ALLENDALE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Giving Tuesday is already happening at Grand Valley State University as more students turn to the school for help.

The Center for Women and Gender Equity runs the Replenish Basic Needs Center, which has served nearly 2,400 students in the last year. Lariesha Lee, the assistant director for the women’s center, said the need continues to grow every year.

“We do expect to see growing numbers, because we’re seeing about 450 to 500 just in the fall, per month,” she explained.

Replenish provides nutritious food, clothing, toiletries and other items to students for free. Two undergraduates started it in 2009 after hearing stories about friends and classmates skipping meals. The Giving Tuesday campaign has allowed it to keep growing.

“Through that campaign, we’ve been able to expand and provide more services. We’ve been able to provide more refrigeration. Also, we just recently purchased a system called PantrySoft, and PantrySoft allows us to know how much inventory we have, weigh our food, and so we are able to track how much food we have and it’s more sustainable,” Lee said.

Benjamin Ohene moved to Grand Rapids three months ago from Ghana to begin his first semester as a graduate student at GVSU. He now works part-time in the Replenish store.

“I’m an international student myself, so I see a couple of my colleagues coming around, picking stuff up because international students have limited working hours,” Ohene said. “One of my friends told me, ‘Hey, this space has really helped me relieve stress on what I’m going to eat in the next few semesters.'”

Many of the students who shop at Replenish are experiencing more than food insecurity. They may not have a place to live.

“A lot of these students are experiencing homelessness. They’re experiencing lack of transportation. They may be disabled,” Lee listed. “All of these things can be contribute to them not being able to be sustainable, and our office is focused on students being holistically well.”

When a staff member discovers a student doesn’t have housing, they initiate a care report, which alerts professors and other staff that the student is having a difficult time without giving personal details.

“Then we kind of provide some wraparound support, whether that be the dean of student services, they provide a lot of case management to kind of help students problem solve. I’m also a clinical social worker, so I provide a lot of support as well,” Lee said.

Ohene was surprised to find out students were facing problems like food insecurity or homelessness when he started at Replenish.

“Back home in Ghana, I was thinking the United States is this rosy place. I mean, everything is good, everything is fine. And I was quite surprised to see that homelessness is really huge here, and then students at GVSU are also facing such situations,” he said.

Lee acknowledged many people misconceptions about what college is like.

“People think just because they’re college students, they have access to more things. And there’s some truth in that, right, like students being able to get a college education is a privilege. However, two things can be true at the same time. A student can be a student and also be struggling with access to food, struggling with finding a place,” she said.

COVENANT HOUSE TO HOLD CANDLELIGHT VIGIL

Covenant House is a national organization with a location in Grand Rapids that serves college-aged people facing homelessness.

Covenant House says there is a need for temporary housing in Grand Rapids for young people between the ages of 18 and 24. In an effort to address that need, the organization says it houses 28 young people.

“We offer young people the opportunity to get on their feet to go on the next level of independence,” said Carolyn Allen with Covenant House.

In addition to housing, the nonprofit offers other services to young people, including documentation recovery and case workers who help with enrolling in school or the military.  

“Sometimes our young people just need a little grace and a little accountability. We chisel it down to look like love. Sometimes that goes missing in a person’s life. They just need another chance, even with bad decisions. Sometimes, we just need a do-over, and Covenant House is a place that offers them that,” said Allen.

Aaliyah Mitchell is currently taking part in the Covenant House program.

“The staff are amazing. You got your own room. You get help with a job. I got there on a Monday. I had a job the next Tuesday. Ever since I have been there, things have been smooth sailing,” said Mitchell.

Covenant House is holding a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Thursday at its location on 26 Antoine St. SW. The event will honor some of their young people and spotlight their needs.