Kyra Lieberman – Staff Writer
Daytona State College’s Center for Women and Men has been serving students for 44 years. At the end of this year, it will have a new home in Building 130.
Beginning with DSC’s Fresh Start program in the original Women’s Center, services continue to evolve and expand from its original mission of training women in skills necessary to enter the workforce with confidence. Now, Fresh Start, along with many other offerings, are available to both men and women, all at no cost. One of the latest additions benefitting the entire student body is the Falcon Fuel Grab and Go food pantry, where students can get either a quick, healthy snack or a sustainable meal to take home just by showing their DSC ID card.
The professional clothing closet also offers fashionable, work-appropriate attire for men and women in a wide range of styles and sizes. Students can try on, accessorize and choose outfits for interviews. Even if they get the job, they can come back for more to expand their wardrobes.
“We have more clothes than we have students!” said Director of the CFWM, Erin LeDuc, with a laugh. “Thrifting is big, but this is entirely free and all certified good quality.”
The CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) grant is a federally funded program that assists student-parents pay for childcare, paying for up to 75 percent of childcare costs. On average, the program saves participating DSC students a total of $125,000 yearly.
“We’re entirely grant-funded, so expansion comes when we get a new grant. We work closely with Resource Development here at DSC, which writes all the grants,” said LeDuc of new programs coming to the CFWM.
The newest addition is the Quiet Room on the Daytona Beach campus. It is a place where people can go to be alone, gather their thoughts, get help and make phone calls if needed.
“It was developed with our survivors of domestic violence in mind. Safety is always number one,” said LeDuc. “It’s also a place to get resources. We’ve also found that students will go there to pray, to nurse, or to find resources for themselves or a friend going through dating violence.”
The Quiet Room, along with food pantry, clothes closet, computer lab and other resources, will be moving to the Center’s new location. After food services and Student Life move out of the Lenholt Student Center, or Building 130, into the new L. Gale Lemerand Student Center this spring, renovations will begin to transform the 1966 building into an updated CFWM. It is a larger space than they currently occupy that will be shared with the Veterans’ Center, with which the CFWM often shares resources. The Lenholt Student Center is conveniently located behind Wetherall Center, DSC’s main administration building, where new and prospective students begin their journey.
“College tours will go through there so students will be aware of us before they even start classes,” LeDuc said. “There will be a lot more traffic because of the location, even though we get a lot now, we’ll have more space. We can have a place where they know they can be comfortable and cared for. We’re excited for the move.”
One of the CFWM’s biggest initiatives is in conjunction with Board of Trustees Chair Forough Hosseini and her 10-point-plan to eradicate hunger and homelessness among youth.
“I said ‘no child or youth in my community should be hungry or homeless’ in my community, Volusia County, by 2020,” Hosseini told Florida Politics last year. “I didn’t know how it would get done. But it had my name on it.”
In January she was honored with the Association of Florida College’s distinguished service award for her work on the board, her advocacy for students and her assistance to the homeless and the hungry.
DSC President Tom LoBasso lauded the trustee, saying, “She and her husband, Mori, have worked tirelessly to secure critical state funding for campus growth initiatives. She has helped to move the college closer to its academic performance goals, and her leadership and vision were the impetus that resulted in a comprehensive plan to eradicate homelessness and hunger among our students, which has been recognized as a model by the State Board of Education.”
As many as 80 homeless students enroll at DSC each year, mirroring a national trend among colleges and universities. In the 2017-18 school year, the CFWM helped 112 homeless students, providing access to food, healthcare, shelter and other assistance. The Center is partnered with Hope Place, a halfway home in Daytona Beach that exclusively caters to young people without a place to stay. It gives them resources and has 26 emergency shelter rooms and nine transitional apartments. With its connection to Hope Place, the CFWM sends young homeless students there to stay and strives to get them same-day accommodations.
“There are more homeless students than people think and it’s younger students than anybody thinks,” LeDuc explained. “It’s hard, so we want to give them as much help as we can and break down barriers.”
Another program being coordinated through the center — now through April 9 — is the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance or VITA program. On a first-come basis, it is offering free tax preparation every Tuesday from 1-4 p.m. in Building 300, Room 227 on the Daytona Beach campus. Interested persons should bring last year’s tax returns, their W2 form, identification and other pertinent documents to the appointment.