Dan DaranciangThe homelessness rate in St. Louis far exceeds that of the rest of the country – and now, for the first time, Washington University students are banding together to fight this problem.
The new Homelessness Awareness Week, beginning today and running through Friday, will bring together many campus organizations to increase students’ knowledge about the homelessness epidemic in the city they call home.
As the city of St. Louis’ Web site notes, “National statistics on homelessness indicate that families comprise the fastest growing group of homeless persons across America today.”
Junior Luz Silverio, a member of Helping Hands, an organization that tries to foster relationships between Washington University and the homeless, said that the St. Louis homelessness rate stands at approximately six percent. The rest of the country has a one percent homeless population, said Silverio.
“We aren’t too much better or worse than the rest of the country; that doesn’t mean the problem isn’t bad and it’s continually getting worse” said junior Lorin Kline, a member of the Alliance of Students Against Poverty (ASAP), an organization that unites the efforts of groups around campus.
Helping Hands and ASAP are two of many organizations helping out around campus and the surrounding community for Homeless Awareness Week.
Other organizations, including Stone Soup, First Watch and Feed St. Louis, have been involved with the organization and execution of this week.
Homelessness Awareness Week will begin today and Tuesday with Lay Out, where volunteers stationed at two sites on campus will be soliciting donations and handing out information. The week will continue with other events, including as a showing of “The Fisher King,” a film about a radio DJ who helps a homeless man he unknowingly victimized.
On Thursday, speaker Tyrone Darris, who has worked with the homeless through St. Patrick’s Center, will give a lecture in Prince Hall.
A service project will also take place Friday, followed with the week’s culmination on Saturday in the Hunger Banquet. Although not much information can be disclosed about this banquet, Silverio said “it will open your eyes socially, and show a lot about world poverty and hunger.”
This week is National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week across the country, and many other universities are participating as well.
“I think it’s really exciting that this is our big opportunity to be part of the national beat,” said Kline.
According to Kline, the ideas for the event began after students attended a national conference this past summer.
“We were able to talk to people who ran groups on campuses all over the country. It seemed like all campuses have a few groups that are similar to ours, [and] a lot of campuses hold a homeless awareness week” said Kline.
St. Louis in particular has recently stood out from the rest of the nation in addressing its homeless problems, as the St. Louis homeless community recently won a case against the St. Louis police department. According to information on the American Civil Liberties Union’s Web site, a suit was filed against the police department on Sept. 17, 2004 alleging that the police have unfairly and unjustly tried to remove members of the homeless community for no reason.
Complainants alleged that police arrested and held the homeless without any accusations of a crime committed, and verbally and physically abused them with such actions as throwing fireworks at them, racial slurs and taking their food.
The homeless situation has also gotten a lot worse over the past few years.
“Things have been getting worse since the 1980s, and still getting worse in many different respects,” said Kline.
Many factors have contributed to this increase, “housing prices, space in shelters, there are so many different things that contribute to the problem,” said Kline.
Although many of the efforts around campus will attempt to help the homeless in a short term way by trying to feed and clothe them, many efforts are also beginning, especially this week, to try and help in the long term.
“We want ASAP to do some advocacy type things to advocate policy that will try and help homeless in the long run,” said Kline.
Some of this week’s efforts will be geared towards initiating such long term projects.
In addition to the main events planned, groups will be tabling to encourage students to write letters to representatives about pieces of legislation currently in Congress, thereby “making more of a permanent long term difference,” said Kline.
All of the money raised this week will go to a homeless shelter in St. Louis.