J840 Communicating Social and Environmental Initiatives

I am 6′5″ tall and 200 lbs. on a good day. I wear a size 14 shoes. To accompany my stature, I’ve inherited my family’s booming voice, one nearly incapable of replicating what most people would call a whisper. Despite all of this, I can’t help but realize after tackling the issue of homelessness in class that I am very, very small.

As I interviewed clients at the Lawrence Community Shelter for my group’s service-learning project, the topic that was brought to my attention most frequently was society’s perception of homelessness and the homeless themselves. Homeless individuals are stigmatized as “a bunch of drunks and crazies” as one interviewee stated. What I found more interesting than the homeless’s understanding of how they are perceived is how this image affects the way they see themselves. How can one person ever change the way a man sees himself?

As I spoke with one man living in the shelter after he lost everything to divorce, I started to pick up on a major difference in the words he used to describe himself and his actions. “Can’t…” “Dirty…” “Sad…” Down…” I never once heard an uplifting or positive phrase come from his mouth unless he was speaking about the Shelter and its workers. He often brought the discussion back to public perceptions of the homeless.

It was then that I realized the battle to curb homelessness shouldn’t just be fought with the goal of taking the homeless off the street. As civic-minded individuals, it’s our duty to only help the homeless find the tangible resources to lift themselves up but the mental and spiritual resources as well.

As I mentioned in our last class meeting, the idea of “sustainability” for me now goes beyond the earthly to the humane as well. Acting sustainably preserves industry, health, families, employment, and pretty much everything I can think of. There’s a variety of ways we can “help the homeless” other than just donating food. Homelessness goes so much deeper than lack of money and food. The homelessness need help regaining their influence and voice in the world.

Thinking of homelessness as small parts of a larger whole makes me feel a little bit bigger. Everything I do, no matter how small, helps give the homeless a voice. Mine is big enough as it is…I don’t need all of it.

*Trey Williams*