GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Marjri Weller returned to her alma mater, Grand Rapids Community College, in October 2022. Her daily goal since then has been to help as many students as possible succeed.
So, she’s making sure their basic needs are met.
“If you don’t have food to eat, then that is a part of your livelihood. So, you are not going to be able to focus on school if you can’t eat,” Weller said during an interview with FOX 17 on Wednesday. “If I can help you take that one thing off your plate and help you with that, then you can feel comfortable going to school and work on other things.”
A survey showed that of the 12,000+ students at @grcc
— Lauren Edwards (@LaurenEdwardsTV) January 11, 2023
📕 40% are facing housing insecurity
📕 11% are facing homelessness
📕 29% are facing food insecurity
So they’re tackling the issues & brought @MichiganHHS rep Marjri Weller on campus to help students overcome. // @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/eCNekWHJAe
Weller is a family independent specialist with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. She works on campus and helps students get connected with the resources the state has like food services, housing, and even diaper needs.
“Here at the college anyone who needs help with any of the programs that Department of Health and Human Services can offer — if it is food, Medicaid, state emergency relief, childcare — those are services that I can provide,” Weller said. “I get a referral from the college of a student who’s in need.”
Then she checks whether or not they have a case. Nevertheless, she calls the students, emails them, encourages them to apply, letting them know what they qualify for and ultimately helps them navigate through the process.
“In elementary, high school, you know, there’s the free lunch program and things like that where some of those needs are being addressed. Once students get to college, that’s gone," said Sandy Gregory, assistant to the dean of student success. "We know that those things are a barrier to students success. If they can’t eat, if they don’t have a safe place to live, if they don’t have a safe, quiet place to study, those impede their ability to succeed in class.”
Gregory said GRCC did a recent study with the Hope Center and learned that of their 12,000+ students, 40% are facing housing insecurity, 11% are facing homelessness, and 29% are facing food insecurity.
Gregory said the college has been working since 2019 to partner with the state and tackle these issues.
“This is something that we knew we needed because we have resources at the college, but we don’t have all of the community resources that we need,” Gregory said. “So, we’ve been working really hard to get this here on campus. We’re very thrilled to be the only college in Michigan that has this resource available to our students.”
When Weller began in October last year, GRCC became the only college in the state to have an MDHHS rep on their campus. So far, Weller said she’s helped over 50 students. She hopes to assist even more and erase the stigma around asking for help.
“I love it. I love to be able to help people and to help them feel like ‘you know what, it’s OK if you need food assistance,’” Weller said. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’re here to help you.”
***To learn more, click here: GRCC.edu/gethelp***
