New Humber financial relief program begins Oct. 1

Sep 29, 2015 | News

 The Humber Students' Federation has created a new bursary to ease students' financial troubles. (Sara Long/Flickr)

The Humber Students’ Federation has created a new bursary to ease students’ financial troubles. (Sara Long/Flickr)

By Shaun Fitl

The Humber Students’ Federation has created a new financial relief program that will provide resources to students with money troubles.

In recent years a bursary program has been changed so that money is now available through Humber, rather than HSF.

On Thursday  students can apply for a total of $500 through myhumber.ca.

However, the overall program is engineered by HSF and allows students to take advantage of professional and monetary resources to allow them to enjoy school comfortably.

HSF’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Anna Bilan, said there is an interview process to assess the student’s level of need. It is followed by a 48-hour waiting period while the application is processed.

If students do not have money for books or food, HSF can provide prepaid cards, she said.

Other potential financial supports can include up to one month of rent, said Bilan.

“Based on my experience, I am sure it will be successful. We have more resources now,” she said.

‘Things happen in life’

These resources are there to protect students and ensure they have a successful education at Humber College, said Bilan.

“Sometimes things happen in their life and that is why this program exists,” she said.

“It’s for people who really need help.”

Theresa Terzi, a first-year Film and TV production student, believes the new program will be successful.

“I think it’s a really great idea because a lot of students can’t afford school and tuition is expensive,” said Terzi.

Students are often able to receive OSAP funding but this may not be enough because of different levels of income distributed through the student’s family.

“Education is great for a country so I think we should do more,” said Terzi.

However, Terzi has a very responsible idea about schooling and believes that it should be paid for to some extent to ensure students understand the value of money.

“In a perfect world it would be awesome if school was free but in the long run it is not a good idea,” said Terzi.

What do you think about free schooling? Please post your opinions in the comments section below.