iVoLume XX, NuMbER 4
Sleep Out For the
jHomeless: It’s More
Than Just Spare
Change!
By
'-i Modestine Welch
Statistics tell us that on any
given night about 750,000
(Americans will be without
shelter. The problem of hunger
and homelessness is a very
serious issue throughout the
United States of America
and beyond. According to
the United States Housing
land Urban Development, a
homeless person is an individual
or family who lacks a fixed,
regular and adequate form of
jhousing. Every year the week
’^of November 14-19 is set aside
'\D observe National Hunger and
i Homelessness Awareness. On
Friday, November 19, 2004 the
members of Phi Beta Sigma
Fraternity, Inc. & Zeta Phi Beta
Sorority, Inc. gave the students,
faculty, staff and surrounding
Wesleyan community an
opportunity to gain first hand
experience of being without a
home in their first annual Sleep
I out for the Homeless.
'a
»
(Several students were very
interested in the Sleep out for
5 the Homeless but they could not
actually believe that we were
going to really sleep outside.
They asked us questions like:
Are there going to be real
homeless people around you?
What are you going to do if you
get hungry? How are you going
to wash your hands, and use
I the bathroom? Our response to
them was, yes we will actually
go to sleep outside for the
homeless, but we also don’t have
the answers to every question.
However, neither did those men,
women and children on the first
night they realized that they
were homeless and going to be
outside for more than one night.
In preparation for this event we
invited the Executive Director
of the Rocky Mount Bassett
Center, Mr. Chris Battle, out to
the campus to speak to us about
the Homeless and Hunger Crisis
and Campaign in the United
States and the Rocky Mount
Community. Mr. Battle explained
to us that homelessness does
not affect just a particular type
of people. Homelessness can
happen to anyone, educated,
uneducated, women, men,
boys and girls. After Mr. Battle
spoke, Ms. Debra Armstrong, an
employee of the Bassett Center
who was previously homeless,
spoke to the organizations
and everyone who attended
the program before the actual
sleep out took place. Once Mr.
Battle and Ms. Armstrong were
finished with their presentations
about homelessness, we started
preparing ourselves to be outside
for the duration of the night.
There are thousands of men,
women and children who are
homeless and the reality of
the situation is that you can’t
prepare yourself for this type of
experience, no matter how you
try. Walking outside we noticed
that it was very damp, cold, and
the ground felt harder than ever
before. It was within the first
hour of being homeless that we
gained a greater understanding
of what being homeless meant,
but the night was just getting
started. The night seemed extra
quiet and the sky extra cloudy,
which kept me from at least
having the stars to count, which
could occupy my mind. Initially,
I was left to sit on the ground,
which led to my feet, legs and
butt becoming numb, and
having poor circulation. Having
only cardboard boxes to sleep
in, and on, the members of Phi
Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta
diligently worked on creating what
would be their beds and shelter
for the night. While putting the
shelters together some people
became very territorial, working
fast so that no one could steal
any of their supplies.
As the shelters were being
built I found myself thinking
about why I was participating in
this event. My mind became
consumed with the facts of the
event. I tried to prepare for this
night by reminding myself that
this is the lifestyle thousands
of people experience daily,
weekly, monthly, yearly. Before
falling asleep I saw several
students walking past our
location looking, pointing, and
whispering. At that moment like
never before I understood how
heart breaking and hurtful the
ignorance of people can make
another person feel. Instantly,
my mind went back to my days
as a little girl between the age of
7-10 when I would walk from one
building to another with my mom
in downtown Washington D.C.
My mother always told me not to
stare, not to point, but as a child
it was rather ovenA/helming to
see people living on the street.
As I became older I understood
the homelessness crisis in this
country and I no longer wanted
to point, stare or whisper.
As my body temperature
decreased I found myself
wanting to lie down. Although
I knew what participating in this
event meant the idea of lying
on the ground still seemed
frightening. I knew that once
my eyes were shut I would no
longer be in control of what was
done around me. With this fear
of falling asleep I realized that
homeless people might feel the
same way at times. Therefore
they walk the streets ail day and
night or sleep in the day and stay
awake at night. The fear that
someone will steal from you, or
attempt to harm you, is a very
real thought and there are many
crimes committed each year on
individuals who live on the street.
However, in my case sleepiness
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1
overwhelmed me and 1 decided
to lie down. Before I realized it
I was asleep and it was the next
day.
Although I was awake and safe
my body did not hesitate to
remind me that I did not sleep
in a nice, warm, soft bed with
pillows. My arms felt like they
weighed a thousand pounds.
My feet felt numb and my back
was hurting rather bad. This
event caused me and the other
participants to think about
homelessness and hunger in
an entirely different way. We
all began talking about how we
have forever been changed by
this experience. Our opinion on
homelessness and hunger has
been changed and now it is time
to educate all of those people
who think that homeless people
are lazy, drug abusers who don’t
want to work.
Throughout my life I have
encountered several homeless
people and now that I have
participated in this event I will no
longer just walk past a homeless
person who is asking for money
and ignore them. I decided that
a better way to communicate
with the homeless population
would be to offer them a bag
lunch or information on how
to get assistance. It is really
easy to ignore people who we
decide are different or strange.
However, as human beings
people who are homeless have
feelings and they desire to have
their basic needs met. Therefore
stop and take some time to give
thanks for having your needs
met and help someone else
have the same experience by
giving a non-perishable item to
one of your local food donation
collection sites. Give a coat
and know that you just warmed
another humans body and there
heart. Give a toy and know that
you just help put a smile on a
child’s face.
NortN Carolina WesLeyan CoUeqe Rocky Mount, NortIh CaroLIna 27804