Leveraging Peer Relationships: Our Student Navigator Network

Posted by Swipe Out Hunger

Jul 9, 2020

As colleges and universities around the country began to close due to COVID-19, thousands of students suddenly found themselves in financial, academic, and personal crisis. The pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges that low-income students face. With the economic impacts growing exponentially, we need to support students to ensure they are not going hungry, becoming homeless, or being forced to drop out of school.

Steeped in the belief that programs should be sustainable, innovative, student-centric, and destigmatizing, we saw an opportunity to step up and leverage our community with the Student Navigator Network.

In the Summer 2020, we partnered with Rise to collaboratively launch a one-on-one referral service that helps students apply for emergency financial assistance, find local support, navigate public benefits, and get timely information on policies, programs, and services that affect them. This innovative program employs and trains Student Navigators to help their peers access the resources available to them. Peers helping peers reduces the stigma often associated with seeking assistance and increases the likelihood that students in need will ask for help.

We are fortunate to work alongside so many dedicated student leaders fighting to end college hunger. In moments like these, it is our responsibility to take stock and determine how we can be responsive to our community. We already know that students are the best resources to their counterparts on campus, as 50% of the students that receive donated meals heard about the program from a friend. The Student Navigator Network has enabled us to capitalize on this organic relationship-building in a way that is meaningful to this point in time. Not only has this directly helped students facing hardships due to the pandemic, but it has also provided additional financial support for the Student Navigators we hire– many of whom lost jobs or other career opportunities over the last four months.

Throughout 2020, this program supported over 7,000 students to access over $900,000 in benefits nationwide.

Learn about a few of our Summer 2020 cohort Student Navigators below:

Kaitlyn is excited to be a Student Navigator so she can have these peer-to-peer interaction and be able to hear concerns directly from the student’s perspective.
Zach believes this is one of the most difficult times in history to be a college students and wants to helps their peers face these unprecedented obstacles.
Sumandeep is looking forward to being part of eradicating student hunger and helping to uplift her community during the COVID-19 crisis.
Chloe is passionate about public health and alleviating health inequities and is thrilled to be part of such a hands-on effort to help students
Rebekah is excited to connect students to important resources to help achieve their academic goals.
Anthony cannot wait to get started advocating and connecting his peers to resources that combat food inaccessibility throughout these times of uncertainty.
Katie wants to help the many students that are in need due to the pandemic and knows through her work as a Student Navigator, will be able to bring help and aid to students across the country.
Makaelah is happy and honored to help her peers in their time of need and provide a much needed service to so many students.