The Giant Marketplace is a new resource for COS and one you may have been directed to if you’ve been struggling with housing. The harsh reality is that many young students are forced into homelessness by family or housing insecurity, and that transition is stressful, intense, or even traumatizing for those who experience it.

The Giant Marketplace was open with the needs of unhoused students in mind. The Marketplace is located on W Meadow Avenue, across from the ESS building. The facility can give you canned food, microwaveable dishes, milk, and fruit. You can also be referred to certain assistive programs pertaining to your situation. The facility has its own case workers who can guide you through your search for secure housing.

When asked about their own struggle and their experience with the Giant Marketplace, student Carda, who preferred not to use a surname, stated “There is resources, like there is assistance—even then, they might not help the most. But they will give you any form of resources possible whether it’s for roommates, whether it’s for section 8 or some type of low-income housing.”

You don’t need to be entirely unsheltered to get services from the Marketplace! Frequenting them once a month for groceries or working with a case worker over time, there are several options available.

Students Carda and Athena Penner, formerly unhoused, remarked that the Giant Marketplace set them up with appointments quickly, but referrals out to programs were few. Of course, the resources available to you will depend entirely on your situation, so reach out and explore what they can offer you. Unfortunately, if you are facing a dire situation, you will need patience and resilience.

I went into the Giant Marketplace personally and was given, free of charge, canned food in a sturdy brown paper bag. I afterward took the groceries to the Tulare Transit Center, where I handed the canned food and a case of 40 water bottles to the unsheltered people stationed there. This is a privilege to be acknowledged as well as an action to be taken—we as a community can support each other! The formulation of such a powerful resource for unsheltered students marks a step toward the deconstruction of stigma and close-mindedness toward supporting the unsheltered.

The Giant Marketplace is a genuine investment, on this institution’s part, toward the futures and livelihoods of students.