Navigators connect students with the resources they need

When the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) allocated Washinton State University $480,000 in 2023 to help support students experiencing food insecurity, Heather Case, assistant dean of students on the Pullman campus, did not think it was going to be difficult to find students to take the money.

"When we began emailing students about the funding, a lot of them thought it was a scam," Case said. "They thought it was too good to be true and ignored our emails."

Now Case has a person on staff, Annalei Santos, to add a more personal touch to the outreach effort. In fact, several WSU campuses - in Pullman, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver - have created positions called basic needs (benefits) navigators to help connect students experiencing houselessness, food insecurity, or childcare challenges, with WSU, county, and state resources that can help them.

"We noticed the number of students applying for emergency funding went up again from last year," said Case. "The need for assistance keeps increasing, and I think these positions will make a significant difference in student persistence."

State steps up its support

The basic needs navigator positions are funded by multiple sources including WSAC grants created to address housing and food security.

A Washington Student Experience Survey administered by WSAC in 2022 found that nearly half of all college students across Washington experienced some form of basic needs insecurity. One in three students surveyed experienced food insecurity or housing insecurity, and one in 10 students experienced houselessness in the past 12 months. The survey will be conducted again Oct. 28 to Nov. 22 and all WSU students will be encouraged to participate.

WSU Pullman's allocation of $480,000 over two years (and a commitment for additional third-year funding) is being used to support first-year, low-income or Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA) students living in the residence halls.

A person to' lean on'

Santos has seen up close the impact housing and food insecurity can have on people. While attending college in the Northern Mariana Islands, a super typhoon devastated her community leaving thousands of people struggling to meet their basic needs. When her classes eventually resumed, they were held in FEMA tents, which prompted her to transfer to WSU Pullman.

"No one should have to go to school in those conditions," Santos said. "I learned that it is important to lean on the people around you during tough times and I feel privileged to be a person WSU students can lean on when they experience challenges."

The navigators connect with students through online referrals and the student care network, and employ a variety of other tactics to make themselves visible and accessible to students. Santos has established office hours in the African American Student Center, LGBTQ+ Center, the Access Center, and Undocumented Center, and she's working with other affinity centers to do the same.

Maneesha Gammana Liyanage, basic needs navigator at WSU Tri-Cities, tables on campus, visits classes, and networks with faculty and staff.

Gammana Liyanage said students on her campus often have a lot on their plates including being parents, employees, caregivers, in addition to being students. With that come a variety of different needs.

"I recently worked with a student who was having trouble finding an apartment due to his low credit scores and we practiced conversations together that he could have with rental companies," she said. "Within a couple of weeks, he found an apartment and we even got him some emergency funding that helped pay his move-in costs."

It is these kinds of successes that motivate the navigators to do what they do. They wish more students understood that it is fine to ask for help when they need it, and that's something they are working to change.

"There is no such thing as a dumb question, and by asking them, students can learn and grow," said Carmen Herrera, basic needs navigator at WSU Vancouver. "To see the light in someone's eyes when they realize their challenge has been solved is the most rewarding thing to experience."