The Brief

Over 50 community college students in California currently serve as resource guides for peers in need of stable housing, food access and other basic needs.

The students are part of the California Community Colleges’ Student Ambassador Program, which trains students to share information on available resources, including CalFresh and housing stipends with their fellow students. The program uses peers to share such resources in an effort to reduce the stigma around accessing basic needs services.

“They’re students on the campus, on the ground floor, knowing what students need, knowing how their campus operates, what works, what doesn’t,” said Yuriko Curiel, an ambassador program specialist.

The need is acute. According to a recent report by The Community College League of California and the RP Group, only 32% of the 66,741 students who responded to their survey felt secure in meeting all their basic needs. Over half of respondents were concerned about running out of food; 3 out of 5 students experienced housing insecurity, and 1 in 4 reported experiencing homelessness.

Anecdotes from two recent student ambassadors, Adela Gonzales and Xavier Navarro, highlighted the program’s impact.

Gonzales said in a recent interview that she spoke with a student who was on his way to a Riverside City College parking structure where other students had died by suicide. The student told her that he was heading there because he was contemplating doing the same. But on that day, he came across Gonzales, who was handing out pamphlets regarding various student services, including mental health support.

“I was able to talk with him … give him a little bit of validation, and then walk him to the Student Health and Psychological Center,” said Gonzales, who is studying biochemistry and sociology. “I still message him here and there to see how he’s doing.”

She said what most stood out in her work as an ambassador was how only a few students were aware of the campus’ psychology center or their crisis text hotline. Her interest in supporting other students prompted her to join the program two school years in a row.

Adela Gonzales was a student ambassador for two years at Riverside City College.

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EdSource

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At Santa Ana College, Navarro was working at the campus food pantry when he met a fellow student veteran, named Louie, who didn’t have a home.

Meeting Navarro, who was a student ambassador at the time, led to Louie being quickly connected to resources, including a housing voucher to book a hotel room for about a month, food assistance via CalFresh, a free bus pass, and a job at the same food pantry where he met Navarro.

“He was hurting, and it hurts you as a person because you want to help … and now that you have the tools, why not?” said Navarro, who is now an accounting student at Cal Poly Pomona University in Southern California.

It was Navarro’s own experience as a veteran that helped facilitate the initial conversation with Louie.

“We care about the students, we want the students to succeed,” Navarro said. “Because college is hard, it’s expensive, and it can be challenging. Not having a home, not having food. … Caring goes a long way, especially for a college student.”

Students’ identities are crucial in connecting with their peers, said Curiel, the program specialist who was an ambassador before she graduated from San Bernardino Valley College.

Yuriko Curiel was a student ambassador and now works as a specialist for the program.

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Courtesy Yuriko Curiel

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“Not only are they connecting with peers, they’re connecting with people who reflect their own community,” she said, noting that Navarro is a veteran; Gonzales, a former foster youth; Curiel was balancing work and school as a single mom during her time as an ambassador.

Ambassadors also often understand being food or housing insecure. Gonzales and Navarro, for example, both relied on CalFresh in the past. Gonzales also received a housing grant while enrolled in college because she couldn’t afford her rent after a roommate moved out of their shared apartment.

Gonzales and Navarro said that a common response they got from students was disbelief that they might qualify for CalFresh, the state’s food assistance program. Complex eligibility rules for students is a known barrier to the program.

“Not everybody on campus knows what’s available to them and how they can access, and even when they access that, there are still questions,” Gonzales said. “Being able to point them in the right direction and get the right information for them is very important.”

The ambassador program was launched in 2016. Students who join are expected to put in at least six to eight hours each month, for which they receive a stipend of $1,500 after completing the program.

The first cohort in 2016 included 20 students, while the current group includes 53 students. Previous groups have included over 100 ambassadors, according to Sarah London, external and executive communications director with the Foundation for California Community Colleges, which operates the program.

“The fluctuation in numbers is solely based on available funding,” said London. “Ideally, we’d have hundreds of ambassadors every year, so we strive to bring on more philanthropic funders to support and help us grow these efforts in the future.”

While student support services vary at the state’s 116 community colleges, some examples include CalFresh application assistance, low-cost auto insurance, a mental health crisis text hotline, and emergency financial aid grants, among others.

Students interested in joining the program must apply for a position and meet eligibility requirements, which include being at least 18 years old, enrolled in at least one unit for the fall and spring semesters during the school year in which they’re applying, and availability to attend a Zoom training.

Gonzales, Navarro and Curiel were all encouraged to apply for the program by staff members managing student organizations they had joined.

