Last Wednesday as colleges and universities across the country began closing, CV ramped up our COVID-19 response. This is an unprecedented situation and we have prioritized reaching out to our students to find out what they need from us in terms of financial assistance, planning help, and emotional support. These are the ways we are working now:
- The CV office closed last Thursday. All staff are working from home and we are available by phone, email, and videoconference.
- We are moving from in-person student meetings to virtual student meetings.
- We are keeping our regular schedules of student check-ins, though virtually instead of in-person, in order to provide the structure we can all use right now.
- We are assessing needs through individual outreach and by sending a survey in order to know who needs travel, lodging, food, tech, quiet study space, etc.
- We are working to increase our Emergency Fund for students to meet the demand for food, housing, and technology (to access online instruction).
- We are developing a plan to lend out CV equipment to students with tech needs.
- We are sharing community and corporate resources with students. If you know of local and national resources for high school and college students, please share them with us!
CV’s main job right now is to listen to our students. We empathize with our students who are missing college visits, sports tournaments, performances, and internships and also navigating chaotic and scary situations. For students who have worked so hard to access education, the current loss of instructional time is distressing. We are offering information, resources, and techniques for managing fear and stress.
We are deeply concerned about the poor and working-class communities of color in which our work is rooted. The families we work with, and for some of us the families in which we live, were struggling before the pandemic. We know that lost jobs, lost wages, illness, and disrupted education hurt families and communities. We hope that in the coming weeks and months, you will join us in advocating for policies that help those most imperiled by this crisis.
Together we are strong and resilient. This is a time to hold each other up and we will do that. Many of you have given generous gifts to help CV students displaced from campus. Thank you so much for that support. The CV staff is so thankful that, with your help, we can meet the needs of our students. Every kind thing you do right now strengthens our shared community. Thank you for helping friends, relatives, neighbors, and strangers.
Tina Meetran, Acting Co-Director
tina@collegevisions.org
Moira Hinderer, Acting Co-Director
moira@collegevisions.org
PS: To read more about our efforts to raise funds to support CV students, please click this link: https://mailchi.mp/2c1f123f2f7e/please-help-low-income-college-students-displaced-by-covid-19
