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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Lo Anderson, Student Engagement Coordinator of CUNY Cares
2:43:36
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146 sec
Lo Anderson, Student Engagement Coordinator for CUNY Cares, testified about the challenges faced by CUNY students regarding food insecurity and access to public assistance. She highlighted the work of CUNY Cares in providing peer-to-peer support to students across three Bronx campuses and requested funding to expand the program to all CUNY campuses.
- Emphasized the need for accountability from the Department of Social Services (DSS) in processing student applications for assistance
- Pointed out issues with the Fair Fares program, noting that some working students still don't qualify
- Requested $300,000 to expand CUNY Cares to all City University of New York campuses
Lo Anderson
2:43:36
Good afternoon.
2:43:37
Thank you so much for the opportunity to testify this afternoon.
2:43:40
My name is Lo Anderson.
2:43:41
I'm the student engagement coordinator for a program called CUNY Cares.
2:43:45
It's a pilot program right now that is a combination of the CUNY Office of Transformation and the Graduate School of Public Health and so we hope by FY twenty six to prove to the CUNY Chancellor that this is a program that is worthy to spread to the other CUNY campuses.
2:44:01
So what do we do as CUNY Care student navigators?
2:44:03
We meet the student with peer to peer support by helping them and I call public assistance litigation, everyday litigation, right?
2:44:12
So, do you respect and qualify college students as the everyday litigators that they are?
2:44:17
18,000 folks across the three Bronx campuses that we serve, so Hostos Community College which I am a graduate, Bronx Community College and Lehman College together.
2:44:27
They have already been leading the way in terms of food security through their Access Resource Center, which you heard my colleague highlight.
2:44:34
So, we have our local superheroes of Madeline Cruz, Dawn Daniels, Rain Diaz, Baraka Corley who lead the conversation on food insecurity every single day on campus and help students who are coming to campus hungry because there's no way that we can continue to advocate for higher education, folks actually learning in the classroom while they're hungry and worrying about losing their housing and furthermore benefits in the midst of that.
2:44:58
So it was interesting to be in this hearing and participate.
2:45:01
I do want to thank you for the accountability of all three of these legislations that are providing some sense of accountability towards DSS because I can tell you from the direct service level there hasn't been a lot of it for us.
2:45:13
Fair Fairs specifically I can say while expanded eligibility has been introduced, I can tell you that a student who works forty hours at McDonald's does not qualify for the Fair Fairs program currently.
2:45:24
I can tell you that students that I advocate for on the ground every day in order to access or process a one shot deal for housing arrears or anything that they deal with is upwards of six applications in order to process it correctly.
2:45:37
Thirty to forty five days is the full day that is set by DSS in terms of determination and we find that it is egregiously more than that.
2:45:45
So imagine a student dealing with a one semester, thirty to forty five days is simply insufficient.
2:45:50
So we appreciate your support and we're asking for $300,000 to expand upon the work of these resource centers and move CUNY CARES to all City University of New York campuses.
2:46:01
Thank you.