A new resource center is providing University of Texas at Dallas students with nonacademic necessities while also giving them a place to socialize and relax on campus.
“We opened the first day of the fall semester,” said Basic Needs Resource Center assistant director Danyelle Gates BA’17, who is currently serving as interim director. “Some students are coming to chat and play video games. Some students are coming in because we’re a consistent place where they can charge a laptop or their phone between classes.”
The centerpiece of the resource center is Temoc’s Closet, which offers free donated clothing and personal hygiene items to students.
“The clothing closet is very, very important,” said Tricia Losavio, associate dean of students. “I didn’t realize the amount of food, housing and clothing insecurities that students have. The fact that we have a clothing closet for students is awesome.”
The reasons Comets might need to use Temoc’s Closet vary.
“It might be: ‘I have a job interview next week, and I don’t have anything to wear,’” Gates said. “Or students who have had a baby might see their body change and need new clothes.”
Sometimes it may be international students not quite ready for the changing weather in Texas.
“They think: ‘I thought it was going to be as hot as my home country, yet here it is, 52 degrees.’ Or they may have internships, and they’re needing a different type of wardrobe than they needed as a student,” Gates said.
The center also helps students through the Student Emergency Financial Assistance Program.
“Students who have an emergency like a car accident can apply for money to pay for the repairs on their car, for example,” Losavio said. “The resource center staff review all applications and can grant money up to $1,000.
“We work very closely with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations to reach out for potential donations, whether they be individual or corporate.”
The center also has four full-time employees who serve as case managers for the Behavior Assessment and Intervention Team (BAIT). The team reviews student behavioral incidents and develops a strategy to address them.
“I assign all the cases that come in to a case manager,” Losavio said. “In the past, BAIT was kind of a secondary duty to current staff members who already had a full-time job. But now the staff can keep touchpoints with students throughout the semester and help those students navigate problems they’re facing.
“Sometimes students want that sense of belonging, so they can come to the Basic Needs Resource Center.”
Because of the needs of some students, the resource center offers sensory-friendly hours from 8 to 10 a.m. and from 3 to 5 p.m. most days. During that time, the volume of conversations and media is lowered.
For students who want to socialize, the center hosts Welcome In Wednesdays, in which hot tea and sometimes other drinks and snacks are offered.
“That’s the day that most of the students will play games together,” Gates said.
Welcome In Wednesdays events also feature guest presentations from campus departments and community partners, including the Student Counseling Center and the Comet Cupboard.
The resource center, located on the fourth floor of the Student Services Building, is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.