This post was updated July 13 at 8:37 p.m.
The Good Clothes Good People Basic Needs Redistribution Center, which was slated for eviction in August 2024, has signed a lease agreement to retain its space until 2030.
The center – housed in the Student Activities Center – offers school supplies, toiletries, mobility aids and clothes to students in need.
The eviction notice arose due to a spacing conflict between GCGP, the group that runs the center, and the Scientific Diving Program, an organization that provides support to students who perform underwater research. The growing need for space for the Scientific Diving Program created uncertainty regarding the GCGP Basic Needs Redistribution Center’s ability to stay in SAC, according to the memorandum of understanding, a document that outlines intentions between parties and the goals of an agreement.
[Related: Student leaders seek new home for Basic Needs Redistribution Center after eviction notice]
The conflict was resolved through an agreement signed by both parties that went into effect July 1. The agreement provided a five-year lease for the GCGP Basic Needs Redistribution Center, with an option to renew 10 months prior to its expiration in July 2030. GCGP must allow for unobstructed entering and exiting from the diving control board designated area, according to the agreement.
Holly Hebden, the 2024-2025 GCGP president, said the eviction reversal created stability for the organization, as it works to meet basic needs for students.
“What we really want to focus on next year is having this be a solid place on campus that people can come and get basic needs resources,” said Hebden, a UCLA alumnus. “Not with us having to worry about politics and getting into the weeds with administration but just helping to expand our resources.”
GCGP Advocacy Director Sarah Giovennella said the organization allows students to prioritize pursuing their education. She added that she wants GCGP, which served over 1,300 students throughout the 2024-2025 school year, to focus on improving outreach.
“Something I want to do is have more people know about it,” said Giovanella, a rising third-year human biology and society student. “There’s so many of my friends that the resource could help with so much, like the small things, so they can focus on much larger things like doing their schoolwork.”
GCGP recently expanded its ability to use its funding through an amendment to a previously passed referendum, which the UCLA student body approved as part of the 2025-2026 Undergraduate Students Association Council election.
The original referendum, which passed in 2020, established a $0.39 quarterly fee to fund the Basic Needs Redistribution Center. The amendment to the referendum expanded the organization’s purchasing abilities, allowing the GCGP to buy basic needs resources and fund additional expenses, including rent for a new office if the eviction had gone through.
The amendment to the referendum was also proposed in part due to the potential eviction, said Carolyn Wang, USAC’s 2024-25 Community Service commissioner, at GCGP’s event celebrating the amendment on May 30.
Wang said the lease agreement and the amendment to the Good Clothes Good People Basic Needs Referendum will provide peace of mind to those who use the redistribution center consistently.
Wang, an alumnus, added that the lease agreement, in conjunction with the amendment to the referendum, will allow GCGP to return to its main focus of providing basic necessities.
“It’ll be great to reset focus on the mission and see how we can use these expanding resources to ensure more people are able to get access to basic needs,” Wang said.
Comments are closed.