Palomar College’s one-stop shop to gain access to essential resources is coming to the San Marcos campus. Located by the new Food Bank, officials from the Student Affairs office are replacing the old Veterans Resource Center into the new Palomar Hub.
In room SU-22, the space will be transformed into a welcoming living room area for students to have access to a variety of resources to meet their basic needs. As an extension to the food bank and nutrition center, its purpose is to provide a helping hand for food insecure students.
In a recent report, more than two-thirds of 33,000 students across 70 community colleges in 24 states were food insecure. The purpose of the Hub is to change the system by increasing accessibility to nutritious food, stable housing, financial wellness, and emotional support. In many cases, students who are food insecure may also experience other insecurities, such as homelessness, domestic abuse, or trauma.
With the new Hub students facing any issue other than food insecurities will be supported by professional staff members, lead interns, or peer mentors. The Hub will give students a chance to meet with their Calfresh representative to find out if they could be eligible for EBT or Food Stamps.
While this is only the start of what to expect from the new Hub, officials say it will always be evolving to become whatever safe space it can be for students. It will be based on students serving students to give them the essential resources required to help them thrive as human beings. The new Palomar Hub is expected to unveil in March.
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