Students learn ways to empty homeless shelters

University students come face to face with the horrors of homelessness everyday, but this summer, some students are tackling the problem head-on by participating in a program devoted to raising awareness about homelessness. Forty students from across the country have come to Philadelphia this summer to participate in Empty the Shelters, a program aimed at ending homelessness and the first program of its kind in the country. Empty the Shelters' participants meet for seminars sponsored by the project, as well as volunteer in various local agencies dealing with homelessness over the course of eight weeks. "Nobody expects to make sweeping change in eight weeks, but there is a hope to kickstart community enpowerment and to give the homeless a voice," said Jeremy Spector, who is a senior at Yale University. Spector said that Empty the Shelters, which began June 23 and lasts until August 17, is a chance to formulate and reconsider his own views on solutions to homelessness and poverty. The brainchild of University graduates Claudia Horwitz and Phil Wider, the program attempts to "provide a forum for students to build partnerships through communities to address poverty issues," Horwitz said. During the first week, students went through a training and orientation session to get acquainted, to address issues about the homeless, and to discuss ways to be sensitive to their condition. Horwitz said these meetings were important for the students, and enabled them "to build a community among themselves as a support group." For the next seven weeks, students are assigned to agencies dealing with homelessness according to their particular interests. Two to six people work at each agency to learn about a specific aspect of volunteer work. But the training sessions don't end with the work day. Once a week the forty students meet in small groups taught by professionals to discuss issues they encounter in their work. Four nights per week the students also meet for dinner, a time to share experiences and make announcements regarding seminars and other ways to volunteer. Agencies involved in the program include the People's Emergency Center, the National Union for the Homeless, the Kensington-Norris Square Neighborhood Association, Mantua Against Drugs, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, Pennsylvania Jobs with Peace and several others. Horwitz said that she chose grassroots organizations instead of large agencies because students have a better chance to learn by having a bigger role in a smaller agency. Spector said that the program is different from other homeless projects because it concentrates on educating the homeless people, rather than simply alleviating hunger and providing shelter. "[It tries] to give homeless people a say, to enpower them to change their own lives," he said. "People have to be their own advocates." Volunteer Colleen McCauley, a 1991 graduate of the Nursing School, said she joined the program "to meet other people who care about issues surrounding poverty and to see that there is a way to make lasting change." This summer she is working at the University City Hospitality Coalition and the Penn Community Health Group, an agency run by medical students. Steven Conn, a University graduate student, helped organize the program and is currently coordinating weekly educational seminars with University faculty. "The program is comprised of an extraordinary group of students," he said, noting the students' openness in discussions and willingness to work hard. He pointed to part of their training program in which students were encouraged to speak in front of crowds in Center City, as an example. Conn said all of the students participated in the street speaking. 16-year-old participant Melissa Wemstrom from Chicago has already had three years of experience working with the homeless. This summer she is volunteering with the Norris Square Neighborhood Project, which helps keep children away from drugs through activities and community work. Wemstrom said that her two weeks of participation in the program "realize that personal emotion affects how you think politically." She also praised the support network that had developed among the volunteers. Planning for Empty the Shelters began in January. Ten University students helped Horwitz and Wider set up the program. Six University students are among those participating this summer. Wider said he hopes that students will go back to their own communities, make connections with local volunteer groups, and begin their own programs based on Empty the Shelters. He is writing a resource manual for students to take back to their campuses.

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