Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: News

Jesse Smith Jr., front, shares his story about becoming homeless to an audience at the Bovee University Center Auditorium on Tuesday night along with John Harrison and Francine Triplett, sitting in back. The event was hosted by the Volunteer Center to increase awareness and break down stereotypes about homelessness. [Click to enlarge]

Jesse Smith Jr. was making $72,000 a year when he became homeless.

The Washington, D.C., resident was married with two children and employee of the year at AT&T.

He was 12 credits away from receiving his master's degree. He already had gotten a degree from the University of Maryland with a major in sociology and a minor in urban planning.

But after going through a divorce and giving most of what he owned to his ex-wife, Smith slipped into depression, lost his job and ended up on the street.

"Every day seemed like the same day," Smith said. "You have no direction."

About 50 students attended the "Faces of Homelessness" panel Tuesday night in the Bovee University Center Auditorium. The panel was a part of the third annual Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, sponsored by the Volunteer Center.

More than three million people experience homelessness each year, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

"I think it's important. It's not something we encounter. When something isn't visual, we forget about it," said Megan Connaghan, a Kentwood senior and member of the Hunger and Homelessness Week Committee. "We need to break down the stereotypes. Every homeless person has their story. It's not fair to clump them together."

Members of the panel included Francine Triplett, John Harrison and moderator Michael O'Neill Jr.

Harrison graduated from high school and began working for a computer company. He became homeless after new management fired him and his house burned down.

Continued...

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