Wesley House Student Residence, Inc.

The primary goals of our organization are improved overall health, positive impact on social determinants of health and, ultimately, successfully graduating with a four-year degree and a reduced student loan burden. It is additionally hoped, and we are just beginning to track, that an additional outcome is a permanent improvement in social determinants including:
• Housing and food security
• Stable employment
• A sense of success as defined by each program participant.

We measure these outcomes in the following ways:
Pre-program and exit surveys are conducted by Wesley House Student Residence for all individuals residing in our affordable supportive housing. Qualitative and self-reported results/impacts are determined based on students’ answers.

All residents are required to make regular check-ins with Wesley House staff to report their GPA, course grades, employment status, and progress towards graduation. These are monitored for progress and additional support services are made available as needed to encourage positive results.

Individuals not residing at Wesley House are asked to complete a formal survey and participate in informal interviews/check-ins.

Qualitative metrics include self-reported levels of self-esteem, confidence, community-belonging, stability, and feeling safe and secure.
Quantitative metrics include:
• GPA trends
• Course grade
• Expected years to graduate
• Employment status before and after graduation
• Housing stability before and after graduation
• Food security.

Academic success for low-come students can hinge on positively addressing social determinants of health. Ensuring that students have enough to eat, get access to mental and physical health services, have access to stable housing, have a place to go for a sense of community, and generally feel supported plays an essential role in achieving academic success. Studies show that education itself is a social determinant and that those with a college degree generally have better health outcomes later in life. By providing supportive services for low-income students now, we increase the likelihood of positive outcomes for the rest of their lives.

The strategies we at WHSR are implementing to accomplish our goals include grant writing to obtain sustained program funding, reaching out to local businesses for donations to include furniture, food, school supplies, and/or other in-kind services, and partnering with local community organizations to ensure we are maximizing our current funds and reaching out to any and all outlets to secure funds, goods, or services. We are fortunate to have wonderful community partners and are currently working to build a stronger relationship with our new partners. Measurable milestones include expanded available funding to increase the number of youth served by WHSR, and an increased number of at-risk college youth housed and served by WHSR. We actively engage our student residents in this strategic planning through surveys on needs, program preferences, and support services so we ensure we are best meeting the unique needs of our student residents.

Wesley House Student Residence (WHSR) provides wraparound supportive services and access to affordable housing to college and university students in San Diego County who qualify as individuals with low income. WHSR removes many of the barriers to higher education faced by these student by providing the following wraparound supportive services:

- A food pantry
- Financial literacy programs
- Student health and mental wellness programs
- Mentoring, tutoring, and coaching
- Emergency funds
- Application assistance for public programs (medi-Cal, CalFresh, etc.)
- Community-building activities and events (as permitted by COVID safety guidelines)

By providing access to resources with the ultimate goal of equitable access and parity of the college experience, we position students with low income to succeed in their higher education goals and beyond. We continuously fine-tune our programming to meet the shifting and unique needs of college and university students through continuous feedback from the people we serve and ongoing implementation of program changes and new programs based on that feedback.

WHSR has the capacity to serve up to 34 student residents in our current affordable housing complex. As our funding and programs grow it is our goal to serve as many at-risk students as possible. In 2021, we opened our supportive services to all low-income full-time students in San Diego County.

Education and career development programs, seminars, and workshops, only available to student residents prior to October 2021 and now open to all low-income students in San Diego County, are available on a monthly basis. Currently, we have the ability to serve 50 students at each seminar with plans to grow our audience size as need and funding increase. Our capacity to serve students through our Student Support Services Program is only limited by the current level of funding.

Long-term goals include launching a capital campaign to purchase additional buildings near other colleges and universities in San Diego to replicate our service model and serve a greater number of this growing marginalized population. Through our continued participation in national convenings, such the annual Real College conference, we also aim to increase awareness of the rampant housing and food insecurity facing up to 1 in 5 college students today.

Since becoming an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2016 Wesley House has helped to increase awareness of the staggering statistics surrounding food and housing insecurity on college campuses. We have worked diligently to roll out support services for our student residents to bolster their success, such as financial planning, enrollment assistance in programs such as Cal-Fresh and Medi-Cal, capital improvements to the affordable housing complex and its units to create more parity on campus, and connecting our student residents with community services to increase their access to resources.

In late 2021, we began to open our supportive services to every low-income student in San Diego County. We piloted this expansion with our food pantry program. In the first four months, participation increased by 400% with ample room to grow. As word gets out about resources available through Wesley House, we are confident that we can meet the increase in demand.

As we grow it is our objective to create more awareness about these issues, and Wesley House, within the San Diego, California, and national college and university community. As opportunities arise, we are prepared to network with other organizations, colleges, and universities nationally to share ideas, resources, and services. Homelessness and the housing crisis throughout the nation are perennial hot topics and community awareness of these issues is growing. Wesley House is positioned, as San Diego's local expert on student poverty, to steward the conversation and continue to raise awareness of the student poverty epidemic. As we have grown as an organization, we have continued to elevate our level of professionalism and the efficacy of our development efforts. We have the team in place to not only successfully fundraise, but to steward contributed revenue and ensure that our funds are being applied in the most efficient way possible and true to the intent of our donors and funders.