In the shoes of the homeless

The Cal State Fullerton Volunteer and Service center set up three informational tents in the Quad on Tuesday to raise awareness of Hunger and Homelessness Week.

About 841 million people are suffering from hunger, malnutrition and famine around the world, lending to the figure that one in seven families are in dire need of food and housing.

“We do this event every fall semester to educate those on campus about the ongoing issue of poverty and hunger, not just in third world countries, but in the United States as well,” said Allie Mosier, Volunteer and Service Center Project Director. “We also want to erase dominant misconceptions that people have about the homeless.”

Mosier said these misconceptions revolve around the idea that homeless people are in their present conditions because they are lazy. This popular notion is incorrect, as the information tents dispel the myth by explaining that homelessness occurs due to rising housing costs, a cause that could affect anyone at some point in their lives.

There were two blue-topped tents fashioned with old issues of Daily Titan and Los Angeles Times. Housed within these tents were a number of statistics written on long pieces of cardboard that were intended to show how prevalent hunger and homelessness is around the world.

“In addition to the two information tents, we also have another called the ‘It Can Be You’ tent,” Mosier said.

This tent was designed to put students, professors and other visitors in the shoes of the homeless. Within the tent are two mirrors, chairs and walls of statistics. Those who entered were encouraged to look in a mirror, read the walls of information and visualize the possibility that homelessness could strike anyone, including students, professors, pregnant women, single fathers, children, teens and so on, at anytime.

“It’s important to raise awareness, because there are people in desperate need of help,” said Collin Jamieson, a 20-year-old volunteer. “We have to keep in mind that there are people less fortunate than us, people who are without homes.”

Placed throughout the tents were purple ribbons, the official color that signifies Hunger and Homelessness Awareness. When attendees looked through the tents, they were welcomed to a table that had miniature purple ribbons.

“(Prior to this event) I wasn’t aware of all these facts regarding homelessness to this extent,” said Daniel Brockman, a business major. “I think it’s good that people are being exposed and made aware of these statistics.”

The event was intended to raise money as well as awareness. The Volunteer and Service Center sold muffins and other baked goods in order to fund future events. There were also donation containers, where students could throw in loose change and dollar bills.

“I know that this event lasted a week in the past,” Jamieson said. “But with the limited resources we have this semester, we are making the best with what we have.”

The Volunteer and Service center meets every Friday. For more information about getting involved and how you can help with upcoming events, visit Fullerton.edu/DeanOfStudents/Volunteer.

Originally published in the Daily Titan on November 17, 2010.