Cal Poly Pomona's Broncos Care Basic Needs Program offers emergency grants of up to $500 for students facing unexpected hardships. A crowdfunding page is now active to raise additional funds to support the needs of students facing added difficulties in the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) environment.

Cal Poly Pomona students can apply for the grants, which help with unexpected expenses for housing and food security, and health care.

"Cal Poly Pomona is committed to the well-being of all of our students, and we recognize that times like these can cause our students to have uncertain plans for their future," says Judy Juarez Crawford, a care services coordinator. "The Broncos Care Program was formed to relieve uncertainty in our students' lives, and now, more than ever, we are helping to provide ways for our students to overcome their immediate hardships and challenges thanks to support from our faculty, staff and community."

From the summer of 2018 - when emergency grants were first provided to students - through February 2020, 286 students connected with the Basic Needs Program for well-being support from the grants. In March 2020, during the transition to statewide stay-at-home orders, more than 250 students connected with the program to receive emergency grants.

The Broncos Care Program launched in 2018 in response to a California State University study that indicated 41.6 percent of CSU students reported food insecurity and 10.9 percent of students reported being homeless.

The program provides additional resources to support students' well-being:

• 7- to 14-day emergency housing through University Housing Services
• 7- to 14-day hotel vouchers for students with families facing housing insecurity
• $50 meal cards that can be used on campus, including at the Vista Market and Farm Store

Cal Poly Pomona also provides additional academic and personal resources to help students through the transition to remote/virtual modes of instruction:

• Laptops are available on loan for students who do not have access to a computer. Students can message the Office of Student Success at studentsuccess@cpp.edu from their Cal Poly Pomona email and include their Bronco ID number to be considered.
• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offer mental health counseling free of charge via phone or video conferencing.
• A COVID-19 Campus and Community Resource List connects students to 50 different CPP and community resources covering housing, food, finances, and physical and mental health.
• Academic and student services support are still available, including tele-academic advising, and classroom and textbook support.

Visit Cal Poly Pomona's Health Alert webpage for the most updated information on COVID-19.