UC Davis program thats helps house homeless students loses key funding
DAVIS — A key resource at UC Davis that provides unhoused students with a place to live is at risk after losing some key funding.
When Aiden Hyman got to the university, he had a scholarship, just not a place to live.
Luckily, he found Aggie House, a student-run nonprofit that provides free transitional housing, food, and counseling services.
"It was more than just them giving me food and a bed," Hyman said. "They were actually giving me a community, too."
He isn't alone. Hyman cites a 2017-2018 survey that showed 18% of UC Davis students are housing insecure.
"That can mean a lot of things," he said. "That could mean they had an unstable housing situation. It could mean they're couch surfing. It could mean they're living out of their cars."
This lifeline for so many could now be at risk. We spoke to Kathy Ton, co-president of Aggie House.
"We realized that some of the grants that were funding our rent, in particular, were going away," she said. "We wouldn't be getting the grants that were going to be able to pay for food, for residents, [and] pay for supplies."
They're asking for donations, applying for new grants, anything to keep the mission going. It's a mission that Hyman is now a part of. He hopes to do for someone else what Aggie House did for him.
"The fact that people are here attending school despite whatever they're facing in their personal lives – it's kind of inspiring," Hyman said.
Aggie House is completely student-run and guarantees free housing for up to a year.
