Senior Pastor Eric Schafer sits on a bench at Mount Olive Lutheran Church . Photo: Eduardo García / Courtesy
By: Eduardo García / Special for Real America News 06 from January 2021
Serie: ‘Odyssey of students with insecure housing: earning a degree when homeless’
Fourth article of six:
When the founder of the Bruin Shelter approached almost 50 congregations seeking support To establish a shelter for the homeless, only one responded: Eric Schafer, Senior Pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Chu rch. That was 10 years ago. In a matter of months, they worked together to establish a place where homeless college students could be accommodated.
For Schafer, the decision was simple. The church had the space and was committed to serving its community.
“Why wouldn’t we say yes? Schafer said. “We really have an ideal location, because the number 8 bus, which stops right here on the corner, goes directly to the UCLA campus. We are also a few blocks from the Santa Monica Community College campus. ”
The Bruin Shelter, now formally known as Students 4 Students (Students for Students), opened in the fall of 2005. The pastor said it was the first shelter to serve homeless college students and the second shelter to be run by students.
Schafer said that before the pandemic, the shelter was open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and had ten beds. The university volunteers checked in residents each night and shared a meal, depending on the resident’s schedule. For the 10 at night, several of the groups who were meeting at Mount Olive Lutheran Church had left. Residents would be in Parish Hall studying or doing other things.
“So they study, sleep, have a good dinner and have breakfast before going out” Schafer said. “And they leave at seven because we have a kindergarten here that opens at 7: 30 [a.m.]. That is the normal schedule [entre] seven and seven: two meals, space to study, space to sleep and a safe space. ”
Schafer said the rules for residents are no smoking, no alcohol, no drugs, and no weapons. Apart from that, he said that the team welcomes all those who need a place to stay.
“They are guys who they have just enough money to pay tuition for an expensive school like UCLA, but they don’t have more money. They are gay boys who have been kicked out of the house. They are boys without papers. They are boys, children of single parents. Some are foreign students who have run out of money, ”Schafer said.
As time goes by, a second shelter, the Trojan Shelter, opened at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Koreatown. It is also run by students and has six beds available.
But, when the pandemic hit, Students 4 Students paused.
“Our students went home and the residents didn’t have a house to go to,” Shafer said. “So we hired students [pagados] as resident assistants to help out as volunteers. And we let the students stay here during the day because they had nowhere else to go. ”
Now, in Instead of having six beds, the Trojan Shelter offers only three to account for social distance. It also offers a space where a resident can quarantine if necessary.
Schafer hopes the Bruin Shelter can reopen in January. But he also said that due to the increase in COVID cases, its opening is unlikely.
He also added that a Once the pandemic is over, he hopes both shelters can be fully opened. The Trojan Shelter is led by Co-Chairs, Hannah Mulroe and Cathy Wang.
Our team of student reporters met with Mulroe to see how the shelter and its residents are coping during the pandemic. To learn more, you can read Gabriela Hernández’s article in this series, which will be published tomorrow, January 8.
These articles will be published in Real America News from January 4 to 9. You can also read them on the internet at Real America News.com and in English at elnuevosol.net. (Translation Patricia Ramos)
Eduardo García Eduardo García is a bilingual Mexican-American journalist with a career in television journalism and a specialization in journalism in Spanish. He likes to report on politics and the Latino community. In his spare time, you can find him reading, watching YouTube videos about personal development and socializing with friends.