Street Scholars / COSER | Merritt College

At Merritt College, the Street Scholars offers a peer-mentoring and student services support program focused on the overall success of formerly incarcerated and systems-impacted students. Street Scholars was designed with the input of the same students it endeavors to serve and ran by alumni that have benefited from its services. Street Scholars direct and facilitate our one-on-one and group mentoring processes, ensuring that formerly incarcerated and systems-impacted people are understood and supported throughout their reentry and reintegration, experience.

Street Scholars serves people enrolled at Merritt College (or one of the other three Peralta Colleges) who have been impacted by systems either through their own police contact or due to a loved one’s ongoing involvement with the justice system and are facing challenges achieving long-term stability in their community. There is no minimum term or length of time that a person must have negative involvement with the justice system to get support.

Street Scholars’ impact in the academic community goes beyond its role as mentors, role models, and academic support specialists to Merritt College’s formerly incarcerated and systems impacted students. Since 2012, Street Scholars has participated as guest lecturers and content experts on perception and implicit bias with USF’s Master of Public Health and Nursing Programs.

Founded by the late COSER Professor Ron Moss, the Street Scholars continue to advocate for people who historically have been disregarded.