Taking Care of Our Dawgs

Compliments of Adrianna Gonzalez- Updated Fall, 2023

Note: If you see any errors or know of any updates for this resource list, please drop us a line at [email protected] 

 

 UGA has a plethora of resources on campus to help students succeed despite any circumstances they may be facing. Take a look at the different offices and programs that help connect students with resources they may need - from financial to in-kind support.

 STUDENT CARE AND OUTREACH (Student Affairs) The mission of Student Care & Outreach is to coordinate care and assistance for all students, who experience complex, hardship, and/or unforeseen circumstances, by providing individualized assistance and tailored interventions. Student Care & Outreach is located at 318 Tate Student Center.

STUDENT EMERGENCY FUND (Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs) The UGA Student Emergency Fund is available to provide limited, one-time financial assistance to enrolled students who are unable to meet immediate, essential expenses because of temporary hardship related to an emergency situation.

SINGLE SEMESTER SHORT TERM LOAN (Bursar & Treasury Services) Single Semester Short term loans are loans that are given to qualified students after the first day of the current semester and must be repaid in full during the semester they are made.

 'LET ALL THE BIG DAWGS EAT' FOOD SCHOLARSHIP (Tate Student Center) The Let All the Big Dawgs Eat Food Scholarship is a need-based scholarship that awards meal plans to several UGA students each fall and spring semester, as well as summer terms.

 UGA FOOD PANTRY (Greek Life-Student Affairs) The Pantry provides a variety of food items such as canned soup, vegetables, breakfast items, pasta + sauces, cheese, and yogurt. Visitors simply need to complete a brief, confidential form before picking up food at the Tate Student Center (Room 148).

SCHOOL SUPPLY CLOSET (College of Education) The mission of the closet is to provide UGA community members who are in need with school-related items. Items available typically include pens, paper, notebooks, binders, dividers, etc. Request forms in the closet are available to request items are not easily accessible. The closet is housed in Aderhold Hall Room 330.

BULLDOG BASICS E-store (College of Family & Consumer Sciences) Bulldog Basics provides a variety of personal hygiene items stocked in four locations for students to access as needed. https://bulldogbasics.uga.edu/shop/about/

HEALTH SCIENCES CAMPUS HYGIENE CLOSET (Garden level student lounge) Located in Rhodes Hall on UGA's Health Sciences Campus, this resource provides a variety of hygiene and personal care items. Free. Additional locations:

Dawson Hall (1st floor accessible unisex restroom)

Milledge Hall (1st floor unisex restrooms, north side)

Aspire Clinic (hallway to Graduate Student Offices)

Tate Student Center (Center for Leadership and Service unisex restroom)

Milledge Hall (1st floor North unisex restroom)

 

SGA PROFESSIONAL CLOTHING CLOSET - SGA has free professional clothing available for students including blazers, slacks, ties, shirts, skirts, and dresses. Students in need can order one outfit per academic year. Order online on their website.

 

Affordable Fair Housing and Financial Resources

Hannah Savard, Housing & Community Development- Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County- Updated Fall, 2023

Note: If you see any errors or know of any updates for this resource list, please drop us a line at [email protected] 

 

LINKS TO FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING

https://www.lowincomehousing.us/GA/athens.html - this site usually gives affordable options.

https://www.affordablehousing.com/housing-authority-athens-ga/

https://www.rentable.co/athens-ga/athens-technical-college-apartments/campus

 

INDEPENDENT STUDENT STATUS AND FINANCIAL AID

If you’re an undergraduate and had to submit your financial aid with a parent’s income information, homelessness would be a qualifying event to become classified as an independent student.

