Being a college student can be tough, so many students choose Los Medanos College because of its affordability and flexibility. But what about outside of school? Do you need assistance with other things not relating to your education? The LMC Marketplace is located right by the Child Study Center and the campus lake, and offers a large quantity of helpful assistance.
A food pantry, clothing and personal care items are provided to all LMC students and staff for free. All you need is a student ID which you can show them when you walk in and then you can shop. The limit is 15 items a day and they are open three days out of the week, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 10am to 2pm and Wednesdays from 1-5pm.
The LMC Marketplace has been offering assistance for students since 2017 and they plan to continue.
Aaron Ramos, Basic Needs program Assistant had this to say, “If you need any sort of help don’t be nervous to ask, we all need help some way or another.”
Basic Needs Program Coordinator Megela Ohare was clear on their mission to serve students, even those who might be afraid or embarrassed to ask for the help.
“One of the things we are trying to do is to reduce the stigma about asking for help or support, like Aaron said we all need support and that’s what we’re here for.”
If you yourself do not need assistance you can do your part and donate, just make sure to properly prepare the clothing items you wish to donate.
“Just make sure to wash the clothes before you bring them here, if you’d like a receipt we can give you a receipt as well,” said Basic Needs Student Ambassador Pamela Pereira.
The Marketplace is constantly restocking and refilling shelves, outside of food and clothing they also provide things like medical and housing assistance. “We also have a mobile health clinic that comes to campus on Mondays, and then a representative for the clinic is here in the partner office on Mondays and Wednesdays,” said Ohare.
“We also have someone who comes on campus once a week from Contra Costa Health, who will help students who are unhoused,” the Market Place essentially helps students connect with those support programs, if you are behind on rent or unhoused they will provide you with outlets that can help you with your situations.
Things like housing and emergency grants are offered as well, Basic Needs will help you with the application, and to be clear, it is not an automatic thing, it is a process that they help you get through. You can find more information on the LMC Basic Needs website for any updates related to the health clinic or housing assistance.
The Marketplace is a part of Student Life here on campus, so you can find them collaborating with student life for events and presentations, some other things they do include offering snack bags around campus. The MESA center, located in the Math building, are some places that they distribute them, the program also offers bags to DSPS which stands for Disabled Students Program Services, “that’s another department on campus that we support with our snack bags…that’s our way of supporting the academic side of it, things that help aid their learning or motivation.”
Another service they provide is Timely Care, a wellness resource that gives students assistance when dealing with mental health troubles, it is completely free and completely
anonymous with the only people knowing is yourself and the counselor. You can sign up on the Timely Care app with your student ID and school email and your set; these meetings are fully online and are offered to all LMC students.
“We encourage you to sign up for it because you never know when you’re going to need it,” said Ohare.
The program has many events coming up this October including one for world mental health day in which the program will be having two events, one at the Brentwood campus and one at the Pittsburgh campus open for students and staff.
So do not be afraid to ask for help or assistance, take some time out of your day to stop by and look around the Marketplace for anything you may need.
