Resources at Concordia for students, by students

A breakdown of what you need to take advantage of this semester

NewsJainam Shah — Published September 3, 2024 3 minutes

The People’s Potato

The People’s Potato is a vegan soup kitchen at Concordia that offers free meals to community members during the fall and winter semesters, Monday to Thursday, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. To access the free lunch, students can line up outside their office on the seventh floor of the Henry F. Hall Building with their own containers and cutlery. The People’s Potato also provides community members with a bi-weekly food bank and emergency food baskets, with food donated by Moisson Montréal.

Concordia Students’ Nightline

The Concordia Students’ Nightline is a non-judgemental active listening service that connects callers with trained student volunteers. People can call the nightline for many different reasons: from talking about their day, to personal problems or just simply getting something off their chest. Callers can maintain anonymity and feel confident knowing that volunteers will keep the information they share confidential as far as they can by law. The nightline is open Wednesday to Saturday, from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., and can be reached at 514-848-7787.

The Housing and Job Resource Centre

The Concordia Student Union (CSU) Off-Campus Housing and Job Resource Centre (HOJO) is a resource helping students with their employment and housing needs. The centre offers a free platform to help students find rooms and apartments for rent, match with roommates, and buy or sell second-hand items ranging from furniture to books. The website also has various job listings to help students find employment both on and off campus. Additionally, HOJO provides legal information to students with housing or employment questions through in-person meetings at their offices on both campuses and at workshops. You can visit HOJO located inside the Hall building, room H-224.

The Student Advocacy Centre

The CSU Advocacy Centre is a service that aims to promote the rights of undergraduate students by matching them with a student advocate. Students who are accused of academic misconduct or have any other issues regarding Concordia’s Academic Code of Conduct and the Code of Rights and Responsibilities can receive help for free. Student advocates can also help students prepare for disciplinary hearings, file requests for grade re-evaluations and give them possible courses of action to help them through difficult situations. The centre is located on the second floor of the Henry F. Hall Building. 

The Centre for Gender Advocacy

The Centre for Gender Advocacy is an organization that aims to promote gender equality and self-determination, with a focus on empowering marginalized communities. The Centre provides free harm reduction materials including safe sex supplies, needles, naloxone kits and menstrual products as well as gender-affirming gear such as binders and gaffs on a pay-what-you-can basis. Students can access the materials and gear at the office located at 2110 Mackay St. on the first floor. The Centre also provides peer support drop-ins and a legal name and gender marker change service for students.

This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 1, published September 3, 2024.