Hunger, Homelessness Week Ends With Annual Sleepout

If you made it out into the cold Thursday night to spend your last meals at the Cave, you may have noticed a group of people with sleeping bags and wondered what they were doing. If you stopped to ask, you found out that this group of students, faculty, and staff had come to spend the night on the Cave Patio in order to raise awareness about the problem of homelessness. The sleepout, held annually by ConnPIRG as a part of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, began at 9 P.M. and continued into the morning.To kick off the night, speaker David Martineau, Director of the Immaculate Conception Shelter, spoke about his experiences with the homeless. As always, he was inspiring, giving vivid descriptions of the homeless with whom he has worked.He also talked about the programs that they use to get people back into housing. Martineau also criticized his generation for selling out on their views during the 1960s, creating the problem of homelessness, and leaving it for our generation to fix.

Formerly homeless, John Beaver, who also works with the shelter, addressed the group. He demonstrated how such programs worked, as indicated through his personal experiences. He also commended our efforts, saying, "Just wait until I get back to the shelter tonight and tell the guys what you are doing-they'll definitely applaud."

Many students have pointed out the fact that homeless people do not have the luxury of sleeping bags or hot chocolate donated by SGA and Marriott. Although many have criticized the sleepout, saying that participants would be better off volunteering at a shelter, the words of John Beaver and the reactions of students passing by suggest something else.

Some thought that it was crazy to sleep out in the cold, others didn't understand the point, and some thought it was an excellent idea. One student even wished participants luck in their "noble effort." While the reactions were mixed, they were reactions nonetheless, and the sleepout successfully fulfilled the goal of raising awareness.