photo credit: Shandra Back
The Clothing Closet at the El Molino Campus.

More than half of students in Sonoma County public schools meet the state’s criteria for economic disadvantage, according to state data. At the West Sonoma County Union High School District, one campus is supporting teens by turning a classroom into a free clothing store.

At the El Molino campus — home to Laguna High School and the Academy of Innovative Arts — students file in during lunch to a room filled with pop music, clothing racks and stickered mirrors. It’s known as the Clothing Closet, where students can browse jeans, jewelry, shoes and more, and take what they want for free.

“It’s pretty cool," said freshman Mina Wilmarth. "It’s bright, it’s clean and they got some nice styles here, There are a lot of different clothes and you can take as many as you want, so if your parents don't buy you clothes a lot, then this is a great option.”

Senior Yahel Leon said the closet offers items students often struggle to afford.

“If people can't afford bras, we have bras here, which are very cute. Name brands as well,” Leon said. “I feel like people would feel better. Especially girls, if they have a nice bra and they feel supported.”

Clothing giveaways aren’t new — traveling trailers stocked with secondhand clothing visit schools across the state. But while they meet the need, they don’t always appeal to teenagers. The West County High Clothing Closet takes a different approach.

“I select every piece that goes in here. Every piece. And I wash it, dry it, alter it,” said volunteer Jennifer Roventini, who runs the closet. She got involved after hearing a student presentation at a school board meeting about five years ago.

“They were talking about the all‑around need in every aspect. Some students were couch‑surfing, didn’t have a place to call home,” she said.

Some students also needed clothes. Roventini brought in piles of her own kids’ clothing and found the school’s original closet was a dusty room with clothing stacked in piles.

“And as soon as I walked in, I said, ‘I’m in. I’ll do this,’” Roventini said.

Roventini now runs the space like a boutique. She curates donations, sending more than half of all items to other charities.

“We don’t want it to look like a second‑hand store. We want it to look like a carefully curated boutique just for them with nothing wrinkled, nothing missing a button,” Roventini said.

She stages the room like a teenager’s bedroom, with stickers on mirrors, broken skateboards and band posters decorating the walls. Roventini says the goal is not only to meet the need for clothes but to help students express their style and build confidence.

“And I think that it really just helps with their overall outlook,” she said.

At her first “grand opening” in 2024, Roventini realized how strong the demand was.

“And I counted the hangers. In just a half‑hour lunch period, almost 200 empty hangers,” she said, laughing. “It was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have to pull this off every Wednesday!’”

On a recent Friday, senior Scarlett Peralta browsed cosmetics. Peralta says she visits every time the closet opens.

“I do. I come every time it’s open,” she said. Peralta, who has bubblegum‑colored hair and patterned acrylic nails to match, said she likes to check for new items. “I seen new stuff and I was like okay I have to be like one of the first people in here.”

She especially likes the blankets she’s picked up. “Like during the winter time they had cute Christmas-y blankets,” she said.

Many students say the closet helps them stay warm in colder months. Freshman Marley Lindsay said the jacket he was wearing came from the closet.

“I don't have many jackets and hoodies, so it's good just to come and grab one,” he said.

Roventini said the district is expanding the Clothing Closet and plans to bring it back to the Analy campus in Sebastopol soon. That means more laundry, more donations and more weekly prep — but she says it’s a worthy cause.