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Homeless Awareness Week shows students 42 hours in the life

Published on October 20, 2009 by Caitlyn Newmeyer

Students participated in a sleep-out and attended a conference during Homeless Awareness Week (HAW) Oct. 12-17.

A student huddles in her temporary cardboard home during the Homeless Awareness Week sleep-out last week. Participants spent 42 hours living outside in order to experience what the homeless endure daily. Students also attended a conference featuring speaker Liz Murray. Photo by Karlee Gonzalez.

The sleep-out took place in the areas between the Pilcher, Social Sciences, Public Safety and Technology Annex Buildings and allowed participants to act as homeless people forced to find food and shelter.

Participants were given a 42-hour period to sleep, eat and live outside as if they were homeless. They brought cardboard boxes for shelter and used sleeping bags and newspaper for warmth.

Student Cindy Brower said she encountered rain, hunger and cold throughout the sleep-out.

“It’s definitely a worthwhile experience. It’s kind of a taste of the life that other people live every single day,” said Brower.

Many homeless individuals retain their academic, family and work responsibilities despite being homeless, so participants were expected to do the same throughout their experience in order to understand what life is really like for a homeless person.

Items that many homeless people live without, such as cell phones, laptops and iPods, were prohibited during the sleep-out.

Lana Wachniak, associate dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said the event allowed students to better understand homelessness.

“I think it’s important because we can talk about homelessness, but students don’t get a sense of what that experience is,” said Wachniak. “Although we don’t believe students will suddenly understand everything, we know that they will get a sense of invisibility, hardship and fear.”

Several mock trials were also staged during the sleep-out to give students an idea of how homeless persons are treated in the judicial system. People played the role of police officers, attorneys and criminals.

Students were charged, tried and sentenced with realistic crimes such as illegal gathering, trespassing and illegal drugs.

Organizations and speakers came to educate and engage participants about homelessness during the conference Monday, Oct. 12.

The conference included speakers from organizations such as Salvation Army, the Mayor’s Office of the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Urban Ministries and United Way.

Speakers covered topics such as substance abuse and mental illness among homeless persons. Others focused on making positive changes for the homeless.

Speaker Liz Murray gave listeners a perspective on homelessness through her personal experiences. Murray was homeless at 15. The Emmy-nominated Lifetime Television movie “Homeless to Harvard” is based on Murray’s story.

While living on the streets in New York, she finished high school and received a New York Times scholarship. Murray received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard in 2008 and continues to educate others about homelessness.

“Her story, even in the light of never facing homelessness myself, truly gave an inspiring and emotional view of the issue of homelessness that can easily be understood by any walk of life,” said participant Joseph Gonsalves.