For example, Gonzales was part of Guardian Scholars, a chapter-based organization on college campuses that helps support former foster and homeless youth, before learning about the ambassadors program. A staff member with the group noticed that Gonzales often took the initiative by sharing basic needs information with her peers and suggested she apply to be an ambassador.

“I’ve always enjoyed providing resources for all my foster sisters,” she said, adding that joining the ambassador program felt like an extension of what she was already inclined to do in her personal life.

Student ambassadors use a variety of strategies to reach their peers, such as tabling during campus events, creating social media posts, sending out mass emails about available resources, and presenting to their classmates during class breaks.

“This is really investing in our next generation of leaders,” Curiel said. “I see our dean of student services coming out of this, our basic needs coordinators, or people doing public policy; I think that’s just the power of the program.”

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Elissa Puente arrived at Seoul International Park around noon last Thursday with her daughter, expecting to spend the day enjoying a family-friendly World Cup festival. 

Puente and her daughter traveled from Burbank and spent the first several hours visiting vendors, watching performances and soaking in the festival atmosphere surrounding the highly anticipated Mexico vs. South Korea World Cup watch party.

But people continued pouring into the narrow viewing area along Irolo Street during the final hour before the match, and despite repeated announcements urging fans to be respectful and keep walkways clear, people around her began pushing. Puente said she was stepped on twice.  

“It became a serious safety concern when I saw people were starting to push against my daughter as well. I decided to leave at that point,” Puente said. “I hope for future events there is a time limit, RSVP system or just better crowd control on site.”

Organizers estimate more than 10,000 people attended the June 18 watch party, turning Koreatown into one of the largest World Cup gathering spots in Los Angeles but also raising questions about whether Seoul International Park was prepared for a crowd of that size.

The watch party was promoted as part of Mayor Karen Bass’ “Kick It in the Park” World Cup programming. The city’s website states that official watch parties are limited to 1,000 attendees at a time.

Representatives for the Mayor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Questions included why the park’s soccer fields were left unused and whether the watch party was originally planned as part of “Kick It in the Park” or added after local organizers had already begun planning the event. Organizers announced plans for the watch party in March, while Bass unveiled the city’s World Cup programming in May.

Paul “PK” Kim, marketing director for the Los Angeles Korean Festival Foundation, a co-host of the watch party, said he became concerned before the 6 p.m. kickoff.

Kim said he repeatedly urged police officers to restrict access points as crowds continued growing. While no one anticipated a crowd that large, Kim said the response from city agencies fell short once it became clear the park was over capacity.

The Los Angeles Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

CD 10 Councilmember Heather Hutt gives opening remarks 30 minutes before the World Cup game kickoff on June 18, 2026.

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Andrew Lopez

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Questions about crowd control

In a statement, Councilmember Heather Hutt’s office said organizers had expected about 5,000 attendees, but turnout “completely exceeded all expectations.”

Hutt called the event a success and said it demonstrated the demand for additional park and recreation space in Koreatown, where she has supported efforts to expand Seoul International Park.

The event was set up as a full-day festival, with the park opening at 10 a.m. Fans quickly filled the park hours before kickoff. Food and merchandise vendors drew long lines, while performers rotated through a packed entertainment lineup. Throughout Koreatown, bars, restaurants and businesses filled with soccer fans, with crowds spilling onto nearby sidewalks and streets.

But several attendees said crowding became a concern as kickoff approached.

Alexis Castro arrived around 3 p.m. and said conditions were manageable at first, but left 30 minutes before kickoff because of the swelling crowds. 

“People were at a standstill and trying to push forward, it was impossible to distinguish the lines for the food stands from all the spectators trying to get closer,” Castro said. “The restroom lines extended down the sidewalk and people were stepping and stumbling over each other.”  

Organizers repeatedly asked attendees to keep walkways clear, but several people there said the requests largely went ignored and they did not see anyone actively enforcing them.

Jason Lee said he spent more than an hour parking and entering the event, only to struggle to find a clear view of the match.

“I had to resort to holding my phone up over the crowd of people to see the match through the camera,” he said.

A fan wearing a Mexico jersey and Korean bandana was just one of scores of fans rooting for both teams at the Koreatown watch party on June 18, 2026.

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Milo Bennett, a Koreatown resident, never made it to the park and eventually joined dozens of people standing outside a fried chicken restaurant and watched through the window. Every business in the strip mall that had a TV was playing the game, he said.

“It was about 10 times more busy and exciting than when the Dodgers won the World Series, but this was a first-round group stage match,” he said.

“I don’t think any of these bars and restaurants ever saw this coming,” he said. “I think the World Cup hype was actually severely underestimated by the city.” 

