In a three-bedroom apartment in Koreatown, recognized student organization Trojan Shelter currently houses three USC students and one student attending a Los Angeles community college. The total rent for the apartment is $9,600 for 12 months — partially discounted by a church that owns the property. Starting Nov. 26 with a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe, Trojan Shelter is trying to fundraise at least $5,000 to cover the Spring 2025 rent and some groceries.

After partnering with Students 4 Students in past years, an organization that folded in Fall 2023, Trojan Shelter, needs to fundraise more this year than they have in years past.

Student volunteers stay at Trojan Shelter every night with the residents, similar to resident assistants in a college dorm and in past years, those volunteers also cooked meals every night. This fall, the organization has struggled to fund groceries and other necessities such as paper towels and shampoo.

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Sora Nagata, Trojan Shelter’s director of resources and a junior majoring in geodesign, said being able to provide and share meals with residents again is a priority for Trojan Shelter with their next round of fundraising. She said the meals not only help Trojan Shelter combat food insecurity, but are important to how the organization builds community. 

“Making the meals and enjoying the meals with the residents has been the best way for everyone to bond, and that really contributes toward Trojan Shelter’s core values of having a sense of belonging and creating a home,” Nagata said. 

In addition to their campaign on GoFundMe, Trojan Shelter’s executive board is also planning a dance performance fundraiser. 

According to Emmett Liljegren, president of Trojan Shelter and a senior majoring in human biology, the organization is currently unable to consider longer-term financial planning due to the lack of funds currently available. 

Recognized student organizations like Trojan Shelter can apply for funding through the Undergraduate Student Government, but Liljegren said this funding cannot be used for the shelter’s general grocery and rent costs. He also said funding through the University has been difficult to use for their operations due to restrictions on how they can use the money.

During Fall 2023, the shelter temporarily closed as the executive board attempted to find funding for operations, said Andrew Wilk, Trojan Shelter’s director of operations and a senior majoring in quantitative biology and pursuing a master’s degree in quantitative and computational biology.

“The situation was so insecure that we didn’t want to tell people, ‘You can live with us for a semester,’ and then run out of money,” Wilk said.

Since Students 4 Students dissolved, Trojan Shelter now exists under the Student Movement of Justice and Opportunity, a nonprofit that helps meet students’ basic needs. Student MOJO also supports Bruin Shelter and Aggie House, which is for UC Davis students. 

Nagata said she feels most USC students are unaware that they may have classmates who are dealing with food or housing insecurity. 

“A lot of people associate USC with people having a lot of money,” Nagata said, “People aren’t really aware that housing insecurity isn’t just a general problem, but also it’s within students that could be in your classes.” 

Wilk said housing insecurity is a difficult addition to the already high stressors of being a student.

“People who have to deal with all the normal struggles of college and growing up on top of being completely on their own to even buy their own food or pay for their own housing, it’s just a really tough situation, and I think there should be more awareness about it,” Wilk said. “It’s a shame that there’s not more programs to support students in this situation.”

In 2023, the National Center for Education Statistics found that 8% of undergraduate students and 5% of graduate students are experiencing homelessness. Meanwhile, in a survey conducted by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office in March and April of 2023, 58% of California community college students reported experiencing housing insecurity. 

A senior resident, who was granted anonymity, said the shelter ensured they had stable housing this semester, and without it, they would have no “stable place to stay.” They said affording housing has been a challenge for them because the University does not guarantee it for four years.

“Having unstable housing or having extremely high-price housing as a first-generation, low-income student has been a struggle for me,” the senior said. “[The shelter] definitely relieved a lot of financial burdens, and it also definitely relieved the fact that I would have to either cut down on my schedule, cut down on my studies because I have to commute really far.”