The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Homeless Student Advocate Alliance

  • Some progress, but far from perfection

    Some progress, but far from perfection

    Homeless Student Advocate Alliance aims to avoid homelessness

    The housing situation at Humboldt State University has been a huge problem since 2016. In the last year, about 19 percent of HSU students were homeless, according to a recent study done by CSU Chancellor’s office social work professor Jennifer Maguire and CSU Long Beach social work professor Rashida Crutchfield.

    Many students demand more housing. Fernanda Estrada, a junior in psychology, has lived on campus her entire student career and said her biggest fear is not being able to find housing within the next few years she has left here.

    “I am still unsure whether I will even have granted housing next year, to live on campus,” Estrada said. “This school has a huge problem on not having a lot of housing for on campus living. For someone who doesn’t have a car, it is very hard to live off campus as well. I feel like a lot of students aren’t taking action into this situation, and they only will unless they are in this situation.”

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    HSU student, Fernanda Estrada reaches for a book. | Photo by Delaney Duarte

    We are mostly unaware of the students that are homeless. We see them on campus and don’t even know they’re having housing insecurity. We see these students in our classes, walking out on the quad, or even in the Depot without knowing they have nowhere to sleep. Christopher Regalado is a junior in marine biology who was homeless for a semester and knows how it feels to be homeless.

    “It was really tough, I had to sleep from one friend’s place to another and I even had a tent, so sometimes I slept in the forest,” Regalado said. “I didn’t want to bother my friends all the time because that is their place and not mine.”

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    HSU student, Christopher Regalado stands in College Creek’s soccer field. | Photo by Delany Duarte

    Regalado couldn’t find any housing available on campus or off campus. When he applied for housing on campus he’d gotten a waitlist number, which was 272. That number was far from a single digit number to even have a slight chance on getting a place to live.

    [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”Christopher Regalado” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”19″]“I really hope those students who are homeless currently know they aren’t alone…”[/perfectpullquote]

    “I was really disappointed with how the system of on campus was set up,” Regalado said. “It is very unfair. I wouldn’t wish being homeless on anyone, it is such a stressful time.”

    Regalado said he had a hard enough time being homeless for one semester and couldn’t imagine the students who are homeless for a year or more. Regalado hopes that housing changes very soon for those students suffering without a safe place to live.

    “I really hope those students who are homeless currently know they aren’t alone, Regalado said. “And I hope they have supportive friends like I did at a time where I needed them the most.

    On campus, there’s supportive advocates to help those students who can’t find homes.The Homeless Student Advocate Alliance, is a club that creates dialogue services and awareness of housing issues are overlooked. This club was started by Chant’e Catt, who is also the Off-Campus Housing Coordinator. Chant’e Catt assists students who are homeless to find homes off campus and helps support them.

    “There is a lot of awareness now on campus, so professors and faculty staff know what to look for when they see a student in need so they do refer those students to me,” Catt said. “Also when students are brave enough to come out and find help, they are immediately directed to me.”

    Many students want these housing issues to be improved and get better as time goes on. Catt said that the housing situation has improved throughout the years she’s been working on the issue.

    “HSU, while people like to think we aren’t doing a lot, are actually the leader in solving and supporting the students around this need,” Catt said.

    There has been a lot of people who blame the school itself, and the people that work within housing. Catt said that there is emergency housing on campus in the woodworks for next semester that can house one or two students. This

    “I see a lot of progress going on for student basic need,” Catt said. “A lot of people like to blame a specific area or one person but in reality it is just a system failure in the institution.”

    If you are currently going through a similar situation, you can contact Chant’e Catt at cmc1776@humboldt.edu.

  • EDITORIAL: Lend a helping hand

    EDITORIAL: Lend a helping hand

    It’s Monday morning and you have class at 9 a.m. You get out of bed and hop in the shower, get dressed, do your hair in the bathroom and brush your teeth. You get ready in the comfort of your home and go to school, hopefully grabbing breakfast along the way.

    Whether you live on or off campus, you’re able to get to school without having to think twice about where you got ready, if you got to shower or where you woke up. For homeless students, these are luxuries that come with having a stable living situation. These students are your friends you see in class every day as a someone with a stable living situation, and there are ways to help your peers and colleagues even when you feel you don’t have too much to offer.

    President of the Humboldt State University Homeless Student Advocate Alliance, Chant’e Catt, gave some bigger picture suggestions on how students can help their fellow students.

    1. Get political

    One of the ways a student can help is by being involved with and voting for local legislature that promotes help for homelessness.

    To do this, students should update their voter registration address so they are eligible to vote in Humboldt County. To do this, you can register online at the Department of Motor Vehicles website or in person at the DMV as well.

