Study suggests homeless population growing in LACCD

By Steven Adamo

Homeless students within the Los Angeles Community College District are on the rise                      according to survey results                              reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The survey was authored by Hope Lab, a non-profit                                         organization    based in San Francisco, along with the Association of Community College Trustees.

According to the Times’ article, both groups suggested                                    that LACCD campuses make showers available to                                                          homeless students and offer additional help for them to                         receive the resources that are already available to them.

On our campus, there are few resources available to students.

Assembly Bill 801, or the “Enacts the Success for Homeless                     Youth in Higher Education Act,” went into effect in January.

The bill allows an employee of the Financial Aid office to serve as a Homeless and Foster Student Liaison.

AB 801 gives students under the age of 25 (who are                                        formerly from foster care                                              or are currently homeless) priority in registration and enrollment.

Students unable to fill in the address portion of the application will be                                                           considered a “non-resident.”

“In order to obtain resources available, students who are currently homeless must register at a shelter before enrolling,” Kristen Mercado, Administrative Secretary of the Student Services office.

Student Health Center coordinator Cecilia Cruz is one of the members who created the Behavioral Intervention Team over the summer.

The BIT meets twice a month to discuss cases that have been filed by East Los Angeles College staff.

According to Cruz, the team is contacted if students are a danger to themselves or others.

During the meetings, members discuss different courses of action to help connect students in need with resources available to them that they may not be aware of.

Beginning in January, Administrative Regulation S-15 made shower facilities  on                                                                             all district campus open to all students who are                                                          currently enrolled and are                                               in good standing with their college.

More information on shower availability can be found in the Student Services office at E1-213.

In a study conducted by Amy Dworsky, Ph.D., and Mark                Courtney, Ph.D., they concluded that youths aging out of foster care are at high risk for becoming homeless            during the transition to adulthood.

“Between 31 percent and 46 percent of our study, participants had                                  been homeless at least once by age 26 years,” Dworsky and Courtney said.

Created January of last year, the Cooperating Agencies Foster Youth Education Support connects students aging out of foster care to the resources they need for their education.

“In many cases, students might not have strong  family                                                                  support systems, but the program’s  pathways  help us ensure students are on the right path                                                                                                                                   with manageable course loads, financial aids and the like,”  Danelle Fallert, dean of Student Services, said.

More information on the CAFYES program can be found by contacting Danelle Fallert in the Student Services office.

An app developed by Our                               Children LA allows people to locate food, shelter, health/mental health, education, crisis support, hotlines, drop-in centers, transportation, legal assistance, job supports and government benefits.

More information can be found at: https://www.ourchildrenla.org/win-app/.

Another local resource is People Assisting The Homeless Mall.

It is located at 340 N. Madison Ave. in Los Angeles and gathers a variety of homeless services into one place, making it                                                  easier for people to get the help they need without having to travel all over town.

The closest shelter to ELAC is the Salvation Army in Bell.

Their phone number is 323-263-1206. There’s also the                  Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles and their phone number is (213) 680-0600.

For more information on on    resources available, contact the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority at (213) 683-3333 or https://www.lahsa.org.

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