One-of-a-kind Basic Needs Center a new hub for student help

February 22, 2019

Six years in the making, UC Berkeley’s new Basic Needs Center, a one-stop shop for students with food, housing and financial insecurity, opens Monday, Feb. 25, on the lower level of the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union. The novel, nearly 3,000-square-foot facility is considered the first of its kind in the UC system and nationwide.

Many colleges and universities, including four other UC campuses, have a basic needs center with a food pantry, nutrition workshops, aid for homeless students and referrals to off-campus social services.

But Berkeley’s center will feature a “community office,” where representatives from local agencies, such as the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, will hold hours to assist students with everything from housing woes to accessing CalFresh federal nutrition benefits.

The center also will provide case management by a licensed clinical social worker—with help next fall from two Berkeley Master of Social Welfare students—for students needing a wide spectrum of specialized support.

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