NHS students spend a homeless night to raise awareness
Although they were there to raise awareness for the homeless, and even though it was miserably windy and 35 degrees around midnight Friday, it was obvious that members of the Falls High School National Honor Society were still having fun.
As they gathered around a barrel fire in the back of Falls High School with marshmallows on sticks, the contrast of that fact and the stark realty of the homeless probably hit home the most for some students who braved the night inside cardboard boxes huddled against their brick school.
“Being "homeless" wasn’t that bad when it meant sleeping with friends in a box,” said Anna Remus, NHS member. “The bad part was the next morning. We were tired, sore, hungry, and dirty, but we all knew that we would go home to hot showers and beds. I can’t imagine having to do that day after day.”
The staged event did give the students a scant impression about homelessness — with minimum supplies and makeshift shelters taped together against the damp, frigid concrete. Earlier, the students had gone door to door and collected a load of groceries for the local food shelf.
But they still had their snacks, they still had their cell phones; they still had FHS instructor Chris Hemstad to watch over them; they still had each other; and waiting for them in the daylight, they still had — homes.
Homelessness, based on the definition established by the U.S. Congress is anyone who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and has a primary nighttime residence that is a supervised, publicly- or privately-operated temporary living accommodation, including emergency shelters, transitional housing, and battered women’s shelters; or has a nighttime residence in any place not meant for human habitation, such as under bridges or in cars.
In 2007, the Associated Press reported a 2005 study in which it was estimated that there are over 750,000 homeless people in the United States, and the numbers are exploding in some parts of the nation.
California, New York, Florida, Texas and Georgia top the list for the highest numbers of homeless people, according to the study. Nevada has the highest percentage per capita.
On any given night, there are approximately 9,300 homeless people in Minnesota, according to the 2006 Wilder homelessness study (www.wilder.org). Outreaching efforts have held the numbers stable compared to many other parts of the nation.
Over half of Minnesota’s homeless suffer with mental illness, brain injury, or drug dependency. The Wilder study reports that racial disparity, domestic violence and childhood trauma devastate the lives of the homeless.
The study also reports an upward trend in the number of older adults who are homeless; and that veterans from today’s military conflicts are showing up in shelters. There are increasing numbers of homeless youth who are not staying in shelters.
But the driver in homelessness is the affordable housing crisis, according to Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “If we don’t do something to address the crisis in affordable housing, we are not going to solve homelessness,” Roman said.
Counting the numbers of homeless individuals is an inexact process. Efforts have been stepped up in Minnesota studies to identify the homeless who are not using shelters or transitional housing systems.
As it was recently reported in The Daily Journal about Koochiching County, an “Invisible Problem” exists when there are no shelters — and the homeless “sofa hop,” moving from one family member’s or friend’s home to another; or live in hunting shacks or vehicles for extended periods.
Remus pointed out that the NHS members received praise for their efforts, but that “the true homeless are rejected and ignored.”
She said that the support the group had, which is not a reality in the lives of most homeless people, was what kept them going at 3 in the morning as it snowed.
“... Without it, life would feel pretty lonely,” she added.
There is no way, beyond imagining, to see life through the eyes of the homeless, unless it’s a reality. But these students have opened the door in the spring of their lives to take a good look — and that creates hope for the future, and for the individuals and families who have no place to call “home.”
