PEMBROKE — Members of the Lumbee Tribe planning to attend college can now get some help paying for housing.
Bradley Locklear, tribal Housing director, said often members of the tribe who attend college cannot afford to live in a dormitory or rent an apartment close to campus, so they commute.
“They go to their class then go and sit in their car, then go to their next class and then go home,” he said. “That’s not college and they would have a much better experience if they were able to get more involved.”
So after two years of work and research, the Lumbee Tribe unveiled its Student Housing Voucher Program on Monday morning at Pembroke Boys and Girls Club. Representatives from area universities and high schools, and tribal leaders were present to hear about the program.
The tribe was able to allocate federal funds it receives to provide 50 college students with a $300-a-month voucher per semester to help pay for housing on or off campus. The program begins for the spring semester.
Lumbee Tribe Chairman Harvey Godwin Jr. said that along with an education, Lumbee students need to experience life on campus.
“The Lumbee student has to exert their voice on campus,” Godwin said. “Their voice needs to be heard and their story needs to be told.”
Applicants must be planning to attend or are currently attending The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Fayetteville State University, Methodist University or St. Andrews University to be eligible.
Applicants also must be enrolled tribal members, have a household income below 80 percent of the national median income and live in Robeson, Hoke, Scotland or Cumberland counties. Enrolled applicants must be full-time students pursuing a degree and have a 3.0 GPA and upon acceptance maintain a 2.5 GPA or higher.
Along with maintaining their grades, recipients also must commit to 20 hours of community service per semester within the Lumbee Tribe. Students who do not maintain one or all of the requirements could become ineligible for the voucher for the following semester and the voucher be given to another students.
Dr. Robin Cummings, UNCP chancellor, said the biggest problem students have to deal with after college is student debt.
“Students are graduating from four-year institutions $25,000 to $30,000 in debt on average,” Cummings said. “This will help change that. I’d love to see a student graduate without the student debt related to housing.”
Godwin believes the program is an investment in the future of the tribe.
“We need that brain power to come back and solve the big problems we have,” he said.
Denise Cooper, an Indian Education coordinator who works in the Scotland County schools system, was one of several coordinators in attendance Monday representing the counties in which tribal members live.
“I’m going to look up my former students (who are in college) and call them and let them come in and fill out an application,” she said. “Our county is a low-wealth community and all of our students need this very badly.”
Voucher program applications will be available Wednesday at Lumbee Tribe headquarters, 6984 N.C. 711 West in Pembroke. Contact Janice Locklear at 910-522-5161 or visit the tribal website at www.lumbeetribe.com for more information.
