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Across the CSU system, 11% of all students have dealt with food insecurity. Meeting student basic needs are critical in supporting academic success.

The Basic Needs Program exists to provide support to students experiencing a basic necessity insecurity. Our strategy focuses on short-term mediation while we work with students to find long-term solutions.

Assistance Available for You:

Food
Housing
Financial assistance

About
Getting Connected
Health, Legal, and Internet
Additional Resources

🏠 About Basic Needs

The Basic Needs Program at CSUCI offers emergency food and toiletries, connects students to critical on and off-campus resources, and provides educational opportunities for students to take personal responsibility for their wellness and the well-being of their communities.

Basic needs support options include:

CalFresh
Dolphin Pantry
Emergency Housing
Emergency Funds
Hot Meals Programs
Transportation
Childcare Grants
Other assistance

🤳🏽 How to Apply

Food Assistance:

Dolphin Pantry

- The Dolphin Pantry is located in Arroyo Hall room 114 and more information such as hours of operations and additional information can be found on the Food Assistance webpage.

CalFresh

- CalFresh is California’s food stamps (SNAP) program that puts money in your pocket to provide you on-going healthy and nutritional food assistance at participating grocery stores and farmers’ markets.
- Apply online on your own.
- Schedule Zoom CalFresh Application Assistance Appointment with our CalFresh Outreach Advocate by emailing basicneeds@csuci.edu.

Ventura County List of Food Pantries

- Food Share - Find a Pantry
- Food Share - Find a Pop-up Pantry

Santa Barbara List of Food Pantries

- SAFE Food Net Sites - Santa Barbara County

Los Angeles List of Food Pantries

- Find Food with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

Feeding America

- Find your local food bank

Meal Service for Children under 18

- Ventura County Office of Education - Meal Service

Housing Assistance:

Basic Needs Program Emergency Housing

Apply for Assistance

Statewide Housing Resource

Housing is Key - website set-up to assist tenants, landlords, homeowners, legal assistance and community-based organizations in understanding the current protections available to help households remain housed

Financial Assistance:

Ekho Your Heart Program

- A special disaster relief fund has been established under the Ekho Your Heart Program to assist CSUCI students, staff, and faculty recovering from natural disasters that may affect members of the campus community. This fund has been established to help provide basic necessities to those with the greatest need. To learn more about the Disaster Relief Fund and apply for assistance, review and complete the Ekho Your Heart Application. Awards will be granted on a case-by-case basis. Unless otherwise noted, awards are considered to be subject to income tax.

Get Financial Help from the State of California

- Relief from financial institutions

State of California Employment Development Department (EDD)

- File an Unemployment Insurance claim.
- File a Disability Insurance claim.
- File a Paid Family Leave claim.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants

- In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, California is providing one-time state-funded disaster relief assistance to undocumented adults who are ineligible for other forms of assistance, including assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and pandemic unemployment benefits, because of their immigration status. This state funding is expected to reach about 150,000 undocumented adults. Learn more now.

OnwardCA

- OnwardCA is a resource that has been rapidly deployed by a broad coalition of companies, foundations, and humans who want to help. Help you get money or groceries or child care; help you upskill, reskill, or refresh; and help you land a great new job.

One Fair Wage Emergency Fund

- Emergency funds available to restaurant workers, gig workers, and other hourly workers facing economic hardship from the coronavirus crisis. Apply for help.

Childcare

- Here you can find information on licensed childcare providers that are currently open including location, health and safety details, ages of children served, capacity, and hours of care. If you are in need of financial assistance towards childcare, please apply for the Childcare Grant today!

✅ Exploring more resources

Healthcare Options:

Off-Campus Clinics and Urgent Care

- Emergencies/After-Hours Care (PDF, 37KB)

Medi-Cal Ways to Apply

- Apply online: mybenefitscalwin.org
- Apply by phone: 1-888-472-4463

Emotional Wellness

- Give an Hour’s mission is to develop national networks of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic conditions that arise within our society. By harnessing the skill and expertise of volunteer professionals, we are able to increase the likelihood that those in need receive the support and care they deserve.
- HealthCorps' mission is to strengthen communities with the most innovative approaches to health and wellness to help the next generation be more resilient, both mentally and physically.

Legal:

- Ventura County Legal Aid - Legal assistance and pro bono services
- Free Legal Assistance –Free legal services for low-income Californians
- Immigration Legal Services - CSUCI Undocumented Student Resources
  - For help with scheduling an appointment please contact Natalie Johnson at natalie.johnson@csuci.edu

Internet Resources:

Using Wi-Fi at CSUCI

CSUCI provides wireless network services for CI students, faculty, staff and guests.
- CI: Secure Wi-Fi to be used by students, faculty, and staff
- CI Guest: open Wi-Fi network for guests and visitors
- eduroam: Secure Wi-Fi network that can be used by students and staff at CSUCI and when they travel to other participating universities
It is recommended that CI users use the CI and eduroam networks.

Outdoor Study Space at CSUCI Campus

COVID-19 has impacted CSUCI students in a multitude of ways and we recognize that conducive study space and access to reliable Wi-Fi is an essential need for students. As Ventura County has seen more opening of activity, CSUCI offers outdoor on-campus study spaces for students! Open Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Interested in using an on-campus study space? Let us know by completing the Outdoor Study Space Interest Form. After completing the interest form you will be required to complete the COVID-19 training and then will be provided a signup option.

Emergency Broadband Benefit

The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. Sign-ups begin on May 12, 2021: https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit.

LA County Wi-Fi Locator

The County’s new Locator website is findwifi.lacounty.gov. Any member of the public can dial 2-1-1 to ask for assistance to get information from this website, or can visit the site directly. The website features a search tool, based on the user’s physical address, to connect them to various Internet related services, such as Internet access services for students, the location of free WiFi spots throughout the County (including free hotspots located in or nearby County libraries and County parks) and contact information for both residential and commercial broadband Internet providers and mobile (cellular) Internet providers serving the address.

Using Public Wi-Fi

Public Wi-Fi is a “free wireless” internet connection that is usually advertised by coffee shops, restaurants, airports, hotels and many other places that usually involve travel, hospitality, and food. Public Wi-Fi may be secured or unsecured.

National and International Network Access

Eduroam (education roaming) is a secure, network service provided on CSU campuses to provide the ability for visiting faculty and students of participating institutions to easily gain secure network access utilizing their home institution credentials. It also provides CSU faculty and students who will be visiting a participating institution the ability to pre-configure their device for eduroam access, making gaining secure access while away automatic.
View a map of where you can connect to eduroam with your Dolphin email address and password.

Using Wi-Fi at Home

Setting up secure Wi-Fi at home is easy. Many companies are currently offering internet access to students and low income households at a reduced rate or free during this time, so check with your local internet provider. Below are some of the current offers available:
- AT&T: Discounted Internet
- Altice USA: Free Broadband
- Charter Communications: Free Internet Service for 60 Days
- Comcast: Internet Essentials
- Spectrum: Internet Assist Program
Please note: Many routers are shipped with default passwords such as “admin” or “password.” It is important to change these defaults as soon as possible. Manufacturer specifications, including default passwords, are freely available on the internet. We recommend changing both factory passwords and the factory SSID (Service Set Identifier, or the Wi-Fi “name” that pops up when scanning for available Wi-Fi).
Also, some new routers are shipping with complex, unique passwords. It is still a good idea to change these as well as the SSID. Consult your user manual or ISP to get directions on how to change your password.

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Additional Resources to Stay Informed

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