From Texas Public Radio:
In 2016, San Antonio College started a program to meet the needs of students living in poverty. Since then, the Student Advocacy Center has helped hundreds of students through financial emergencies and family crises, with the goal of keeping them on track to complete a degree. When social work faculty member Lisa Black launched the center two years ago, the college knew, anecdotally, it was needed. But Black said they didn’t know how common it was for students to be unsure where their next meal was coming from until there was a place they could go for help.
“We outgrew our space within a year. None of us were really prepared for the scale, and how fast it grew,” says Black, who serves as the center’s director. “Quite honestly, for many faculty members, it’s a relief.”
Then Black adds: “It’s very hard when so much of your success is measured by, ‘Are the students making decent grades?’ ‘Are they dropping from your class?’ It’s tough for a faculty member to help with needs that they’re not trained or equipped to help with.”
