Homelessness Awareness Week, which is sponsored by NSP, began on Monday and will last through Friday.
On Monday, a group of Tufts students visited the Somerville Homeless Coalition (SHC) shelter soup kitchen on College Ave. At the SHC Shelter, students prepared and served food to the residents of the shelter.
On Tuesday night, students listened to panelists discuss the politics of homelessness, and debate why government aid for the homeless has decreased. Panelists included SHC Executive Director Mark Alston-Follansbee, Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services Attorney Ellen Schachter, Tufts Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Lecturer Roberta Rubin (who teaches a class called "Homelessness and Society"), and One Family Scholar Diana Watler.
Today, NSP is sponsoring a sleep-out on the Residential Quad to raise awareness for homelessness. Starting at 10 p.m., participating students will be sleeping outside in sleeping bags and cardboard boxes in order to raise money for the Somerville Homeless Coalition.
On Thursday at 9:30 p.m. in Pearson 104, there will be a film screening of the documentary "It Was a Wonderful Life." The film is directed by Michele Ohayon and narrated by Jodie Foster.
"It Was A Wonderful Life" follows the stories of six homeless women as they struggle to survive, one day at a time, and find a place for themselves in a society ill-equipped to deal with the "used-to-haves." Many of the women were left in dire financial straits following a divorce, loss of a job, or long illness, and were reduced to living out of their cars.
NSP is capping off Homelessness Awareness Week with a benefit dinner in support of the SHC's Better Homes Program. The Better Homes Program provides subsidized apartments to formerly homeless individuals and families in Somerville, along with supportive services to ensure success in housing.
The dinner's guest speakers are NSP co-founder Brian Kreiter and SHC Executive Director Mark Alston-Follansbee. NSP has invited community members, professors, and some student leaders to attend this dinner.
If other students are interested in attending the dinner, they can contact Julie.Giragosion@tufts.edu or pick up a ticket for $10 at the campus center booth.
