Warrior closet opens its doors again

A+screenshot+of+a+flier+found+on+the+El+Camino+College+website+promoting+the+grand+reopening+of+the+Warrior+Closet+center.+%28Delfino+Camacho+%7C+The+Union%29

A screenshot of a flier found on the El Camino College website promoting the grand reopening of the Warrior Closet center. (Delfino Camacho | The Union)

After closing its doors due to COVID-19, the Warrior Closet is reopening this Tuesday, April 5 at its new permanent location at MMBM 130 on the El Camino College Campus.

The program offers free clothes and accessories to any student currently enrolled at El Camino College.

The Warrior Closet, a related program on campus, will be located right behind the Warrior Pantry which offers free food to El Camino students. The two centers will work in conjunction with one another and both share the same hours of operation, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Warrior Closet will be open for the remainder of this semester as well as for the summer semester but will be closed for spring break.

Financial aid advisor and homeless and foster youth liaison Sharonda Barksdale first organized the Warrior Closet after hearing from many of the homeless students she works with that they did not have clothes for job interviews.

The center has moved beyond just providing professional attire and now offers clothes of all types for students and even their families.

“If you can come to the closet because you need a pair of tennis shoes, and we have that, then that’s one less thing students have to worry about,” Barksdale said.

Currently, the Warrior Closet is not accepting donations due to a surplus of available clothing, the center estimates it will begin accepting donations again by June.