{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/primebruinshelteropen","webpackCompilationHash":"46924986a792e4a723a9","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"headline":"Where the Rivalry Resides","author":"Amanda Velasco and Maggie Konecky","authorbio":"","authoremail":"","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"http://oink.dailybruin.com/packages/prime.bruinshelteropen/image/1wQxFH3zr5_UjaojaDWhxcB95T_Z_Yy28/","covercred":"Photos by Karla Cardenas-Felipe","coveralt":"Group of students holding a welcome sign at the Trojan Shelter.","articleType":"article","updated":"","content":[{"type":"text","value":"Every year, the Bruins gear up for marquee matchups against the University of Southern California in a range of sports."},{"type":"text","value":"Late February, the competition began to heat up between students as they prepared for the annual men’s basketball rivalry game. Bruin and Trojan faithful clashed online and in-person, drew campus symbols and prepared to camp overnight outside Pauley Pavilion – all to support their team and bring down the competition."},{"type":"text","value":"But for Gabriel Atienza, that time of the year looks a little different. As his classmates searched for gameday tickets, the first-year physiological science student unlocked the gate to a three-bedroom home in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. He checked to make sure each room was clean, then hunkered down and waited hours into the night for its residents to arrive."},{"type":"text","value":"Atienza volunteers for Bruin Shelter, a UCLA organization that aims to alleviate strain on students experiencing homelessness through grocery distribution services, basic-needs projects and peer support. But, in February, he was working an overnight shift at Trojan Shelter – the group’s sister organization at USC – which provides temporary housing for students experiencing homelessness."},{"type":"text","value":"Bruin Shelter members used to operate their own shelter on the Westside, said Shamoli Ghosh, Trojan Shelter’s 2025-26 co-president, but a combination of funding cuts and poor management led to its closure in fall 2023. When Trojan Shelter and Bruin Shelter’s new leadership began communicating – hoping to fix the former’s understaffing during school breaks and final exams – the club saw it as a chance to give their members hands-on work, even without a shelter of their own."},{"type":"text","value":"For the last few quarters, Trojan Shelter’s unassuming house has been the site of a collaboration between students from the crosstown rival universities. Stocked with basic necessities, the student-run organization offers a place to sleep for students at any LA college or university."},{"type":"text","value":"Pairs of Bruin Shelter volunteers have traveled from campus to the shelter since 2025. They unlock the gate and walk into a living room filled with windowed cabinets stocked with puzzles, where residents can take their pick of board games like Hanabi, Phase 10 and Loteria. Xbox controllers are littered on coffee tables, encircled by several couches and rocking chairs. A familiar flowery curtain enshrouds the room, and tapestries and photos adorn its hallways."},{"type":"text","value":"\"Since we don’t have a physical space, trying to be able to still provide that level of care is important to us,\" said Seena Amin, the organization’s external vice president."},{"type":"text","value":"Because USC operates on a semester system, UCLA students fill in at Trojan Shelter when USC students juggle their final exams with volunteering. Sora Nagata, a director of media for Trojan Shelter, said during the last few weeks of USC’s semester, the organization’s board members often have to take on daily overnight shifts on top of their academics."},{"type":"largeimageC","value":"{\"alt\":\"Students having a meeting in the Trojan Shelter in front of a television.\",\"url\":\"http://oink.dailybruin.com/packages/prime.bruinshelteropen/image/1bR19CWJXJSx2m21ntEyQ4gnFfEJaC6o0/\",\"credit\":\"Karla Cardenas-Felipe/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"To fill those gaps, UCLA volunteers take on shifts both when Trojan Shelter is understaffed or have open nights at regular capacity, said Anna Cheng, a co-director of staff for Bruin Shelter. They typically work in pairs – either two Bruins or two Trojans – so no one has to travel from campus alone. Once there, they’ll check each room to make sure the home is clean; restock toiletries such as soap and toothpaste; and message the shelter’s leadership to let them know everything’s running as it should."},{"type":"text","value":"After the initial walkthrough ends, volunteers spend much of their shift waiting. Shifts start around 6:45 p.m. since residents may arrive as early as 7 p.m., Ghosh said. However, classes, jobs and errands make it so residents typically don’t arrive until much later – often between 9 p.m. and midnight, Cheng added. Once both the volunteers and residents are accounted for, they’ll do homework and relax. Sometimes they play games or watch movies as a group."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"Since we don’t have a physical space, trying to be able to still provide that level of care is important to us.