CUNY CARES focuses on helping Bronx students meet four essential needs<\/a> in an era of skyrocketing rents and new SNAP and Medicaid restrictions<\/a>: food, health care, housing and mental health. A 2022 survey by CUNY administrators found that 50% of students in The Bronx<\/a>, about 12,000 students, have two or more unmet needs. Through the program, an estimated 7,500 students were connected to vital services in the 2026 fiscal year, CUNY says.<\/p>\n \u201cThe underlying premise of this whole initiative is that if we meet students\u2019 needs more effectively, they will be more successful as students,\u201d said Rachel Stephenson, CUNY\u2019s chief transformation officer and one of the administrators most involved in founding the program. \u201cThey will have the energy and the resources that they need to thrive academically.\u201d<\/p>\n Finding a Way <\/p>\n Anderson couldn\u2019t directly provide Shannon with cash assistance, but she helped the new student contest her rental arrears, and accompanied her to a hearing that led to the restoration of her city rental voucher.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t like I was talking to a boss or someone just trying to write everything down, and then I\u2019ll see them next week,\u201d Shannon, who agreed to be identified by her middle name, said. \u201cIt became more personal, where I started expressing a lot of the real grievances that I was having, and that\u2019s how I was able to be forwarded to different places where I could get help with those.\u201d<\/p>\n GET THE CUNY SCOOP: Subscribe to our new weekly newsletter covering the City University of New York<\/a><\/p>\n Most students in the program aren\u2019t receiving the level of hands-on assistance that Shannon experienced.<\/p>\n The initiative\u2019s backbone is virtual; students who opt into the CARES Benefits Hub are cross-checked for their eligibility for SNAP and the Fair Fares transit discount program<\/a>. Through the hub, about 1,000 students have been re-enrolled in SNAP benefits, bringing nearly $3 million in benefits, said Jessica McKay, the hub\u2019s director.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the university announced an expansion of the program next year to Queensborough Community College, and to all seven CUNY community colleges by 2029, thanks in part to a $900,000 private grant.\u00a0<\/p>\n CUNY is also working to advance the benefits hub to help enroll qualified students in Medicaid<\/a> and health insurance, said Rachel Stehenson, the university\u2019s chief transformation officer.<\/p>\n Fighting Evictions<\/p>\n The initiative has 10 full-time employees, including the university\u2019s first-ever student housing coordinator, Arturo Ure\u00f1a, an alumnus of Bronx Community College.<\/p>\n In a sign of the times, Ure\u00f1a said the majority of the work he does is eviction prevention<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that a lot of students want to move, but it\u2019s not about just moving because you want to move to a different neighborhood,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s versus a legitimate emergency in the sense of safety, you are in a shelter, or are being evicted.\u201d<\/p>\n By working with community based organizations, and helping students navigate and sometimes contest the loss or denial of state and city benefits, Ure\u00f1a said his office has helped at least 300 students keep or find housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Along with full-time staff, CARES employs students as \u201cnavigators,\u201d including three who focus on housing. Navigators help direct students to resources, including food pantries<\/a> and support groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nichelle Hemphill, a student at Lehman College who formerly attended Hostos, said the CARES offices have an \u201copen door policy\u201d that she and other students use regularly. Navigators helped her secure a reduced fare OMNY card, and directed her to other campus resources, like a community closet for interview-appropriate clothes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Akalia Dixon, the student government president at Bronx Community College, said she\u2019s used CARES and a number of her friends have too. The limits of the program, though, match the limits of New York\u2019s safety net<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Summer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/073024_Bronx_Community_College_01.jpg\")
Summer school students take classes at Bronx Community College in the University Heights neighborhood, July 30, 2024. Credit: Alex Krales\/THE CITY<\/p>\n