"Seeing The Hope Come Back" - A Spotlight on the Basic Needs Collective

In my time as a Peer Wellbeing Ambassador for the Center for Campus Wellness, the biggest thing I have noticed is just how many incredibly useful resources exist at the U, while too few students know what kind of help is available.

For that reason, I wanted to write an article to spotlight the incredible work of the Basic Needs Collective!

I recently had the opportunity to interview Liz (she/her/ella), one of our Basic Needs Resource Coordinators, to understand how the BNC works, its mission, and exactly which types of resources are available.

 

For students who have never heard of the Basic Needs Collective, can you tell us a bit about what this resource is?

“The Basic Needs Collective (BNC) is a resource referral hub! 

That means we connect students to campus or community resources, usually by meeting with students directly during our intake appointments or even walk-ins. We help students identify barriers to what they’re looking for, and provide personalized resources and referrals for them, both on-campus and off-campus."

 Lizvet also shared that the Collective hosts a free thrift store at their Union Basement location, and recently opened several self-serve Wellness Exchange locations across campus to improve basic needs accessibility.

 

What is the Thrift Store?

"Our thrift store is free and available to anybody who wants to access it. We offer new and gently used items like professional clothing, shoes, accessories, household items. We also have bed stuff, school supplies, books, notebooks, binders, stuff like that. And we also offer hygiene kits that you can pick up at the thrift, too!"

The Thrift Store is located in the Union Basement and is open Monday through Saturday from 7 AM - 10 PM and Sundays from 11AM to 9PM. 

While they do accept donations, the team asks that you contact them in advance to make sure they have space for your items. 

 

What is a Wellness Exchange?

According to their website, a Wellness Exchange is a "new self-serve resource space designed to make essential wellness items more accessible for students."

They offer a variety of basic necessities like the clothing, hygiene essentials, wellness kits, and shelf-stable or ready-to-eat food items.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We currently have five Wellness Exchanges operating that you can find at EHSEB (Health Science Education Building), PHC (Peterson Heritage Center), PCE (Price College of Engineering), School of Dentistry, or the Wellness Hub at SSB (Student Services Building).

We're also hoping to open a location at Sunnyside Apartments early in summer semester.”

 

Are there any other basic needs areas you’re covering, as far as things like housing or technology, emergency funds, anything like that?

“With technology, sometimes there are students that come in for a specific item that they're looking for. An example I have is there was a student that was looking for headphones.

So we were very vigilant about specifically requesting donations for headphones for students. We were able to obtain some and save those headphones; I emailed the student, she picked them up, and we also had some extra ones!"

When it comes to emergency funding, Liz mentions that there are a few different approaches the team uses to navigate these scenarios. 

"Let's say, for example, a student had a set aside amount for their tuition, for their housing and all of that. If they were not able to pay their housing because, for example, their roommate moved out right at the beginning of the semester and didn't get any notice, they may have to use their tuition money to cover that.

So now they are short, maybe $1,000 for tuition. With that in mind, I would connect with our partner offices like CSAR (Center for Student Access and Resources), ISSS (International Student Scholar Services) if they're currently working with them, or their academic department or college as well to find funding for this student.

And I would say something around like, “Hey, this student is struggling financially because of these unexpected situations that happened in their life, and now they're not able to meet their tuition. They did everything they needed to do to have their tuition, but because of unexpected circumstances, they had to use that money for their housing, or else they would have been homeless. So then I work with other departments to try to find this critical funding.”

How have you seen students' stress levels or academic struggles change after receiving support?

"When we meet with students, a lot of them are coming from a place of, ‘This is the last place I’m visiting. I’ve already gone to a lot of different departments, and no one was able to help.'

When students are unable to meet their basic needs, it can cause them to feel hopeless. A lot of the students I meet with, they feel hopeless, like they’ve tried everything and nothing’s working out.

 They’re afraid they’re in a place where they might need to leave school. But something I’ve noticed is that when we do meet and we’re able to address specifically what needs they have, a lot of the stress has been relieved, and their retention (ability to stay in school) has increased because of it.

I honestly love this work so much. When I came into this role, I always knew there was a need here (for support to access to food items, household items, supply drives, etc) and it’s amazing to reconnect with students afterwards and see how things are improving.

It’s been really rewarding to see hope come back into somebody when they previously felt defeated."

 

Conclusion

I left the interview with Liz feeling hopeful and inspired. As a student myself, I know how difficult it can be to manage classes, work, extracurriculars, and a personal life, especially while worrying about basic needs concerns like food insecurity or access to winter clothing. 

I was also able to talk to Liz briefly about assistance applying to Medicaid, and she quickly connected me with resources I previously did not know about. I was truly impressed by how personalized the resource navigation process is, and am very grateful that we have this resource. 

Connect with the Basic Needs Collective!

basicneeds.utah.edu