West Valley-Mission Community College District provides students living within its service area with free tuition, childcare and healthcare. Now it’s ensuring they have a safe place to lay their heads at night.
The community college district is partnering with San Jose State University to provide beds for students facing housing insecurity. The community college district’s board of trustees committed $500,000 to help fund the program, which covers housing, meals, transportation and SJSU campus fees. The partnership came together because the district didn’t have funds to build dorms for its 300 to 500 unhoused students, according to Bradley Davis, chancellor of the community college district.
“We simply were not able to accomplish what we wanted, which was to open housing and keep the cost very low for students,” Davis told San José Spotlight. “This is a very small contribution for totally changing the trajectory of somebody’s life.”
The program is beneficial because many of these students eventually transfer to SJSU, Cade Story-Yetto, chief of staff to the chancellor, said. Not having to worry about housing allows them to focus on their studies and stay enrolled. He said SJSU housed 30 community college students during the 2026 spring and summer semesters. He added transition planning is built into the program, where case managers at both colleges will work with each participant on where they will go after moving out.
San Jose State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson is on board with the plan to ensure community colleges students have safe places to live, as well as a pathway for attending the university. She said the partnership will continue as long as the school has the capacity. SJSU has approximately 4,900 beds in campus dorms.
“Our end goal is to make sure every person has the resources to be successful in our county and in our community,” Teniente-Matson told San José Spotlight. “We know housing is a challenge for everyone, especially our most vulnerable populations.”
Davis said the economic pressure of food, housing, childcare and medical care can be overwhelming for someone working two or three jobs while trying to complete their studies.
“Every single student that you lose because of economic reasons is a waste, and is something that we as an educational community have an obligation to prevent,” he said. “It could be years and years before there’s a state facility bond or some other external partnership that could bring us dollars to build dormitories. This is something we could solve right now.”
Living at San Jose State is much more than a bed, Teniente-Matson said. Students become part of the community, allowing them to share developmental experiences with others on campus so they know they’re not alone. College communities lead to lifelong relationships, which can connect students with internships and jobs, she added.
“To ensure students have an opportunity to be successful is very powerful for the student, and it certainly is for us as well,” she said.
Although the university’s enrollment is at its peak, it experiences attrition when students graduate, move or have to leave school, she said. It’s these beds the university can offer community college students.
Teniente-Matson said it’s an exciting opportunity to partner with West Valley-Mission Community College District to house students.
“We’re delighted that we’re able to support them,” she said.
Contact Lorraine Gabbert at [email protected].