For students experiencing housing insecurity while attending the University of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, the Dax House program is a safe haven.
The Dax House program in NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and St. Louis serves BIPOC women, ages 18-24, who are low-income, first-generation college attendees. They pay just $250 per month for housing and other support services that allow them to stay in school.
In addition to UMSV, New York City has 17 Dax House beds across four locations in Queens. The program aims to expand to 50 or 60 beds in New York City this fall and currently supports 113 students nationwide.
Housing insecurity is an often unseen issue on college campuses, and UMSV is no exception, according to Gabrielle Occhiogrosso, vice provost and dean of the undergraduate college.
Over her 12 years at UMSV, she said she’s seen an increasing number of incoming and current students facing conditions that make it difficult to remain focused on school.
A Hope Center study found that in 2023-24, 14% of college students experienced homelessness and 48% experienced housing insecurity.
For Occhiogrosso, the school’s partnership with the nonprofit Depaul USA and Our Sisters of Charity housing corporation to offer Dax House was “meant to be” and gives students “a safe place to land, a comfortable place to be, food, housing and [the ability] to continue college.”
Dax House opened on the UMSV campus in August 2024 and houses eight students, either upper class or very recent graduates.
Students are nominated for the program and undergo interviews to assess their readiness for living at Dax House. For those who are chosen, the opportunity can be transformative.
Whether they’re still in school or just graduated, “It’s a tough transition for any student who has all the networks possible. So the fact that there’s this support, I’m very proud to even be a very small piece of it,” Occhiogrosso said.
While some stay only a few months, Dax House helps them stabilize and prepare to move onwards and upwards, Occhiogrosso said.
Dax House residents have gone on to successful careers. For instance, one became a pediatric nurse and one was living at Dax House while working on her MBA degree. But success also simply means “they don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, if they’re going to have a bed to sleep in, or a safe place to be.”
Occhiogrosso described the house itself as a “beautiful, beautiful space” on the first floor of Rosary Hall on Founders Road. Students live in private rooms and share common spaces overlooking the Hudson River. They’re also supported by a case manager who helps them get set up with health insurance, food benefits, jobs, post-college apartments and other needs.
For school leaders, Dax House is “completely and utterly tied into the mission” of compassion for those in need and promoting upward mobility, Occhiogrosso said. “The work we do is so important and rewarding.”
Current Dax House resident Grace Pavlock earned an associate’s degree in her home state of Texas but needed a fresh start. She wanted to attend a four-year college but had trouble even applying for financial aid, since she had to prove that she’d never lived with her stepfather and mother, who served time in prison, and was entirely raised by her low-income grandparents. Throughout high school, Pavlock worked two jobs and struggled to support herself, she told the Bronx Times.
She’d never heard of UMSV but saw a random ad and decided to apply. After she was admitted, UMSV became her top choice, but even a relatively generous financial aid package didn’t cover all her expenses at a school where housing alone runs $15,600 per year.
“I was like, I still don’t know how I’m gonna pull this off,” Pavlock said. She assumed she would have to continue to constantly work while in college — or perhaps have to give up attending at all.
When she got a call from Dax House, it sounded too good to be true, and Pavlock said she thought it was a scam. Even after researching the program and being told she was a strong candidate, she thought there was no way she could attend the school and live in New York City for $250 per month.
“I have no other option than to rely on this woman’s word from New York,” she thought, but at the same time, “I literally have nowhere else to go.”
Before long, she flew to New York and landed at Dax House on the idyllic Riverdale campus, and all her worries melted away.
“I have never been in a more quiet place in my life,” Pavlock said. “When I first got here, I just sat on the bed for, like, an hour, in disbelief, because it didn’t feel real.”
Pavlock, who is studying public policy and communications, quickly became one of the most active students on campus — all because she was finally free to participate in student life.
She works a part-time campus job and has not only membership but leadership roles in five groups — Pre-Law Club, Queer-Straight Alliance, Model United Nations, Campus Activities Board, and she’s the senator for the Class of 2027. All this experience is not only fun but helps her build connections to benefit her future, she said.
“That is specifically because of my housing,” Pavlock said. Without Dax House, “I wouldn’t even have a resume. I wouldn’t have anything except a job at McDonald’s, I kid you not.”
Though she now shoulders a heavy workload, it’s easy compared to an unstable home life and constantly working to pay the bills.
“Everyone’s like, You’re doing too much,’ and I’m like, ‘Girl, this is doing minimal,’” Pavlock said.
Even better, Dax House turned out to be not just an inexpensive place to live but a tight-knit community of young women who cook and eat together and go out as “one ginormous friend group,” according to Pavlock.
All that support from her new friends and case manager has helped Pavlock flourish on campus to the point where even the UMSV president knows and praises her by name. “She would’ve never known who I was, were it not for my housing.”
Pavlock said that Dax House has opened up new possibilities for her life as a student and young professional, far away from the drama of her upbringing.
Without Dax House, “I would’ve been working 40 hours a week to make as much as I possibly can to pay tuition,” she said. “Getting a chance to step back for once in my life … it’s a dream.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
