An initiative at the University of Utah is helping college students ease stress by helping them meet their basic needs as they pursue their degrees.
The “Basic Needs Collective” is a program put together by Sarah Elizabeth Garza-Levitt, the Associate Director of the program. BNC, at its core, is an initiative meant to help provide college students with basic services such as affordable housing, tuition, and even food.
Garza-Levitt says that the program personally resonates with her, as she knows the struggles students face when managing school on top of their basic needs in life. She says that those struggles have only gotten worse in the current financial climate, so she wanted to change that and has been inspired by her own journey.
At the age of 16, Garza-Levitt earned her GED and then spent over two decades working on her first undergraduate degree, having become a single teenage parent. Now, she’s a second-year PhD student studying college student poverty inspired to uphold and support the dreams of other students.
So far, the Basic Needs Collective has proven to be a hit with college students, as they have been able to stop by to grab a meal or snack prepared by other student volunteers and have been able to ask for help when they need it.
Jose Torres, a student volunteer for BNC, says that the program wants to destigmatize the concept of asking others for help, as the collective is a “no-judgment zone.”
For those interested in learning more about the collective, more information can be found here.