Kim, the marketing director for the Los Angeles Korean Festival Foundation, said the crowding raised alarms because he had seen the aftermath of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush in Seoul, where more than 150 people were killed after becoming trapped in a narrow alley during Halloween celebrations.

Kim said he urged police officers to restrict access on the Olympic Boulevard side of the park as more people continued arriving.

“It was driving me crazy that they couldn’t read the situation, they were oblivious, they don’t know soccer, they don’t know soccer fans, they reacted too late,” he said.

A crowd crush was also on some other attendees’ minds.

As Jennifer Garcia tried to leave the park, she and her boyfriend overheard someone compare the crowd to Astroworld, the 2021 Houston music festival where 10 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in a crowd crush.

Garcia watched as more fans continued pouring into the area. That’s when she decided it was time to leave.

“We just felt it was going to get uglier so we thought it was best we just leave,” Garcia said.

Kim says it would have made more sense to use the nearby soccer fields as part of the watch party setup.

“They just put everybody in a narrow corridor and had people climbing fences and trees. They could’ve put a screen in an empty field,” Kim said. 

Fans gather on the bleachers to watch the game streamed to a TV by the soccer field at Seoul International Park.

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Not long after kickoff, some fans took matters into their own hands.

Right outside the soccer field, Koreatown resident LJ Kim set up a television by the bleachers after realizing many people couldn’t see the jumbo screens.

Kim, who lives a few blocks away, said he went home, grabbed a television and battery pack, and returned to set up his own viewing area.

“I’m a problem solver,” he said. “We want to be together. We want the aura, we want the vibes.”

A third watch party is scheduled for June 24 at Liberty Park, where fans can watch South Korea take on South Africa. The festival begins at 2 p.m. and kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Student journalist Nathan Reyes contributed to this story.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Clouds of smoke billow from the Lineage cold storage facility in bursts. During brief breaks in the smoke, Ivan Arredondo rushes to cross the yellow caution tape to reach his home after waiting more than 20 minutes near Jim’s Burgers on Indiana Street. 

“At night, the smoke gets in even when I close the windows and doors,” Arredondo said as firefighters worked Sunday to extinguish the fire behind him. “It has affected me; my throat has been feeling hoarse, almost like I’m starting to get a cough.”

The Boyle Heights resident hasn’t been able to work for the last five days because his van, which holds his work materials, cannot move in or out of the area blocked by the fire at the Lineage facility.

Arredondo said neither he nor his neighbors had been contacted by city or county officials and wished more support were available. 

“I’d like for them to come and give us a hand with some [money] for food or something during this time that we can’t work,” said Arredondo.

Two pedestrians walk near the Lineage fire site in Boyle Heights on June 22, 2026.

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Since the fire broke out Wednesday, residents living closest to the facility have endured smoky conditions that they say have disrupted daily life, affected their health and limited their ability to work as firefighters continue battling the blaze.

By Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Fire Department had removed large sections of the facility’s exterior walls, allowing crews to better access the fire. Smoke continued to pour out in bursts as residents watched and recorded video from nearby sidewalks.

According to a Sunday evening alert from LAFD, the next phase of operations will focus on accessing and extinguishing the remaining pockets of fire deeper inside the building. 

“Although smoke conditions are trending in a positive direction, intermittent increases in smoke may occur as crews open walls and other concealed spaces to locate and extinguish hidden fire,” the department said.  

Firefighters work to extinguish the fire at the Lineage cold storage facility near La Puerta and Union Pacific avenues in Boyle Heights on June 22, 2026.

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Maria Gonzalez, 49, lives three blocks away from the fire. She says the smell of smoke has left her feeling dizzy, with irritated eyes and caused her daughter to develop a cough. 

“We have five days with this fire and it’s hard for us to just be inside the house and not be able to go outside because the smoke is so bad and smells so horrible,” Gonzalez said while recording video near the fire site.

After days of calling to request an air purifier, she said she didn’t receive a call back. She was eventually added to a list when she went to ask for help at one of the smoke relief shelters.

Although she knew shelter space was available, Gonzalez wished local officials could help provide a hotel room and said transporting her family and four dogs to a shelter would be difficult. 

That Sunday afternoon, Antonio Chapa, director of field operations for L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis, led a small team of people door-to-door on Indiana Street distributing free air purifiers. The team handed out about 30 units. Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s and her team had also been in residential neighborhoods near the fire site, distributing air purifiers and masks. 

Antonio Chapa, left, director of field operations for Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, distributes air purifiers on Indiana Street in Boyle Heights on June 22, 2026.

