Access to education can open a door. Sustained support can help a student make it all the way through.
That distinction is at the heart of the new People’s Self Help Housing Scholarship Fund, established in partnership with the Emily & Dene Hurlbert Trust, People’s Self Help Housing, and The Community Foundation San Luis Obispo County.
Education has long been important to Dene Hurlbert and his late wife, Emily. Together, they believed that financial circumstances should not determine a person’s ability to learn, grow, and build a more secure future.
Today, through the Emily & Dene Hurlbert Trust, Dene is carrying that shared belief forward by investing in students who may face significant barriers to higher education.
Supporting Students Through Completion
The scholarship will support residents of People’s Self Help Housing communities and participants in its education programs who are pursuing college, vocational training, or workforce reentry, with a particular emphasis on first generation college students.
Importantly, the scholarship is designed to provide multi year support.
For students navigating tuition, books, transportation, housing, and other expenses, receiving a scholarship for one year can make college possible. Knowing support can continue as they progress toward a degree or credential can provide greater stability and help students remain focused on completion.
As Itzelt Santos, Senior Education Manager at People’s Self Help Housing, explains:
“For students living in our affordable housing communities, higher education carries significant financial barriers, but thanks to Dene’s support, our students will have the chance to succeed. Scholarships help first generation students stay enrolled, persist toward graduation, and step into their careers with little or no student loan debt. That solid financial foundation opens the door to long term stability and success.”
The goal is not simply to help students enroll. It is to help position them to persist, graduate, and move into their careers with a stronger financial foundation.
A Collaborative Approach to Student Success
The fund was also designed around another important idea: financial assistance is most effective when students have the support to navigate the journey ahead.
Each partner brings a distinct strength.
Through the Emily & Dene Hurlbert Trust, Dene provided the vision and initial investment. The Community Foundation will administer the scholarship and steward the fund over time. People’s Self Help Housing will identify eligible students and provide educational navigation and support, drawing on the relationships it has already built with residents and students.
Together, the partners can offer something more comprehensive than financial assistance alone: scholarship support paired with people who understand the students, their goals, and the barriers they may encounter along the way.
An Investment Others Can Build Upon
Dene seeded the fund with a larger vision: to create a scholarship others can invest in alongside him, expanding the number of students who can receive sustained support over time.
Each additional contribution can help extend that opportunity to another student and strengthen a resource designed to grow with the community.
It is a meaningful way to carry forward something Emily and Dene believed in together while inviting others to share in that vision.
A scholarship can help make education accessible. Multi year support, trusted guidance, and a community invested in a student’s success can help turn that opportunity into a degree, credential, career, and greater economic stability.
