In proposing a bill allowing community college students to sleep in their cars overnight on campus, Assemblyman Marc Berman was well aware Assembly Bill 302 wouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all solution to the state’s housing crisis.
Aimed at easing the burden of students struggling with the cost of living, AB 302 is something of a Band-Aid to the problem that many students are facing when it comes to finding stable housing, said Berman, D-Palo Alto. Garnering votes from eight Democrats and two Republicans and winning passage in the state Assembly’s higher education committee Tuesday, the bill is giving Berman hope state legislators can start to bring relief to students experiencing homelessness as larger, more substantive measures are crafted.
“What we want to do is we want to say, ‘hey, students, we see you, we’re sorry we failed you as a state,’” he said. “But we want to do everything we can to alleviate the suffering that you’re going through tonight.”
Berman said a report released last month by the Hope Center indicating 19% of nearly 40,000 California community college students surveyed in the fall of 2016 and 2018 experienced some form of homelessness underscored the urgency of the issue for him. He said the bill gained favor with students and faculty members at community colleges across the state as well as community college leaders, who he said have helped shape amendments to the bill such as the inclusion of a liability waiver requirement, district’s ability to restrict use of drugs and alcohol in overnight parking facilities and monitoring of designated areas where eligible students can park.
“We’re providing maximum flexibility to the community colleges to implement this policy in the way that this best fits their local needs,” he said.
Maurice Goodman, president of the San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees, acknowledged concerns about security, public safety and the cost of utilities associated with such an initiative surfaced when district officials discussed a similar proposal last year. He said officials agreed the district has an urgent problem with regard to student homelessness.
But while some favored taking steps toward creating a safe haven on district property for school community members living in their cars, others voiced concerns about how the district would balance possible challenges, such as cleaning and maintenance responsibilities as well as parking restrictions imposed by cities in which the district’s colleges are located.
Goodman said the district has been focused on approaching the student homelessness issue from several angles, including everything from partnering with nonprofits like Samaritan House to help provide students shelter to connecting students with community resources like a food bank and job training through the district’s SparkPoint program. He noted student housing insecurity is often accompanied by other issues, such as food or transportation insecurity.
Though he acknowledged several concerns officials have had about allowing students to sleep overnight in their cars, Goodman applauded Berman’s efforts in shining a light on the issue of student homelessness. Having worried about students becoming victims of crime as they stay with their belongings in their vehicles, Goodman was encouraged the bill is sparking a much-needed debate about how communities will respond to the issue.
“They need to have something more, and it’s definitely not sleeping in their vehicles,” he said. “It’s a systemic issue that we’re dealing with.”
Having previously suggested the district consider a six-month pilot program creating a safe haven for students coping with housing insecurity, Dave Mandelkern, member of the San Mateo County Community College District board, was glad to see AB 302 gain traction. Though he hoped longer-term solutions could be developed to address the housing insecurity so many students face, Mandelkern acknowledged those that have surfaced, such as permanent student housing, are slated to take years.
“I hope people recognize this is not a suggestion for a permanent solution,” he said. “This, to me, is something we could do in the short term that could provide an immediate solution.”
Though Mandelkern looked forward to seeing the details of how Berman’s bill would be funded, he estimated the costs of a six-month pilot program allowing students to sleep in their cars overnight would not have been that costly, especially as compared to other measures board members have considered supporting, such as building tiny homes or permanent housing. He added he has felt a pilot program would be worth trying since it would allow officials to gauge demand and best practices for such a program.
Berman said more details on how AB 302 would be funded would be shared when the bill heads to the Assembly’s appropriations committee later this year, and acknowledged the magnitude of the request he is making of community college districts across the state in proposing the bill. He said the bill is asking community colleges to fulfill a role they haven’t traditionally played, adding it is an indication of the state’s failure to house its students.
“I apologize to the community colleges across the state that we have such a severe crisis that I have to ask them to do more,” he said. “I acknowledge that everybody needs to do more. This is one way that I’m asking the community colleges to do more.”
(1) comment
Why limit it to college students only?
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