Homeless Engineering Student

I am a first-generation college student studying electrical engineering at UCSC. Since Fall 2020, I have been living in my car to attend school. Last month my car was stolen, used, and vandalized.

After returning from a trip home, I find that my car is no longer on the school property. I usually leave it on school grounds with a parking permit. I contacted the campus police and was told that my car had been found one day earlier, spray-painted black with a stolen license plate and a blacked-out VIN. I waited hours with the officer for further news but did not receive any. Following their instructions, I went to the Santa Cruz police department where they insinuated that these were my acts alone and that they have no jurisdiction in handling the case. Even after explaining the situation to them, they were dismissive and would not make any changes to their policy. As of August 15th, the police informed me they would not waive any charges to release my vehicle.

Upon arriving at the tow yard and receiving assistance from the manager, I was able to see my car for the first time in two weeks. The pictures above show the current condition of my car. The manager allowed me to collect any of my belongings inside the car where I was met with a nauseating smell of feces and urine; all my clothes had been worn and used, all my stored nonperishable food had been eaten, and the fixtures I had built to store everything had been broken.

Those people have left me without a place to sleep at night, no transportation, dirty clothes, and no way of storing food. Whoever did this completely changed my way of living; they robbed me of my home and left me stacked with expenses I need to pay to undo the mess they made. Right now, I’m living from just the bag I traveled with from my trip and nothing else to my name. This car has been in my family for years and has watched me grow. I believe that there is still value in the car, even in the state it’s in now.

Your donation will be used to release the vehicle to my custody and get it furnished before the start of this school year.

The money raised will go towards releasing my car from the tow yard, a vehicle release form from the PD, paying DMV records, paint repairs, and replacing all the blankets, food, and clothes.