The City of Lancaster, in partnership with Antelope Valley College (AVC) and Antelope Valley Partners for Health (AVPH), announced the launch of a new program to assist AVC students experiencing homelessness. The pilot program, A Place in Time, provides long-term housing for students, while also providing them with supportive services to facilitate the students’ success.
A person’s college years are truly a defining phase in life-it is often the time when we discover our strengths, sharpen our skills, and find opportunities to build a solid foundation for the rest of our lives. It is important that every student has access to the resources they need to take advantage of those opportunities. Unfortunately, there are many students who find themselves without a home, which is a setback that a college student shouldn’t have to face. A Place in Time will provide stability and support to ensure that those students get the help they need to experience growth, success, and a brighter future.
A Place in Time is made possible by an award-winning program that is being reimagined and expanded to respond to the community’s needs. The City will repurpose three existing community homes for this program.
The program launches in time to support students for the summer, as all AVC’s Summer 2020 courses will be delivered by remote instruction online. Once the program has been established and refined, the hope is to replicate it in additional Community Homes.
AVC reports having nearly 500 enrolled students who are homeless. This pilot program seeks to focus on the individual student and address factors contributing to homelessness. Similar to Kensington Campus, this housing strategy takes a holistic approach to prevent homelessness – this will enable students to experience improvements in their quality of life, while services ensure resources are available to provide opportunities for success.
With support systems in place, we can address the factors that contribute to homelessness and encourage the college students who are striving to better themselves through education.
To learn more about the program, visit https://www.cityoflancasterca.org/Home/Components/News/News/9482/20
