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Helping the Homeless: Students sleep in cardboard homes as part of Hunger and Homelessness Week

By Heather Hillman on November 16, 2010 11:43 pm in Featured, Student Life / 5 comments

 
Helping the Homeless: Students sleep in cardboard homes as part of Hunger and Homelessness Week
Alma freshman Amanda Woodbury attempts to stay warm while raising awareness of homelessness during the Cardboard City event for Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week, across in Central Park early Tuesday morning. Students built and slept in their cardboard homes to experience what it would be like to be homeless. (Perry Fish/Staff Photographer)

Kyle Terwillegar huddled in a cardboard box outside of Charles V. Park Library with nothing but a sleeping bag and a coat as temperatures reached the low 30s early Tuesday morning.

But the Freeland junior isn’t homeless — he eschewed his bed for a cause. He was one of about 40 volunteers who took shifts sitting outside in cardboard boxes in Central Park during the 24-hour event.

Terwillegar said sleeping outside from midnight to 7 a.m. was worse than he expected. He only got about two hours of sleep because of the cold.

“I was miserable just that one night; I can’t imagine doing it night after night because I have no other option,” he said. “It was an eye-opening experience for me. Before, homelessness was more of a concept to me, but after sleeping in that box it became real.”

As people walked by Tuesday, they could read the messages painted on signs and boxes with facts about homelessness.

Cardboard City was just one of the many events being put on in line with Hunger and Homelessness Week. Greenville junior Troy Heffron of the Volunteer Center helped plan Cardboard City and said it is definitely something they look forward to putting on in the future.

“It’s a way to remember to be thankful for what we have and that we have this obligation to be a good community member and give back to others,” Heffron said. “It’s another way that we can raise awareness and understanding about the issue with hunger and homelessness.”

About 25 people attended a candlelight vigil Tuesday night to wrap up the event. Attendees stood in a circle surrounded by cardboard boxes as they read true stories of homeless men and women and had a moment of silence for every person living without a place to live.

Danielle Schmutz, who works in the Volunteer Center for AmeriCorps VISTA, attended the vigil. While Schmutz said she didn’t sleep outside this year, she has participated the past three years and she enjoys spreading awareness about the issue.

“By raising awareness, it inspires people to do more about it. Hopefully one day it will no longer be an issue,” Schmutz said. “That’s why we’re here, so we can help make that change.”

 

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  • Michmediaperson

    What a dumb idea!

    I thought when we elected Jennifer Granholm eight years ago, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid four years ago and Barack Hussein Obama two years ago, homelessness and cardboard boxes would be a thing of the past.

    You mean with Obama, the Democrats and Granholm running the country, they're are homeless sleeping in cardboard boxes?

    Perhaps if Obama wasn't spending so much money flying around visiting his childhood muslim buddies and Pelosi wasn't flying around in her personal 757 jet, there would be $$$ for homeless shelters.

    Why don't all the CMU and area residents who consider themselves liberal throw a $1,000 apiece into a fund to build a shelter? Aren't liberals compassionate anymore?

    The way to get the homeless jobs is to get rid of the illegals, renew the tax cuts for employers to hire the homeless.

    Don't these students have any homework to do? The profs need to assign more work!

    Perhaps all the Democrats who ran a couple weeks ago in the election could donate a thousand dollars apiece. Perhaps if all Michigan Democrats quit donating to Obama, Stabenow and the Dems in 2012 and put it toward the homeless, then the homeless would have a nice place to live.

    I just hope the talk show hosts nationwide don't talk about CMU's Cardboard City and embarrass the university.

    You students need to be in Lansing and visiting Levin, Stabenow and the remaining Dems in Congress and tell them to get rid of the illegals, cut Obama's expenditures, extend the tax cuts over $250,000 for small business and get these people hired. Also, why don't you start a national boycott of companies like Dell, United Airlines and others who send telemarketing jobs to India and the Phillipines instead of giving homeless people an opportunity to turn their lives around.

    By you students not doing this, you're for continuation of homelessness and Cardboard City. And, you're accomplishing absolutely nothing! Got to go see your Democrat pals and boycott businesses who ship jobs to India and the Phillipines.

  • Concerned Citizen

    I think perhaps you're confused.

    The purpose of this event and this week is to raise awareness of a serious issue that lingers in our society. Partisan complaints and condemnations won't help, but spreading the word on the issue just might.

    So, while ignoring your bitter political banter, I think the Volunteer Center, The Office of Student Life, Mr. Heffron, and everyone involved deserve a thanks for taking the initiative to try to help instead of consistently pointing the finger at the opposition.

  • Michmediaperson

    Why not fix the problem.

    That's the problem with liberalism and socialism—-symbolism and “feel good” vs. fixing the problem.

  • KT

    Hi Mitchmediaperson,

    I'm going to ignore your divisive and ignorant statements about President Obama and get to the point.

    Homelessness isn't an issue created by one political party or the other: it transcends political lines and has been an issue for this nation regardless of who was in power.

    What you seem to be implying is that if more Republicans took office (and now that they have, I'll be expecting an end to homelessness soon – and I'll hold you to that) that homelessness wouldn't exist. And you seem to acknowledge that under Bush's administration there were also people living without homes. (Interesting fact: homelessness tripled under Regan's administration http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/How_Many.html)

    So why so hostile on this issue, then? Especially toward us students who participated? We are trying to do some good in our community. Would you rather that we not do that? And to the point about homework, please be aware that a majority of the students in attendance were HONORS students, including myself.

    I'm not interested in a political debate. I'm interested in raising awareness of a serious issue that affects many citizens of our country and our world. I feel as though my participating in this event was not an embarrassment, but rather a contribution to the effort to try to thwart homelessness.

    Good day, sir.

  • Michmediaperson

    KT, I reviewed the site.

    I'm correct in how to end homelessness, once and for all. Apparently, you don't want to end homelessness. You just want to keep it going so people will “feel good” for a cause.

    I reviewed those numbers on that website.

    If we got rid of the 12 million illegals, every homeless person could easily have a job (if they really wanted one) and be able to pay for rent. No more cardboard cities. So, instead of doing this PR thing on campus, why don't the 25 of you hold a press conference outside of Liberals Stabenow and Levin's offices and demand they pass legislation to close the southern border, put military on there, unbelievable stiff fines for employers who employee illegals…..and you'll see millions leaving the USA and the homeless can have their jobs. Easy fix!!!!! Also, tell Levin and Stabenow to cut Obama's travel and vacation expenses and funnel the money to the homeless.

    I get a kick out of your left-wing website. They like to nail the greatest president since Lincoln, the honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan. Yet, when they mention the 1996 numbers, they FAILED TO point the increase in homelessness to four years of liberal Democrat, William Jefferson Clinton.

    And, why aren't they questioning all this so-called “Hope and Change” nonsense that snake oil salesman, Barack Hussein Obama, sold the poor people, two years ago????

    KT, your group will be more effective by going after Levin, Stabenow and the Michigan Dems in Congress for the Feds to get rid of the illegals. And, it wouldn't hurt to put the pressure on new Governor Snyder and the State Legislature to bring the Arizona bill to Michigan. You bring that to Michigan in the next 4-5 months and you'll run enough illegals out so the homeless can have jobs. Trust me, you'll have the majority of this state and country behind you. The Liberals will hate you because they want blanket amnesty so the illegals will vote for them.

    One last question. From reading another site, how could there be homeless numbers increasing in Detroit when you've had five decades of radical, African-American Democrat Mayors?????

    First thing, your group has to decide. Do we want to end homelessness or keep it around so you have a “feel good” liberal cause?