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Wraparound services continue to grow and are a priority at Doña Ana Community College (DACC).
The college’s AVANZA program provides support and resources to students and their families. The goal is to empower and advocate for students as they navigate their college journey. The AVANZA program has now grown to serve students at five of DACC’s campuses and centers, including the opening of food pantries.
According to the Spark Collaborative, 28% of community and technical college students are food insecure, 30% participate in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and 7% are homeless.
To help combat this and other issues facing students, AVANZA assists with:
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Food resources: DACC’s in-house food pantry, Comfort Casita, at the Espina campus, and its micro-casitas located in Chaparral, Gadsden, East Mesa and Sunland Park
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Resources for housing including DACC’s Emergency Aid program
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Children and family resources: directing students to the childcare assistance program and other childhood services
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Inclusion and mental health resources such as DACC’s equity space, student accessibility services, the college’s counseling services and social worker
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Information on accessing immigration and legal services, as well as medical and dental services, including DACC’s dental program
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Access to transportation services and technology assistance, including a laptop & wifi assistance for qualifying students, DACC’s virtual learning, computer labs, and basic needs grant
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Career resources: career exploration, planning, job seeking, career training and access to the Career Closet which provides free professional attire to students
AVANZA routinely holds events to assist students who could benefit from these resources. Events include mobile food pantries, financial wellness fairs, community fairs and fundraising activities to support the program.
For more information on DACC’s AVANZA services, please visit their webpage at https://dacc.nmsu.edu/student-services/avanza/.
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