On Tuesday, St. Clair County Community College announced its partnership with a statewide
initiative to help students connect with the resources they need to meet their basic needs. As part of the Michigan Community College Association, they will share in a $442,000 grant intended to try to improve college success rates by making sure that students are fed, housed,
and have adequate transportation and childcare to meet their educational goals. The effort,
called, MI-BEST, or Michigan- Building Economic Stability Today is funded by the ECMC
Foundation, a Los-Angeles based group whose mission is to “inspire and to facilitate
improvements that affect educational outcomes—especially among underserved
populations—through evidence-based innovation.” It goes from now until June 2022. You may not always think of college students as going hungry or living in their cars, but the fact is that,
according to national survey findings, 45% of college students self-reported food insecurity and 56% reported insecurity with finding affordable housing. Seventeen percent had been homeless. SC4 looks to reduce those numbers by using this grant money to support a team that will address the issues. The college has other similar initiatives underway including providing students with nutritional food options via free Skippers Snacks bins located around campus.
