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stephanie
03-30-2008, 02:02 PM
Seek to raise awareness of homelessness
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Stang students set up their cardboard-box shelters Saturday for a chilly
night under the stars to raise awareness of homelessness.

DAVID W. OLIVEIRA/Standard-Times special
By Jennifer Lade
Standard-Times staff writer
March 30, 2008 6:00 AM
DARTMOUTH — It's 6 p.m. on a Saturday night. The temperature is hovering in the 30s, and the wind whips across the unprotected athletic fields at Bishop Stang High School. There are no sporting events going on, save some pickup football and a game that involves throwing washers into a hole. But more than 100 students, dressed in bulky layers, have congregated on the field, amid rows of cardboard boxes covered in tarps.

They are about to start their night in Cardboard Tent City.

Stang students are homeless for the nightArea bankruptcies on the riseLight at the end of the tunnelDeath NoticesOverride to be decided TuesdayEaster eggs foundThree contested races in Dartmouth They are allowed a box, a tarp, a pillow, a blanket and a sleeping bag. They can't make any trips back to their cars — everything has to be carried in at once.

Junior Kelsey Collette runs through the list of what's not allowed.

"Cell phones, iPods, food. All we're allowed to have is the clothes on our backs."

Adds junior Sean Racine, "It's really humbling from what I've seen so far."

The Homeless Awareness program is in its third year at the Catholic high school. The purpose is to heighten students' awareness of the plight of the homeless and help raise money for Catholic Social Services, which supports homeless shelters in Greater New Bedford and Fall River. Each student is required to raise at least $50 toward the cause, though many exceed that amount, said organizer Sarah Sahm, an English and religion teacher at the school.

It also helps juniors and seniors log community service hours, which are a requirement for graduation. The school helps the students with the requirement, offering 12 to 15 events throughout the school year.

"This is the option for the tough ones," said Jackie McCarthy, a Spanish and French teacher at the school who helped to organize the event.

Ms. Sahm said students and faculty understand that the event, which lasts about 15 hours, can't compare to what homeless people have to face daily. But students can still get something out of the experience.

"It's just more to raise awareness of (homelessness) and to suffer a little bit," she said.


read the rest..
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080330/NEWS/803300363/-1/news

avatar4321
03-30-2008, 05:31 PM
how exactly does pretending to be homeless for a night help the homeless people?

Let's say their stated goal worked. That more people were aware of the homeless. Okay so what? How has that helped the homeless?

We don't need students pretending to be homeless to bring awareness to the problem of homeless people. Everyone knows there are homeless people. We need people who are willing to reach out and help these homeless people get homes and the help they need.

Maybe we could set up a program for the homeless like foster care. have people help get them back on their feet till they can accomplish it on their own. I don't know. But it would be a heck of a lot more effective than sleeping in cardboard boxes for the night.

It's time people stopped pretending to feel like they were doing something and actually did something.

gabosaurus
03-30-2008, 07:48 PM
Rich, privileged kids pretending to be poor kids NEVER works. Especially in a situation like this.
There was a similar situation in Chicago a few years ago. Two groups of kids from affluent schools decided they were going to "live on the streets" for a weekend. It was a farce because (a) they had police watching them at all times and (b) they were allowed to leave to use the bathroom and have people deliver them food.

A homeless advocate group asked the group to spend the weekend under a bridge, with no outside support. To find out how the homeless really lived. The school refused, citing "liability issues."

Dilloduck
03-30-2008, 07:53 PM
Rich, privileged kids pretending to be poor kids NEVER works. Especially in a situation like this.
There was a similar situation in Chicago a few years ago. Two groups of kids from affluent schools decided they were going to "live on the streets" for a weekend. It was a farce because (a) they had police watching them at all times and (b) they were allowed to leave to use the bathroom and have people deliver them food.

A homeless advocate group asked the group to spend the weekend under a bridge, with no outside support. To find out how the homeless really lived. The school refused, citing "liability issues."

Rich priviledged kids often run into the same problem when they enter the "helping" profession.

gabosaurus
03-30-2008, 07:54 PM
I was never rich or privileged.

Kathianne
03-30-2008, 07:55 PM
Rich, privileged kids pretending to be poor kids NEVER works. Especially in a situation like this.
There was a similar situation in Chicago a few years ago. Two groups of kids from affluent schools decided they were going to "live on the streets" for a weekend. It was a farce because (a) they had police watching them at all times and (b) they were allowed to leave to use the bathroom and have people deliver them food.

A homeless advocate group asked the group to spend the weekend under a bridge, with no outside support. To find out how the homeless really lived. The school refused, citing "liability issues."

Chicago kids have several examples of 'leaders' doing such. One was Walter Jacobson, who was an influential anchor at local CBS affiliate with Bill Kurtis, (Discovery):

http://cbs2chicago.com/vault/Mean.Street.Diaries.2.338877.html


Mean Street Diary: Living Homeless
Former CBS 2 Anchorman Walter Jacobson Spent 48 Hours On The Streets In 1991

Then there was Jane Byrd, mayor of Chicago:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:63sXE8py7DoJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrini-Green+jane+byrd+cabrini+green&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a


...In an effort to demonstrate a commitment to making the complex safer, then Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne moved into a fourth-floor apartment in 1981. Backed by police and a personal bodyguard detail, she stayed for three weeks. This incident, too, contributed to public perception of Cabrini-Green as the worst of the worst of public housing...

gabosaurus
03-30-2008, 08:06 PM
Jane Byrne is one of my heroes. She lived in one of the country's worst housing projects with no bodyguard in her living space. Her personal bodyguard lived close, as were police. But Byrne went out on her own every day, meeting with residents and addressing their complaints.

If you want to live on the streets, do the real thing. Don't just treat it as a camping trip where you can leave whenever you want.

A church group comprised primarily of kids from the high school that my cousin Dahlia attended went to Guatemala on a mission trip, despite having been told that their safety could not be guaranteed. The only trouble they had in two weeks was a raid on their village by a rebel group, where they had to hide from a gun battle.

Kathianne
03-30-2008, 08:13 PM
Jane Byrne is one of my heroes. She lived in one of the country's worst housing projects with no bodyguard in her living space. Her personal bodyguard lived close, as were police. But Byrne went out on her own every day, meeting with residents and addressing their complaints.

If you want to live on the streets, do the real thing. Don't just treat it as a camping trip where you can leave whenever you want.

A church group comprised primarily of kids from the high school that my cousin Dahlia attended went to Guatemala on a mission trip, despite having been told that their safety could not be guaranteed. The only trouble they had in two weeks was a raid on their village by a rebel group, where they had to hide from a gun battle.

Gabby, Jane had armed body guards with her, what are you talking about? It was a joke and laughed at by residents, voters, and suburbanites. Give me a break.

gabosaurus
03-30-2008, 08:16 PM
Oh well, I probably read an embellished story someplace a while back. I need to go back and read about the whole thing again.
Thanks for the tip. :)

Kathianne
03-30-2008, 08:21 PM
Oh well, I probably read an embellished story someplace a while back. I need to go back and read about the whole thing again.
Thanks for the tip. :)

NP

Dilloduck
03-30-2008, 08:55 PM
I was never rich or privileged.

Cool--I hope they teach you something about it.