Unprecedented numbers of college students seek help to pay rent, buy food during pandemic
The Clover Park Technical College Foundation always has had an emergency assistance fund for students facing hardship.
In the past month amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of applications for help has skyrocketed.
The CPTC Foundation processed 12 applications in spring quarter of 2019. This year, that jumped to 68 — a more than 600 percent increase.
In her 20 years on the job, the fund has had it’s ups and downs, but nothing like this, said CPTC Foundation development director Janet Holm.
“This is just different,” Holm said.
CPTC is not alone.
The rising need is a theme at colleges across Pierce County as students struggle with issues ranging from food security to paying for rent.
At Bates Technical College, the Bates Foundation has seen an 120 percent increase in requests to its emergency fund in the past three weeks compared to its annual normal distribution, Bates spokesperson Chelsea Lindquist said in an email.
“We have more than $12,000 in requests being processed right now,” Lindquist said. “Normally, the Bates Foundation distributes about $10,000 annually, which might seem small compared to other larger colleges with more students.”
The Pierce College Foundation’s Student Success Fund helps vulnerable students from having to choose between continuing in college or paying rent, child care or even a car repair. It is becoming even more critical as students find themselves out of work and facing new obstacles from the COVID-19 crisis.
“We expect a dramatic rise in demand over the next few months,” said Michael Wark, Pierce College vice president for strategic advancement.
At Pacific Lutheran University, a donation-based COVID-19 emergency fund launched in March, with hundreds of students applying for assistance.
The fund has raised upwards of $100,000, with maximum awards at $750.
“Student needs are varied,” PLU said on its website. “Many emergency funding requests relate to lost jobs — students who have lost their job(s) and/or family members who lost their job(s) and who were supporting a student.”
Students might also need help paying for internet access with libraries closed. Others might have a chronic medical condition and need emergency finding to temporary stop working to prevent contracting COVID-19.
At the University of Puget Sound, a student group has started an emergency fund for peers and has raised about $20,000, according to senior Mu Knowles, a member of the executive board on the Associated Students of UPS (ASUPS). The fund has helped more than 30 students so far.
Students have struggled with paying for housing and finding transportation, Knowles said.
“I was supporting people, helping them fill out the form or helping them get access to the form,” Knowles said.
ASUPS had previously started an emergency fund, but spread the word through email and social media after COVID-19 hit.
“We did see an influx once we amplified it,“ Knowles said.
At the University Washington Tacoma, a COVID-19 relief fund has raised nearly $13,000. Depending on the amount donated, the funds can be used for books, groceries, utilities and Wi-Fi or medical care.
In addition to a COVID-19 emergency fund activated by the Tacoma Community College Foundation, TCC is dedicating funds from a $50,000 state emergency aid grant that was awarded last November.
TCC Foundation also paid to provide 250 laptops to students who applied and were accepted.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
