The cognitive resources for learning of many children and adults, including our students and ourselves, are being diminished by the negative effects of persistent poverty and economic insecurity, and discrimination and hostility against some groups based on race, class, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity, and other aspects of difference. Members of these groups systematically experience conditions in their lives that result in chronic stress and, therefore, decreased physical and mental health. The costs of the many kinds of scarcity – belonging, money, health, respect, safety, affirmation, choices, – is seriously reduced “mental bandwidth,” the cognitive and emotional resources needed for making good decisions, learning, healthy relationships, and more. In addition to the daytoday stresses mentioned above, we also recognize that increasing economic inequality and adverse childhood experiences contribute to bandwidth depletion, leaving people less able to function at their full potential. This understanding changes the question from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” or “What is happening to you?” There things we can do on our campuses and in our classrooms to help students (and ourselves) regain the bandwidth we all need not only to survive but to thrive?