Editor’s Note: The Peralta Community College District is the community college district serving northern Alameda County, California. The district operates four community colleges: Berkeley City College, Laney College and Merritt College in Oakland, and College of Alameda.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
According to the most recent data collected, housing insecurities affect about 83% of Peralta Community College Students (Mercado, V. 2017), compared to about 48% of Community College students nationwide (The Hope Center Survey, 2021)
As well, about 14% of students nationwide self-report experiencing homelessness in the past year (The Hope Center Survey), compared to about 30% of Peralta students (Mercado, V). An important note is that over half of students who experience housing insecurities or homelessness report that unmet housing needs impact their educational success (Mercado, V.). Students attending the Peralta Colleges are at a significantly higher risk of experiencing homelessness or housing insecurities due to the extremely competitive private housing market and the immense gentrification occurring within the East Bay.
The Peralta Community College District has an amazing opportunity to take advantage of the California Senate Bill No. 169. The Bill specifically provides $250 million in one-time grants for California Community Colleges to help with the construction of student housing or for the acquisition and renovation of commercial properties into student housing for the purpose of providing affordable, low-cost housing options for students enrolled in public post-secondary education in the state.
However, Peralta students struggling to find affordable housing, in order to continue their education, have been leading the push for the Peralta District to apply for the State funds. This is the third round of applications for SB No. 169, and the next deadline to apply for the funds is July 15th. The concern of the students is that because the Peralta District has not applied during the first two rounds, it may not take advantage of the already dwindling funds that were allocated to the Bill. The Peralta District has expressed their intentions to apply for the State funds this round, in large part due to widespread support from students, faculty, administrators, and community organizations.
Ultimately, students and even part-time staff need housing. Currently, the Peralta District does not provide any student housing let alone housing for employees. Students that have been involved in this process are appreciative that fully publicly funded housing options are available, because of the amazing projects that have been already accomplished with the State funding like Lotus Living at Imperial Valley College (Madison, A., & Bent, K. 2023, February 2). Students are concerned that if the Peralta District does not apply for the funding, then a public-private partnership will be pursued, which has been shown to create deeply unaffordable housing for students elsewhere in the state (Madison, A., & Bent, K. 2023, February 2)
References:
-The Hope Center For College, Community, and Justice. (2021).
THE HOPE CENTER SURVEY 2021: BASIC NEEDS INSECURITY DURING THE ONGOING PANDEMIC. In hope4college.com. Retrieved January 27, 2023, from https://hope.temple.edu/sites/hope/files/media/document/HopeSurveyReport2021.pdf
-Madison, A., & Bent, K. (2023, February 2). ‘It’s a big removal of a barrier’: What housing at California’s community colleges looks like. CalMatters. https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2023/02/community-colleges-in-california-with-housing/
-Mercado, V. (2017). Peralta Community College District report of spring 2017 student food & housing survey.
-Senate Bill No. 169, Chapter 262 (2021) https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB169
| URGENT: Unhoused College Students Need You at the Peralta Board of Trustee Meeting We are mobilizing as many students, faculty and community members to make a public comment at the Tues Board of Trustees meeting and write emails to Board and Chancellor. Below, please see a call to action and a press release from the Laney Poor People’s Campaign (LPPC). Please share and spread the word–we need as many people as possible to speak for 2 minutes at the Board meeting, Tuesday 6/27 at 6 pm. |
| Housing costs in Oakland and the Bay Area have gotten out of hand are leading to an explosion of housing insecurity and homelessness. The people have asked our government leaders to take action to address the housing crisis and voted for several city measures and a mayor who based her campaign on housing for all. College students are part of the unhoused community who are fighting for their right to affordable housing, and we need help from the community. The Peralta Community College District (which includes Laney, Merritt, COA, and BCC) has the opportunity to apply for a grant to fund affordable student housing, and we need your help to urge the District to do it! We need you to speak during public comment at the Peralta Board of Trustees meeting this Tuesday, 6/27, at 6 pm to urge the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor’ Office to apply for the funding made possible by Senate Bill 169 which provides $250 million in one-time grant funds in the form of the Higher Education Student Housing Grant to provide affordable low cost housing to community college students. The Peralta District has stated they intend to apply for the grant, which is great! However, there are some powerful voices of austerity discouraging them. So, we need the voices for affordable housing for unhoused and housing-insecure students to be louder than the nay-sayers! We need as many people as possible to be present at the Tuesday Board Meeting at 6 pm. The Asks: Speak at the Board of Trustees Mtg. Tues 6/27: We urge the Board of Trustees and the Peralta Chancellor’s Office to follow through on applying for the Higher Education Student Housing Grant made possible by Senate Bill 169 to provide affordable low-cost housing for Peralta College students and to work with student leaders and campus and community leaders to develop creative ways to provide truly affordable housing for students. Meeting Details: In person: You must come early (before 6) and fill out a speaker’s card prior to the meeting, at 333 E 8th St, Oakland. Via Zoom: you must register here in advance When: Tuesday, 6/27, starts at 6pm, please arrive early Where: Peralta College District Office at 333 E 8th St, Oakland, CA 94606 Or On Zoom- must register here. AND Send an email to the Members of the Peralta Board of Trustees and the Peralta District Chancellor expressing your support for low cost affordable student housing Board of Trustees bwithrow@peralta.edu pgonzalez-brito@peralta.edu lquindlen@peralta.edu nyuen@peralta.edu cinapoli@peralta.edu ddelfinpolk@peralta.edu sheweetyohannes@peralta.edu Chancellor jjackson@peralta.edu Additional Background Information · Here is the petition circulated by student leaders and the Laney Poor People’s Campaign: https://www.change.org/p/student-housing-for-peralta-community-college-students?original_footer_petition_id=1403398&algorithm=promoted&source_location=petition_footer&grid_position=7&pt=AVBldGl0aW9uAHgLHgIAAAAAZCY6m69pzGA2MDk2OGI5MQ%3D%3D · Here’s a good article published in Oaklandside about the students’ demands: https://oaklandside.org/2023/05/11/peralta-colleges-student-housing-oakland/ · https://oaklandside.org/2023/05/11/peralta-colleges-student-housing-oakland/ Thank you! Ain’t no power like the power of the people – together we can get the changes we need for a truly just and caring society!or more information, contact: |