 

FASFA’s definition of homelessness is the following (taken from the first link below)

“Homeless means lacking fixed, regular, and adequate housing. You may be homeless if you’re living in shelters, parks, motels, hotels, public spaces, camping grounds, cars, and abandoned buildings, or if you’re temporarily living with other people because you have nowhere else to go. If you’re living in any of these situations and fleeing an abusive parent, we may consider you homeless even if your parent would otherwise provide you a place to live. ”

 You may be thinking, “Why would I do that?” Getting an independent student status usually means you may qualify for more aid because it’s going solely off of your income. It may be a headache to do, but it may be worth it. Talk to your financial aid office. Check out the links below

https://studentaid.gov/help/student-homelessness-questions

https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/independent-student

https://nche.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/faa-tool-2022-2023.pdf

 

STUDENT HOUSING RESOURCES 

Links to some rental guides UGA provides students. These tend to be the more affordable student housing, however, it may still be out of range. If that’s the case, definitely reach out to the organizations on the resource list.

If you’ve had a change of income, you can contact your financial aid office and speak with someone about the logistics of updating your income on FASFA to see if it’s possible for your amount to be increased, however clarify that it won’t put your current enrollment on hold or delay it any way.

 https://isl.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2021/12/Off-Campus-Living-Guide-2021-E1.pdf

https://isl.uga.edu/off-campus-housing-guide/

https://www.athensga.com/university-georgia-student-housing-guide/

https://www.apartmentsforathens.com/uga-international-student-guide

https://athenshousingadvocacy.org/local-resources

 

UGA SPECIFIC

https://housing.uga.edu/register/?nav=is

https://financialhardship.uga.edu/funding-and-employment/

 

HELPFUL WEBSITES

https://www.dca.ga.gov/safe-affordable-housing/homeless-special-needs-housing/i-am-homeless-need-help

https://www.stmaryshealthcaresystem.org/for-patients/housing-resources

 https://www.findhelp.org/housing/help-pay-for-housing--athens-ga

 https://www.accgov.com/9273/Resident-Resources

 https://www.atlantahousing.org/housing-programs/

 https://opendoorsatl.org/i-need-housing-now/

 https://www.dca.ga.gov/safe-affordable-housing/homeless-special-needs-housing/emergency-housing-voucher-program

 

FAIR HOUSING RESOURCES

 https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/fair_housing_act_overview

 https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/fair_housing_rights_and_obligations

 

AMAZING SUPPORT INFORMATION FROM UGA STUDENT AFFAIRS can be found here

 https://well-being.uga.edu/

  

SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP) 

Depending on your student status and work situation, you might qualify for SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps. You can use SNAP to buy groceries at most grocery and convenience stores. The Athens Farmers Market has been doubling SNAP dollars since 2010 ($5 in SNAP dollars becomes $10), making the market often more affordable than grocery store. The Wednesday evening market is conveniently located near North Campus at Creature Comforts, and the Saturday morning market is at Bishop Park.

Updates on this program and information on how to use SNAP dollars at the market can be found at 

http://athensfarmersmarket.net/double-snap 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SNAP BENEFITS, see 

http://dfcs.dhs.georgia.gov/food-stamps.

LINKS TO LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS

https://athensfarmersmarket.net/

https://athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market

 

EMBARK

TRIO Student Support Services Embark is a UGA project with a mission to assist and support former foster and homeless youth. To see a list of resources that might be helpful for those who have experienced foster care or homelessness, visit their website.

 

FIRST-GENERATION, PELL GRANT ELIGIBLE, AND/ OR REGISTERED WITH THE DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER

TRIO Student Support Services 

They offer advising, tutoring, financial literacy counseling, and free printing, among many other resources. Visit the website for more information https://dae.uga.edu/trio/student-support-services/

  

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE DEAN OF STUDENTS

Contact Us- Please feel free to contact Jan Barham ([email protected]) if you have any questions about the LATBDE Food Scholarship or there is anything we can do to assist you (Office of the Dean of Students 706-542-7774).

 

For information and resources for coping with financial hardship at UGA, please visit the UGA Financial Hardship Resources website  https://financialhardship.uga.edu/