HOST combats homelessness

USD HOST organization open third food pantry on campus for college students in need

Lilyana Espinoza | News Editor | The USD Vista

 

The issue of homeless college students might seem unfamiliar, but it is an issue that some students face, including those at the University of San Diego.

Robert Arca, founder of  Homeless Outreach for Student Transition (HOST) at Mesa Community College, did not drop the issue of homeless college students when he came to USD. The thought of a homeless student kept him up at night.

He found that there were students attending USD who had no home and who were hungry. That is when he decided to start HOST on USD’s campus. The nonprofit organization has made progress in the few short years it has been at USD, providing free food and assistance with housing for students in need.

The first food pantry, opened in the fall of 2016 by HOST with the help of the Mortar Board, is located in the Student Support Services (SSS) office, Barcelona Hall room 301. The second pantry was opened in 2016 and was originally located in Missions Crossroads. It was then relocated in 2017 to the Student Life Pavilion (SLP) room 403. More recently, a third food pantry opened on campus in the SOLES Student Lounge this spring.

The SSS and SOLES pantries are exclusively funded and operated by USD HOST and HOST according to Arca.

Arca believes the layout of the pantries at USD is more impactful than other universities that have implemented food pantries.

“We think that our model is more effective because you are not going to walk all the way to the other side of campus to grab a power bar or to get something to take home for the night,” Arca said. “We don’t have one cafeteria for the whole university; we have different places to eat. So why not have different food pantries? I think that our model is unique.”

The pantries on campus operate under a “no questions asked” policy. Those students in need of the help do not have to disclose who they are, but there is a sign-up sheet that asks several basic questions for statistical purposes.

Arca’s reason for the “no questions asked” policy was for the students to feel comfortable getting help.

“We are trying to make (the pantries) accessible to people,” Arca said. “(We want them) to feel good about reaching out to us and not being bombarded with 1,000 questions and asking for proof of this and that.”

The nonprofit organization helps between 75-100 students each month, according to the statistical analysis researched by HOST every year.

Junior Timothy Marshall, President of HOST, understands the importance of his role to the community.

“Moving to San Diego from Tucson, I never realized how the homeless population is so massive out here,” Marshall said. “The sense of my commitment to the community, helping not just the homeless population out in San Diego but here at USD which is our home where we go, it is more than just fun. It is necessary and it is why we are doing it. It is because people are struggling and we are trying to help them.”

Marshall understands that the group running HOST is small, but that is not slowing them down.

“We are a small group, but we are very ambitious,” Marshall said. “We are fighting a problem and we want to help it as quickly as possible because the problem is not just going to go away.”

These pantries are filled through a food drive every fall. In the spring, HOST organizes a volleyball tournament to raise funds for students in need of housing.

Arca said the tournament is more than just raising money for the cause.

He stated the money is good, but the awareness and unity the tournament brings to the community is better. The enjoyment  of the tournament lightens the mood surrounding the serious issue at hand.

“We are building more of a sense of community involvement because it is truly the only one event that you could say that all three groups come together,” Arca said. “I don’t think there is any other event (on campus) where you could have a student, a faculty, and a staff on the same team.”

Last year the tournament raised a little over $2,000. The goal for this year’s tournament is to raise $5,000 for the HOST scholarship fund in order to help more students in need. This will be the second year the volleyball tournament will take place. The details for when and where the tournament will be held this year are tentative, but it is planned to be in mid-April.

HOST is hoping to incorporate more food pantries on campus, as well as increase dialogue with the university to become involved when there is a student struggling with food insecurities. HOST continues to help students in need with the current resources available to them.