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"The shelter also provides a quiet, private space to focus on sleep and rest. While volunteers are always open to socializing with residents, they also provide them the space to be alone in their rooms or focus on activities like studying, Atienza said. Regardless of the shift’s level of activity, volunteers communicate with Trojan Shelter leadership when people have arrived and confirm if residents are doing well."},{"type":"text","value":"However, integrating UCLA volunteers in Trojan Shelter’s routine was not straightforward."},{"type":"text","value":"Getting Bruins used to contacting Trojan Shelter leaders first – as opposed to their own club directors – was tough, Cheng said. Shifts are typically separated based on what campus volunteers come from, though students from both schools can still work together if they both sign up for shifts that are hard to staff. Official communication between Bruins and Trojans typically happens over the phone, but Cheng believes they’ve found ways to foster community even when working on separate days."},{"type":"text","value":"One such exchange took place on the shelter’s whiteboard. Cheng noticed either a resident or USC volunteer had crossed out a \"Fours Up!\" symbol and a drawing of a Bruin bear on the board. She innocuously retaliated by erasing the words \"Fight On!\" from the board entirely. For a final touch, she added a new \"Fours Up!\" Thus continued a whiteboard rivalry."},{"type":"text","value":"Leaders from the sister clubs also interact off-duty, like at a dinner Cheng attended organized by both clubs’ common parent organization, the Student Movement of Justice and Opportunity, which is known as Student MOJO. Bruin Shelter members piled into an eight-seater car, she said, dressed up and hoped to jokingly impress the competition."},{"type":"text","value":"Despite their lighthearted competitions, both clubs face similar operating struggles. Most of these problems boil down to one thing – money. Transportation costs are a tough topic, Cheng said. Bruin Shelter reimbursed travel costs for volunteers to travel to and from K-Town through a grant from the Community Service Commission, which is part of UCLA’s Undergraduate Students Association Council, but the organization was not able to provide funding for spring quarter. Going into the future, the only Bruins who volunteer at Trojan Shelter may be those who have cars or those willing to sit through more than an hourlong commute."},{"type":"largeimageC","value":"{\"alt\":\"A fridge in the Trojan Shelter covered in reminder notes and strawberry fridge magnets.\",\"url\":\"http://oink.dailybruin.com/packages/prime.bruinshelteropen/image/141CjbFeSQodmNdm-KcTrPkp1hy0PpkoK/\",\"credit\":\"Karla Cardenas-Felipe/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Edison Chua, the 2025-26 Community Service commissioner, said in an emailed statement that allocations are made based on the CSC’s available funds and its assessment of organizations’ applications."},{"type":"text","value":"\"As these funding bodies have limited annual budgets, allocations are made based on the merit of the applications received in that particular quarter, with priority given to organizations demonstrating strong service initiatives,\" he said in the statement."},{"type":"text","value":"Ghosh said volunteers used to cook dinners for themselves and the residents during shifts, but the club can no longer afford to pay for the meals. Nagata, a USC student, said she has volunteered at Trojan Shelter for the past four years, taking on an average of two shifts every month. In past years, she said volunteers and residents learned from each other’s cooking styles, connecting the Trojan Shelter community through global cuisines. Some had different seasoning preferences for chicken, and others opted to bring their cultures into the kitchen."},{"type":"text","value":"\"One of the residents was like, ‘Oh, you’re back again, I loved your cooking. I’m so excited to have you cook,’\" Nagata said. \"Now I can brag to everyone about my cooking.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Nagata likes to add a personal touch when preparing the shelter for residents, making it a routine to turn on the home’s patio lights to create a welcoming environment. Trojan Shelter closes for summer break, but members from USC sometimes keep the shelter open for a few extra days to ensure residents secure housing before its closing, she added."},{"type":"text","value":"One moment stands out to Nagata as the reason she continues to come back to Trojan Shelter. A long-term resident came up to Nagata in the Trojan Shelter living room and told her the staff felt like family."},{"type":"text","value":"\"It really moved me,\" Nagata said. \"That was one of the concrete moments where I was like, ‘OK, I really want to stay with this organization.’\""},{"type":"text","value":"At Bruin Shelter’s old location, Smita Ektare – the organization’s co-director of advocacy – followed a similar routine as a first-year volunteer. Located in a Santa Monica church, the previous shelter housed a kitchen and a bedroom. Ektare, a fourth-year computational and systems biology student, would create grab-and-go breakfasts for residents, operating off of weekly menus created by board members that contained the ingredients in stock."},{"type":"text","value":"After nearly a three-year search since its original shelter’s closure, Bruin Shelter has narrowed down its options on a new location, said Amin, a third-year biochemistry student. The new location is only 15 minutes away from UCLA, and it can fit double the number of residents than the previous Santa Monica shelter."