Candlelight vigil raises homelessness, hunger awareness
Judy Black knows the challenges of being homeless from a time when the inside of a van was her bed.
“I lived in my minivan and everything I owned was either in it or in a shed,” she said.
Black, a disabled senior citizen and volunteer at the Community Compassion Network of Mount Pleasant, told students about her eight-month homeless journey during a candlelight vigilWednesday night. The vigil was part of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
The vigil, organized by the Volunteer Center, was held outside Charles V. Park Library and featured several guest speakers who shared their experiences.
“I usually slept in well-populated areas such as the hospital parking lot,” Black said.
She said changing clothes in a gas station restroom and scrounging for resources average people simply buy was hard, but being homeless taught her a lot.
One of the main topics of the night was how homelessness affects people of all walks of life, including students.
Mid Michigan Community College student Alyssa Basney spoke about how family issues forced her to move from house to house and even into a tent in a friend’s backyard. She said she learned how to live using survival skills.
“The strongest piece of advice I can give someone who may be homeless is that you can never give up,” she said.
Basney said looking for resources and assistance with food and shelter is a must, along with remaining optimistic and keeping a positive attitude.
Some students who attended the previous night’s Cardboard City event, where students volunteered to sleep outside in boxes for one night, said they came back to hear survivor stories and support awareness altogether.
“Homelessness is definitely a huge topic that needs to be addressed,” said South Lyon junior Kelly Irwin. “A lot of people don’t know just how many people it affects.”
Irwin said she hopes the week’s events educate people and motivate them to volunteer to help others who may be in rough situations.
Raising awareness was the ultimate goal of the night.
“Many of the people we’re surrounded by most of the time come from privileged backgrounds and don’t necessarily know a lot about this issue,” said Warren senior Thomas Trenkamp.
