CUNY Expands One-Stop Shop for Help With Housing, Food Aid and Health Care

It was the beginning of her first year at Hostos Community College, and Shannon needed help.The Bronx mother of two was excited to be in school, but right as she started her public health classes, we was stunned by a notice alleging she owed nearly $50,000 in arrears on her apartment. Shannon, who’s been receiving public assistance since she was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, was on the verge of having to choose between higher education and keeping a roof over her family’s head. That’s when the Hostos admissions office directed her to Lo Anderson, the community engagement coordinator for a new initiative run out of the City University of New York’s three Bronx campuses: Comprehensive Access to Resources for Essential Services, or CUNY CARES. CUNY CARES focuses on helping Bronx students meet four essential needs in an era of skyrocketing rents and new SNAP and Medicaid restrictions: food, health care, housing and mental health. A 2022 survey by CUNY administrators found that 50%