Like all college students, JCCC students juggle a lot — class schedules and schoolwork, projects and exams. Some have full- or part-time jobs. Some live with family, others with friends, others live alone. But all came to JCCC because we can help them meet their educational and professional goals.
But sometimes life gets in the way. An unexpected bill arrives. Transportation to campus falls through. Cutbacks at work result in fewer shifts. These unexpected issues make it hard for students to focus on their goals. At JCCC, the Student Basic Needs Center is there to help students get through the unexpected.
Offering judgment-free assistance to all
Established in 2019, the Student Basic Needs Center is a central hub for information and resources to help students meet life’s hardships so they can continue pursuing their goals. The Center recently moved to a ground floor location in an easy-to-access area of campus as part of a larger facilities master plan approved by the Board of Trustees in 2016. The new location is larger, brighter, more welcoming and easier to find — characteristics that support the center’s mission of offering judgment-free assistance to any JCCC student who needs it.
“Food and housing insecurity is a real issue for many college students,” says Robbie Miller, Coordinator, Student Basic Needs Center, “and students at JCCC are no exception. Sometimes students find themselves in situations where they must choose between paying rent, buying food, paying tuition or buying books. By offering a safe, welcoming place that offers help to students who are navigating hardships, we hope to alleviate some of the stress so our students can stay healthy, focused and able to continue pursuing their goals.”
The Center provides guidance and practical help with a variety of challenges:
- Cav Cupboard is a food and resources pantry located inside the Basic Needs Center. It provides food and household items to currently enrolled JCCC students. Students can visit Cav Cupboard up to once a week to gather nonperishable and refrigerated and frozen foods, as well as common household items like soap, toilet paper, diapers and laundry detergent.
- The Student Assistance Fund provides one-time monetary assistance to students who face an unexpected financial hardship like an unexpected medical expense not covered by insurance. Eligible students complete an application to explain their situation. A team reviews the applications and provides support based on the student’s need as well as available funds.
- An Equipment Loan Program loans laptops and WiFi hotspots at no charge to students enrolled in credit courses who have no other way to secure these technologies needed to complete JCCC courses. Quantities are limited and are provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
- While JCCC does not offer on-campus housing, the Basic Needs Center offers resources, contacts and information to help students who face housing insecurity.
- Students who need reliable transportation to and from campus can work with the Basic Needs Center to identify options like microtransit and the U-Pass program.
- The Basic Needs Center also helps students apply for federal assistance programs and offers advice and guidance to students who need help finding childcare, medical and dental care, and legal assistance.
If you would like to support JCCC students who need extra assistance to stay on course at JCCC, make a monetary donation through the JCCC Foundation, or make a purchase from the Center’s Amazon Wish List. Items purchased from the wish list are sent directly to the Center to help ensure the shelves in Cav Cupboard are stocked with the items our students need most.