    Catt said after changing voter addresses, students should “vote on local policies that restrain housing development and other student issues so we can create legacy for students to come.”

    Attending city council meetings and sharing opinions at these meetings is another way to influence change. Arcata city council meetings happen several times a month. You can find the next one at the city of Arcata’s website.

    2. Get involved on campus

    Homeless students are encouraged, at their own discretion, to participate in any research studies on campus by sharing their stories and experiences. Catt said by participating, suggestions based off these stories can be made to the CSU system to help others in the future.

    For example, Oh SNAP! is a student food program run by students that provides help for food insecure students. Visit their website at http://hsuohsnap.org to discover more of their resources and find out how you can help.

    Students can also spend two hours a week participating in clubs and programs like the HSAA, the Youth Educational Services or becoming a part of the Associated Students executive board to promote change and support for homeless students. Y.E.S. also facilitates a homelessness network that offers resources to homeless families in Humboldt.

    3. Get involved in the community

    Looking for local shelters and finding a way to volunteer time and support to these shelters could potentially give back to students utilizing them. You can find a list of shelters in the area at https://www.shelterlistings.org and by searching for Humboldt County.

    Catt suggested students get involved in the Raven Project Street Outreach Program. The Raven Project is put on by the Redwood Community Action Agency which owns rentals as housing options, offers connection to crisis assistance, home repair assistance, some transportation options and other resources for homeless families.

    The Affordable Homeless Housing Alternatives said they work with the community on both long and short term goals to help find housing for the homeless in the area. They accept multiple forms of help and donations.

    Even if these local options don’t seem student oriented, remember that most students are above the age of 18 and are technically adults. This means local homeless adult resources might be their only option.

    4. Check in with each other

    One of the best ways a student can support other students who might be homeless is to ask them how they are doing. Checking in with each other could make a world of a difference.

    Catt said students should ask each other how they are and share resources and information more often.

    “Be more open to sharing just a few hours helping each other,” Catt said. “Absolutely every study I find on resiliency says mentors, council, friends are the key to success. Networking creates a safety net in the community.”

    In some cases, the ability to admit you need help might be the hardest thing to do. By looking out for your fellow students, you might discover someone who needs your help.

     

  • Homelessness awareness

    Homelessness awareness

    By | Juan Herrera

    Being homeless is a spot where not many people would like to be but if the situation appears you always need to be prepared.

    The Homeless Student Advocate Alliance (H.S.A.A), a club at Humboldt State, put on a three day event to inform, share and educate the students and community about the severity of homelessness in Humboldt County.

    Chant’e Catt, president of the club, said for this being their first annual three day event it was educational and they got their message across.

    “Our main purpose of the event is to let other homeless students know they’re not alone,” Catt said. “And I believe we achieved a majority of that.”

    Catt said the first day of the event was more personal for others by students and members of the community sharing their own stories of past and present times of homelessness in their life. Catt herself even spoke about her own times being homeless when she and her family first moved to Humboldt County.

    “I first hand know the struggles of moving from place to place,” Catt said.” For my first 14 weeks in Humboldt County I was constantly trying to find a secure place for me and my two children.”

    Catt said majority of the students that are homeless at HSU are not because they do not have the money. but purely because the lack of housing Humboldt State and the County provides.

    Daniela Parada, another member of the club, said the second night of the event was the most eye-opening night. The night went into the meaning of what being “homeless” actually is.

    “We wanted to talk about the stigma and labeling that gets put on the homeless community,” Parada said. “Most people assume that anybody who is homeless is dirty, smelly and just plain ole gross.”

    Parada said most of the time that is hardly ever the case. According to her, a person who goes from couch to couch but still showers daily, dresses nice, etc., is still considered homeless. Would you still call that person smelly and gross?

    Parada said the last night of the event was the most hands-on activities they put on. They showed students and members of the community how to put together and take down a tent and also how to start a fire almost anywhere.

    “Personally this was the most educational night for people who attended our event,” Parada said. “Even though we could not start a real fire, people definitely got the hang of how to start one.”

    Arri Sanders, a senior at HSU, said how the event was personal and a huge eye-opener for her.

    “I remember when one of my best friends was going through a similar situation,” Sanders said. “I honestly did’t realize some of the embarrassments or things homeless people had to go through until hearing it first hand.”

    Sanders said even though her friend wasn’t nearly in as bad as a spot as some she still realized part of what she went through. Sanders said now looking back at it she wishes she would have tried to offer her friend more then what she did.

    Sanders had one last message for people who have friends who are homeless.

    “Please! Please! Even if they don’t ask for it, offer any help you can, because they do need it.” Sanders said.