WESTWOOD, Calif. — College is typically filled with new experiences like meeting new people. That was certainly the case for Jose Alvarez-Castillo, who is also the first in his family to go to college.

“My family immigrated from El Salvador to Mexico, [to] here,” he explained. “My mom doesn’t speak English so I was really the first to leave the nest and come out here.”

Alvarez-Castillo is heading into his fourth year at UCLA. His mom cleans houses, and his stepdad is a landscaper. He thought he would follow a similar path until his high school teachers convinced him otherwise.

“It wasn’t until I focused a bit more on school and I realized these teachers were making a difference in my life, and I wanted to be that exact same change, Alvarez-Castillo said.

He wants to be a teacher one day, but right now, his focus is coming up with enough money to pay rent and buy groceries.

He lives with seven other first-generation students in a three-bedroom apartment in Westwood. His share of the rent is $800. He lost both of his on-campus jobs in March and six of his roommates lost their jobs, too.

Alvarez-Castillo said unemployment benefits helped him cover rent after the pandemic started, especially the $600 weekly boost given at the end of March, but which expired at the end of July.

California recently got a boost in federal funds for expanded unemployment benefits that will provide $300 per week starting the second week of September, but it’s only short-term relief. The payments are guaranteed to last three weeks and after that, it’s dependent on federal funding.

He worries about how he will pay to cover his living expenses for months to come, and the thought of eviction always looms in his mind. Asking his mom for help isn’t an option either.

“She doesn’t make enough to support herself and me here, which why I’ve always worked as soon as I got to school,” he said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed an eviction moratorium extension for five months. It protects tenants who pay at least 25 percent of their rent from eviction.

Those who don’t meet the minimum rent payment could be evicted starting February 1. Even with those extended protections, Alvarez-Castillo still worries about what will happen in the months to come, and he’s not alone in his struggle.

A recent study from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs shows 365,000 households cannot pay rent and are at risk of eviction. The study also warns of waves of evictions across Los Angeles as a result of the pandemic.  

Roland Palencia, the community benefits director with L.A. Care Health Plan, said to help prevent mass evictions, he’s urging at-risk tenants to seek legal advice now. 

“Legal representation by itself might be a deterrent for many landlords because they know that that person is not unprotected,” he said.

L.A. Care Health Plan serves over two million low-income residents and families, many of them possibly facing eviction. Due to the increased number of people facing homelessness, the organization already contributed $750,000 to six legal aid agencies standing ready to defend them.

The prospect of ending up on the streets weighs heavy on Alvarez-Castillo because he doesn’t know where else he would go.

“I would probably have to use squatter’s rights or try to rely on a tenant’s union or something like that,” he said. “It’s definitely scary in every single way.”