Rather than spending Labor Day weekend going to a party or to the beach, we spent our time talking with and writing about the homeless in Reading.
Dawn Heinbach, a fellow Kutztown University student, started the project with the goal of bringing attention to the ever-growing issue of homelessness in our area by creating a student-made newspaper, Writing Wrongs.
Other students involved in the project were Tabitha Lockard and Caitlyn Sablack of Reading Area Community College, Rachel Lee of Millersville University, and Stephanie Giannakis of Northampton Community College.
Over the course of the weekend, we visited the Opportunity House, Jacob and Darius stayed the night in the shelter, Rachel went to the Kennedy House and we also met with Randy Simmons, president and founder of the non-profit organization We Agape You, Inc. While at the Opportunity House, we had a chance to eat lunch with and interview some of the shelter’s residents. While there, we met residents who were veterans, some that were simply going through hard times, those that had been there for months and others who had been there as long as 10 years. Everyone had a different background and also a different story to tell.
On the night of Saturday, Sept. 5, Darius and Jacob went back to the Opportunity House and truly found out what it’s like to stay at a homeless shelter. Once they arrived, they helped the residents clean up the dining hall, and then they went through the process of intake. Intake involved filling out an approximately 15-page long packet about their backgrounds. The packet asked questions about their past residencies, whether they had been homeless before or not, about their drug and alcohol history and much more. After going through intake, they sat and talked with some of the men that were staying there and watched football with them.
Lights out is at 10 p.m. and all residents had to be in the shelter by 11 p.m. Darius and Jacob slept in cots in the men’s dorm and were awoken at 7 a.m. Before they parted ways with the Opportunity House for good, they were able to enjoy a cup of coffee with two of the residents, J.D. and Benjamin.
The weekend wrapped up on Monday when Writing Wrongs staff learned about Reading’s tent communities from Randy Simmons, founder of We Agape You, Inc. Simmons explained that the people in the tent communities often move once others find their location, whether their intentions are good or bad. They do trust Simmons to visit, since he had once been homeless himself. He described his visits to the tent communities surrounding the city, as well as instances where he helped homeless people. Simmons currently works with local churches to provide resources for homeless people seeking employment. He is currently helping 47 people.
At the end of the experience, we had all reinvented our perceptions of the homeless population. Being given the chance to interview homeless individuals allowed us to gain a sense of gratitude, which they seemed to desire us to feel. They showed us that it is possible for any person to succumb to the condition of being homeless, despite wealth or support. After our interviews, we all realized that so little can happen that could cause someone to be out on the streets. It not only made us more aware, but it made us mindful of how sensitive of a condition it was.
We hope that our publication will help the general public get a better idea of what it is like to be homeless, and also understand that each person has his or her own story to tell.
Print copies will be distributed to locations in Berks and other surrounding counties. For more information contact Dawn Heinbach at writingwrongs2015@gmail.com.