},{"type":"text","value":"However, the volunteers will have to start from scratch."},{"type":"text","value":"Bruin Shelter members are looking to install new beds, toilets and plumbing. Amin said they will also install lockers, which will allow residents to store their belongings long-term. At the same time, there is also a need for more intensive repairs, including structural fixes, heating and asbestos removal. Finding a neighboring community that both has a viable space and is open to providing it has been a challenge for the organization, Amin added."},{"type":"text","value":"\"To provide a community space and something that was once lost is really important, especially in LA, where things aren’t really cheap,\" he said. \"Being able to upcycle a space that was once loved and turn it into something we can use again is very important.\""},{"type":"largeimageC","value":"{\"alt\":\"A bed in the Trojan Shelter with piles of clothes on it.\",\"url\":\"http://oink.dailybruin.com/packages/prime.bruinshelteropen/image/1H7hL4oV81xlWEhF2luCHnXPqC-B0pqhy/\",\"credit\":\"Karla Cardenas-Felipe/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"While working toward reopening a new shelter, Amin said members have also focused on creating more specialized and intentional initiatives. Bruin Shelter continues to run the Food Resources Program, in which student volunteers provide groceries to community members experiencing food insecurity on a bi-weekly basis. The student volunteers drive to grocery stores, shop for items and deliver packaged bundles over several weeks – totaling to about 90 weeks worth of food over the past two years."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"To provide a community space and something that was once lost is really important, especially in LA, where things aren’t really cheap.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"The organization co-hosted a basic needs event called \"Project Sandbox\" in Central City East, informally known as Skid Row, alongside other student-run clubs in May 2025. Amin said the event provided free haircuts and consultation services to guide community members on applying for Medicare, bus passes and insurance. Members also distributed sunscreen, short sleeve clothing items and breathable shoes, with the goal of ensuring community members were comfortable amid the seasonal heat."},{"type":"text","value":"\"Giving them a compliment on something like their new haircut, it really lit up their faces,\" Amin said. \"It’s something they don’t really have access to otherwise, especially on Skid Row.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Club members also created the Bruin Basic Needs grant – a $500 amount open to students across the UC, California State University and California community college systems. The grant is meant to help students cover costs related to their education, including textbooks, utilities and computers. Amin, who helps oversee the grant initiative, added that he hopes to take a load off of students’ shoulders."},{"type":"text","value":"For example, Amin encountered a grant recipient who used the funding to cover their dental expenses – costs he said students shouldn’t have to worry about on top of their academics. For other students, the grant allows them to have better access to internet connection, making their communications with professors easier and allowing recipients to complete their assignments."},{"type":"text","value":"While Bruin Shelter may not have the glue to fully rebuild the organization, Amin said members have taken the \"sum of their parts\" and revitalized them into programs that can still create meaningful impact."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"There’s always a focus on  what’s coming next, but for some students, it’s about what’s happening today.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"\"There’s always a focus on what’s coming next,\" he said. \"But for some students, it’s about what’s happening today.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Around 8:30 a.m. the next February day, Atienza was walking through Trojan Shelter again – this time preparing to end his overnight shift as that night’s resident went about their day. He and his partner locked the front door and the main gate."},{"type":"text","value":"He hasn’t been back since they lost the transportation funding."},{"type":"text","value":"Though he is unsure of when he will return, Atienza said working hands-on at the shelter gave him a better understanding of people, housing and community. Cheng also said she now views the practical jobs Bruin Shelter does as students mutually supporting each other instead of just having people who give help and people who receive it."},{"type":"text","value":"Atienza doesn’t keep in contact with the Trojan Shelter volunteers, but he did leave his mark where they could see it – on the whiteboard. At Trojan Shelter, USC and UCLA are written with a greater than symbol in-between them."},{"type":"text","value":"\"I just do this every time,\" Atienza said. \"I don’t know who else does it, but I always erase it and make it so ‘greater than’ is for UCLA. If I come back, it’ll be changed.\""}]}},"pageContext":{"isCreatedByStatefulCreatePages":false,"term":"spring26","slug":"prime.bruinshelteropen"}}}