A Blueprint for California Assembly Bill 2388
Edited on 2/27/2021
California AB-2388 reads that California Community Colleges were required to publish a document containing information of on and off-campus resources available to students by February 1, 2021, and are encouraged to institute a Basic Needs Center along with a Basic Needs Coordinator by July 1, 2021. While this is less than 5 months away, here are some ideas about why, what, and how this basic needs center could work:
The right to education is literacy; not only as a tool, but as a right that helps achieve the fulfillment of this universal human right, the full development of the person, and therefore, the possibility of enjoying and exercising all other human rights. — Moretti & Frandell
Student support services aim to provide access and opportunities for students to become successful in their given objectives. At-risk students are a particular population of interest, as they (typically) face more obstacles on their path to completion, such as language barriers, first-generation status, disability, and insufficient academic preparation. Some students attend school while being insufficiently prepared for day-to-day life. According to the U.S. Department of Education, approximately two million students may face homelessness on any given day; the National Center for Homeless Education has reported a 72% increase in homeless students since 2008 (Sulkowski & Joyce-Beaulieu, 2014). While these numbers include students in the K-12 system, this project will focus on a program designed to assist students at the college and university level.
In psychology, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory consisting of a 5-tier pyramid-shaped model that explains how needs lower down in the pyramid must be met before higher tiers can be attended to (McLeod, 2018). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs begins at the bottom with what are considered basic needs: psychological –food, water, warmth, rest; next up is safety –security and safety. Once those two tiers are satisfied, then comes psychological needs: belongingness and love –friends and intimate relationships, then esteem –prestige and accomplishment. These four tiers need to be satisfied prior to ever reaching the top tier: self-actualization. Self-actualization is at the top of this hierarchy and is described to be achieving one’s full potential (McLeod, 2018). For the homeless student, how can they reach self-actualization if they are starving or are unsure of where they will be sleeping that night?
This invisible population of students is difficult to quantify as many who are homeless do not declare it or take advantage of campus services (related to feelings of shame and embarrassment), but a recent study revealed that one in ten students had reported they were homeless in the last year (CBS, 2019). It should come as no surprise that after discovering approximately 10% of students reported facing housing insecurities, studies on food insecurity revealed that 14% of students face some form of food insecurity (Cady, 2014). Assuming that resources, including financial, are limited if even available, these students may also not have access to clothing, hygiene products, and toiletries. When applying these findings to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, students’ most basic bottom-tier physiological needs are not being met, and therefore will leave them unable to achieve their full potential. These barriers make it difficult for these at-risk students to complete their programs. Often times, former foster youth and homeless students are grouped together when it comes to research; this group of at-risk students may be the most critical as they have a national bachelor’s completion rate of less than three percent (Huang, Fernandez, Rhoden, & Joseph, 2018).
Identities and forms of life get built within the evolving social spaces identified by recognizable communicative acts. — Bazerman
Proposed Program Blueprint: “Lighthouse Project”
According to AB-2388, the state of California acknowledges that “California students are struggling to meet their basic needs and are facing housing insecurity, including homelessness, and food insecurity at alarming rates”. The “Lighthouse Project” has been developed with a mission: To provide students with resources for the fulfillment of basic needs towards personal and academic success. With Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in mind, the Lighthouse Project will provide services that will address the aforementioned tiers. A food pantry, farmer’s market, closet for access to clothing, and a medicine cabinet will address the most basic physiological needs. Resources for temporary housing assistance will address the next tier –safety. A student-mentor program will be used to address the need for the third-tier: psychological need for belonginess and love and used to foster positive relationships. These services will allow students the opportunity to build and fulfill level four, esteem and feelings of accomplishment, which when completed will allow them to pursue self-actualization –the achievement of their full potential in their personal and academic pursuits.
According to AB-2388 the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice collected survey information and 50% of respondents experienced food insecurity within the last 30 days. The Lighthouse Pantry will have a variety of food for students to meet certain personal, dietary, and religious needs. The pantry itself will be replacing the student emergency food source. Funding for the pantry may be obtained through subsidizations of a grant from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, which will restrict those permitted to use this resource (San Diego, 2017). However, community partnerships and resources with local grocery stores may also supply the pantry which would increase the chance of receiving “high quality fresh produce and other items which may have otherwise ended up being thrown away” (San Diego, 2017). It is important that this resource be available to all students in order to ensure the privacy and keep the anonymity of our homeless students; not to mention, address the issue of student food insecurity regardless of housing status.
