The Saint Rose Chronicle

Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy Photo: Lauren Hernandez A cardboard set used for shelter at HOMES Sleep Out event. HOMES?is a newly formed outreach movement.

Media Credit: Courtesy Photo: Lauren Hernandez Despite the rain, dedicated students slept in boxes on the lawn.

On Friday, April 4, The College of Saint Rose held the first annual HOMES Sleep Out. A newly formed group on campus called HOMES, or Homeless Outreach Movement for the Education of Students held the event.

HOMES was started by a group of students from Saint Rose after they went to Washington D.C. in January on a service trip. Fifteen students traveled to the capital to volunteer at shelters, a soup kitchen called SOME, So Others Might Eat, a paper called Street Sense, and Joseph's House an AIDS hospice for homeless people. Following the trip, the students decided they wanted to raise more awareness about the homeless in America.

The sleep out was just that, a night where students came out to sleep on the quad to show what it is like to be homeless.

"During the event, we had a soup kitchen, where we served a meal that is pretty common at most homeless shelters," said senior Shelby Hickey. "Joan Horgan provided the movie 'The Pursuit of Happyness' for the attendees to watch. Afterward, there was a discussion about homelessness is general. Members who have gone on the Washington, DC trip shared their stories of what they had seen."

While rain may have frightened some away, 35 dedicated people showed up to help break the stereotypes of homelessness.

"We also wanted to break these stereotypes that most people have about the homeless population," Hickey said. "Homeless people aren't these lazy alcoholics that most people seem to think they are. In reality, homelessness is caused by a large array of situations. In most cases, bad luck played a big part in kicking these people out onto the streets."

The point of the event was the raise awareness, break stereotypes, but also to show that each homeless person has a story that many people don't bother to find out. The Saint Rose students helped to bring to light this growing problem in the United States, and to involve the rest of the Saint Rose community. As of right now, HOMES doesn't have any other events planned for this school year, but they hope to run this event again to continue educate others.

If you are interested in joining HOMES, or even just helping out, you can join their group on Facebook, or e-mail us at strosehomes@gmail.com.

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