Basic Needs and CAPS Proliferate Health Consciousness for All
Mental Health and living conditions are crucial determinants of student success. However, trends have revealed that students experience a decline in either of the two, or both. CSULB’s Office of Basic Needs and Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) have worked diligently to mitigate the gap between academic performance and adversity beyond the classroom. Whether students may face unstable housing, food insecurity, or psychological strife, both offices provide a plethora of resources to help meet all unique needs.
Basic Needs serves students who experience homelessness, displacement, food insecurity, emergencies, and crisis. Through provision of on and off-campus resources, the Basic Needs department aims to remove barriers and empower students to persist and thrive. They also collaborate with key stakeholders like CalFresh and Associated Students Inc. (ASI) to supply monthly grocery stipends and the Beach Pantry.
“Annually, we provide a remarkable 1,100 nights of emergency housing, disburse approximately $400,000 in emergency grants, and distribute over 5,000 meals to students facing hardship,” says Director of Basic Needs, Danielle Muñoz, “With the assurance of basic needs support, our students maintain a sense of belonging, reduced stress, and anxiety, allowing them to channel their energy and focus on their academic success. Recognizing that many professors are the frontline responders and advocates for these challenges, we are committed to offering tools and resources to aid them and are grateful for their collaboration in supporting our students."
CSULB is a proud part of the CSU Basic Needs initiative, which strives to meet students’ immediate food needs, provide emergency funds, shelter, and additional support across all CSU campuses.
On the same vein, CAPS helps students through the personal challenges that come with accomplishing academic, career, and life goals. Services include short-term counseling, career-development assistance, referral services, psychoeducational workshops, and crisis intervention. Counseling is provided by mental health professionals and by advanced doctoral psychology interns under licensed supervision.
“CAPS serves as the campus counseling center here at CSULB. We offer individual counseling as well as community building opportunities through a variety of groups, [like the] “Let’s Talk and Drop In” spaces. We also offer crisis intervention support via phone and in person,” says Director of CAPS, Amanda De Loera-Morales, “All students can receive this free resource between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our goal is to support our students’ mental health and wellbeing, destigmatize mental health services, and be accessible to all.”
Basic Needs and CAPS recognize that mental health and living circumstances are linked to students’ intellectual prosperity. As a result, both teams recently joined forces and launched the Wellness Ambassador Training series this year. Led by De Loera-Morales and Muñoz, The Wellness Ambassador Training equips Beach faculty and staff with the proper tools to engage with students facing basic needs or mental health challenges. The series holds interactive, two-part sessions tailored to faculty and staff. The faculty training sessions, more specifically, had close collaboration with CSULB’s Faculty Center, led by Dr. Nancy Dayne.
“Not only did the Wellness Ambassador training provide an overview of the resources that we have on campus, but the program also shared the detailed scope of those resources at CSULB,” says professor of biological sciences, Dr. Kelly Young, “The training also countered some common myths about accessing campus resources - this was very useful because I want to be able to share up to date and accurate information with students.”
A hallmark of CSULB’s transformative servitude, the Wellness Ambassador Training encourages attendees to stop, listen, and look for the signs. Faculty and staff have greatly benefitted from its research-driven teachings, exhibiting Basic Needs and CAPS’ tremendous efforts to involve everyone in the conversation.
Basic Needs and CAPS welcome students of all backgrounds, value systems, and lifestyles. By providing rapid aid with an emotionally supportive and compassionate approach, our vision of holistic wellness comes to fruition as a rudimentary piece of the “Beach Experience.”
The Wellness Ambassador Training for faculty will begin again this month. Part One will be on October 9, and part two will take place on October 23. We encourage all faculty to sign up and learn how to help our students.