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Isaac Ceja

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Boyle Heights Beat

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Manuel Valle, 84, who lives near Indiana and 1st streets, rode his bike toward Olympic Boulevard to distribute masks throughout the neighborhood. 

“My kids don’t like it,” Valle said before joking about his bad knees. “But I’ve gotta do it; it’s me.”

Valle is a member of the Brooklyn Ave. Health Club, a volunteer group for senior citizens that cleans up around the Evergreen Cemetery. He said his efforts near the fire are simply an extension of his work. 

Valle added that on Sunday morning, for the first time since the fire started, the smoke drifted directly to his home even though he lives nearly two miles away.

Smoke rises from the Lineage cold storage facility in Boyle Heights on June 22, 2026.

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Isaac Ceja

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The smoke entering the home of Miguel Ocegueda Castillo, 53, forced him to relocate his son and his elderly mother, who was starting to feel dizzy.

“It’s frustrating because when you’re here for a while, you start to feel like you’re going to throw up and we have already breathed in enough of this smoke,” Castillo said. He has lived directly across from the Lineage building for 15 years.

Castillo said no one from the local government has reached out to him to offer any support. 

“No one, no one has come to talk, no one has come and asked if I need anything,” Castillo said. “I don’t know what the local government is waiting for- for a tragedy to occur or something more serious or what… on top of what is already going on.”

For now, Castillo said his focus remains on his family. He goes in and out of the house to grab necessities, but says that he’s been forced to work less in order to do so.

In notoriously car-centric Los Angeles, thousands of fans have been taking public transit to get to the World Cup.

Metro has logged more than 100,000 rides to and from SoFi Stadium for the first four matches in Inglewood, on its special shuttle buses carrying fans directly to the stadium from various locations across the region. That service costs $1.75 a pop – the same as a typical bus ride.

The transit agency organized the enhanced bus system to bring passengers to the stadium directly from as far as Newport Beach and as nearby as Culver City. Ridership on those buses has jumped each match – from 18,551 rides to and from the first game between the U.S. and Paraguay to more than 29,000 rides when Iran played Belgium on Sunday afternoon.

There were long lines to catch the shuttle at Union Station before the first two matches. One rider, Cristian Vasquez, came from the Antelope Valley for the U.S.-Paraguay match. He left home at 9:30 a.m. and was the first in line for the bus.

“It’s a service that really helps out the community that probably can't afford SoFi Stadium's parking lot or the existing parking areas,” he said.

After the Iran-New Zealand match, LAist observed long waits for a bus ride home from SoFi, as the crowds exiting after the match all lined up to board the buses at the same time.

People have also been taking the train to the tournament. According to Metro's numbers, when Iran played New Zealand at SoFi last week, K Line ridership was up 41% and C Line ridership jumped 23%, compared to a typical Monday. Those lines are the closest to the stadium.

Other fan events such as the FIFA Fan Festival at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum have led to similar spikes for Metro. On the day of the first match in Los Angeles, when the U.S. beat Paraguay 4-1, the agency reported that fare gate taps at the Expo/USC station were up nearly 600% compared to an average day.

Alicia Greene took Metrolink and Metro to the Fan Fest from Anaheim and was enthusiastic about the journey.

"The Metro system is awesome," she said. "It couldn't be easier."

Angelenos packed trains in Koreatown last week when South Korea and Mexico played each other in a highly anticipated match. Ridership on the newly extended D Line was up more than 95%.

"While we were laser-focused on the stadium, something else was rising across town," Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins wrote in a blog post. "In Koreatown, thousandsof fans poured onto our rail lines at key stations like Wilshire/Western and Wilshire Normandie and into the streets to watch the Mexico-South Korea rematch."

The World Cup is considered a test run for public transit before the 2028 Olympics, and it's not over yet. The next game in Los Angeles is Thursday, when the U.S. plays Turkey at 7 p.m.

Kavish Harjai, Destiny Torres and Matt Ballinger contributed to this report.

The Los Angeles Unified School Board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a nearly $21 billion spending plan for the next school year.

The budget includes raises, class size reductions and increased mental health support that are part of new contracts with the district’s largest labor unions.

There is also nearly $5 billion in school construction and renovation projects, which are funded by voter-approved bonds — that money cannot be shifted to pay for salaries or other school needs.

LAUSD’s budget next year exceeds expected revenue by $2 billion. The district will, for the third consecutive year, pay the difference with reserves.

However, district staff say by the 2028-29 school year, the budget deficit will grow to $3.6 billion. The board recently approved a fiscal stabilization plan to solve the deficit — but which will likely result in the elimination of thousands of jobs.

The board’s meeting begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday and will stream online.