis among college students,吉尔伯托·贝塞拉说, vice president for student success at 帕洛阿尔托学院.

“It’s much larger than housing… It’s about breaking that cycle by removing the obstacles, so they can get a degree and be self-sustaining.”

Based on a financial wellness survey conducted in spring 2018, 33 percent of 帕洛阿尔托学院 students indicated housing insecurity, such as having trouble affording utilities or having to move frequently.

The program sets aside up to 20 housing vouchers for households referred by 帕洛阿尔托学院. The voucher requests will be processed within 30-45 days – placing eligible students at the top of a wait list that normally takes two to six years to be fulfilled. With the vouchers, students may rent from a landlord in the private rental market.

Students who are homeless or at risk of being homeless are considered eligible for the program if they: Are enrolled in at least 12 credit hours at 帕洛阿尔托学院 or one of the 阿拉莫大学; maintain a 2.0 grade point average (GPA); and do not owe money to SAHA. If a student meets the criteria, they may complete an application through the 大学’s S.H.A.R.E. Center.

The Housing Assistance Program is the newest in a suite of advocacy services offered at 帕洛阿尔托学院 based on the idea that if students’ basic needs must be met in order for them to successfully obtain their educational and career goals. Based upon four years of advocacy services data, students who take advantage of the 大学’s other services show increased rates of success when compared to the general student population.

“This is to get people back on their feet; get people back into the workforce into in-demand occupations,贝塞拉说. “Whatever stops a student from being successful academically, we’re going to remove that obstacle.”

The Housing Assistance Program is part of 帕洛阿尔托学院’s three-prong approach to confronting the issue of homelessness among its students:

  1. Pre-emptive interventions to help students avert homelessness through financial literacy, 财务规划, and connections to community resources.
  2. Emergency housing program funded through 帕洛阿尔托学院s Emergency 援助 Program (EAP) for students needing short term shelter for up to three days (funded in part through the Trellis Corporation).
  3. SAHA housing vouchers provided to 帕洛阿尔托学院 students for longer-term housing. Students remain eligible for the vouchers as long as they continue meeting the criteria, up to one semester after graduating from 帕洛阿尔托学院.

For more information about the Housing Assistance Program and 帕洛阿尔托学院’s other advocacy services, 学生可浏览 阿拉莫.edu/pac/share 或发邮件给S.H.A.R.E. 中心 pac-share@阿拉莫.edu. 

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