Not only is access to food important, access to nutritious food is just as important. The Lighthouse Farmer’s Market will be a free farmer’s market once per month in the campus courtyard. Through a partnership with Feeding America, five pallets of fresh produce will be delivered to campus where they will be distributed by volunteer staff and students. (San Diego, 2017). This partnership will be mutually beneficial, as Feeding America will be able to increase their outreach further accomplishing their mission, while our students, staff, and community have access to a healthy food resource, that create positive sustainable experiences.
Donations of clean clothing, professional clothing, shoes, school supplies, feminine products, hygiene essentials, and diapers (Miramar REACT) are encouraged in order to supply the Lighthouse Closet and Medicine Cabinet. The closet and medicine cabinet will be located inside of health services. The positioning of these services will allow students to learn about the health services available on campus which include mental health services, common lab tests including pregnancy, strep, HIV and more, immunizations, and TB testing (San Diego Clinical). All of these services contribute to the achievement of the basic physiological needs of our students.
Lighthouse Relief Program will assist in finding (temporary) housing solutions for students. It is imperative that the purpose of this service is not to provide housing but assist students in how and where to safely find community resources for housing. The Lighthouse Relief Program will be responsible for building relationships with local shelters and other local housing program opportunities and understanding their requirements, along with any restrictions to best assist students in streamlining the process. Navigating where they can or cannot go may discourage students in pursuit of safe shelter, so it is important that our Relief Program Support Team be well trained and acquainted with the public resources. Until the Lighthouse project can develop a program similar to the Trojan Shelter at USC or the Bruin Shelter at UCLA, location assistance will address safety and housing needs.
Lastly, AB-2388 acknowledges that, “students experiencing basic needs insecurity are much more likely to not buy textbooks, to miss, drop, or fail classes, and to withdraw from school entirely. In addition, these students consistently report high levels of stress and other mental health issues, which negatively impact academic performance and health in general”. For those reasons, the Lighthouse Student-Mentor Program will be imperative to achieving the next level of needs, psychological. This specific program will only be available to students who voluntarily identify as homeless. Huang et. al. (2018) found student-mentor programs to be beneficial for homeless students mentally, emotionally, and academically -as many face mental health issues, and lack positive adult relationships. The program will also require students to complete activities that will allow them to become familiarized with academic support services and personnel (Connolly, Flynn, Jemmott, & Oestreicher, 2017). This sort of program allows students to discover resources, study skills, and socialize while holding them accountable. Connolly et. al. (2017) also found that student who actively participated in their programs saw academic improvement including increased grade point averages. It is important to remember that this aspect of the Lighthouse Project can only reach its full potential if the basic needs of the students are being met, through taking advantage of the closet, medicine cabinet, and food pantry –if not, other similar resources.
Discussion
As previously stated, the number of homeless students is difficult to acquire due its voluntary disclosure. However, with the reality of 1 in 10 students reporting being homeless at any point in the last year tells us that the number is unfortunately more likely to be greater. In order to assist these students, less than 3% of which will receive their bachelors, the Lighthouse Project is imperative to close the gap and provide resources for this at-risk population. All of the services mentioned above, except for the student-mentor program, are available to all students, as we strive to reduce opportunities for shame or embarrassment for our homeless students. The collective experience also allows for the third tier need of belonginess to be had.
The student-mentor program will be used to assist students in building relationships and personal and academic skills but will also be used as a measure of assessment. A mandatory minimum of three contacts per semester will be a program requirement. The contacts, or meetings, will allow for students to check-in with their Lighthouse mentors. Mentors are expected to ask students how their needs are being met, physiologically and psychologically. Disclosure will not be required of the student. Mentors will also be responsible for assigning tasks with realistic goals that will help the student toward the fulfillment of what ever tier they are deficient in. For example, the mentor may advise the student to visit the Lighthouse closet. There will be no requirement of using it, but it will allow them to be exposed to its availability. Mentors will be ultimately be responsible for recording information based on student interactions on the services used, skills acquired, and academic progress in order to assess the programs efficiency.
Because much of this program is volunteer and donations based, community partnerships are integral to the project’s success. Possible funding sources may be acquired through grants from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office but will restrict those able to take advantage of the services the grant is funding. Monetary donations obtained through fundraising, or other means of voluntary donations will be accepted and properly disseminated into services at the discretion of the program director.
Program outcomes will be improved student health, security, and esteem which will rollover into the learning outcomes of increased retention and homeless (and former foster youth) completion. The purpose of the Lighthouse Project is to satisfy the Student Personnel Point of View and California AB-2388, while remaining true to the charter with our community. As the needs of our students change, so will aspects of the Lighthouse Project, but its fundamental mission and infrastructure will remain: To provide students with resources for the fulfillment of basic needs towards personal and academic success.
