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The Basic Needs Program at Cal State Long Beach has, for a decade, upheld the ethos that short-term financial pressures should not force students to foreclose upon their futures.

“I think that a lot of students are at that crossroads,” said Rashida Crutchfield, a professor of social work whose research was pivotal in the establishment of Basic Needs programs throughout the California State University.

“If we want them to be on this economically mobile journey, Basic Needs is a requirement.”

As executive director of The Center for Equitable Higher Education (CEHE) at ɫ��ɫ, Crutchfield continues to advance research and programs to help students thrive and graduate.  

“These funds provide immediate relief for essential costs like rent, food, and utilities, allowing students to stay focused on their education and ultimately retaining them and keeping them on track for graduating,” Basic Needs Director Danielle Muñoz-Channel said.

Basic Needs makes a difference at The Beach, offering students the support they need to focus on their futures and succeed.  

‘Weight lifted from me’

Andrew George, a physics student who transferred to ɫ��ɫ in 2024, lives with the lingering effects of a spinal injury. After experiencing homelessness, Basic Needs provided emergency housing support and grants covering a special bedframe and other expenses.

The Emergency Housing program, facilitating short-term stays at residential housing, has helped some 500 students like George since 2015.

“I have two years of units to complete, but I am so grateful, and it has seen some of the weight lifted from me and giving me hope really is what it did,” George said. “To get housing here, to be able to try and finish my degree and really get to where I want to be academically and professionally again.”

George is focused on biophysics, especially on how fundamental particles of matter affect the human body. Fascinated by potential applications in robotics and bioengineering, George looks forward to a career in health research.

Basic Needs’ housing services also include grants helping students who are at risk of eviction or, if experiencing homelessness, move into rental housing. The Beach was also part of California’s College Focused Rapid Rehousing pilot. More than 600 students at eight CSU campuses and two community colleges received housing from summer 2000 through spring 2004, according to CEHE.

The Beach received a state appropriation to continue this program for the current academic year, as well as 2026-27.

‘You can get past this’

Brianda Sicairos Ayon ‘24 earned a degree in liberal studies and works as a University Police dispatcher. She plans to apply for the Master’s Program in Equity, Education, and Social Justice, with aspirations to work in higher education student services.

As an undergraduate, she was also a substitute teacher and Dream Success Center mentor when her partner lost his employment. Also raising two young daughters, she wondered if she would need to leave ɫ��ɫ and try to make more money.

Basic Needs enabled her to maintain her enrollment. She met with a case manager and secured grants enabling her family to make rent and buy groceries. The aid kept her family stable until her partner obtained new employment.

“I would love to help bridge those gaps in education where students like myself kind of fall through,” Ayon said. “I hope to make it clear to students, “Hey, there are people like you on campus. I’ve been through this. You can get past this. You can succeed.”

‘It was really the wrap-around services’

Manuel Arevalo '23 served in U.S. Marine Corps from 2009 to 2013 and attended community college before coming to The Beach to study sociology. He is now enrolled in a Master of Public Administration program, working with Basic Needs to research approaches to alleviating homelessness.  

Arevalo “basically hit a wall” in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a faculty member referred him to Basic Needs. He received emergency housing aid, a referral for therapy and assistance from Beach Pantry.

Beach Pantry is an important component of ɫ��ɫ’s Basic Needs services. About 1,000 students visit the pantry weekly, Muñoz-Channel said.

Arevalo obtained groceries and snacks sustaining his mental energy during classes. The combination of Basic Needs services empowered Arevalo to complete his degree.

“It was really the wrap-around services that were provided. It wasn’t a single thing,” he said. “I think that’s what made it special.”