Sleep out simulation unifies students with realities of homelessness

On a chilly spring afternoon into the evening, a gathering of determined Loyola College community members began to fast to send a message. Beginning at noon on Friday, these individuals began their 24-hour abstention for the annual Fast and Sleep Out held on campus. The event, organized by staff and student leaders in the Center for Community Service and Justice, works to establish solidarity among Loyola students and those who are hungry and homeless. The simulation served as an attempt to allow students to become more aware of what millions of people throughout the world go through every day.

CCSJ invited students, faculty, staff and administrators interested in learning more about the reality of chronic hunger and homelessness.

Organizers insisted the experience would allow participants "to gain a more global perspective."

"Everyone was told to bring a sleeping bag, warm layers, etc.," explained Ariel Watson, '11, a service coordinator for the UNITE immersion program and Meet and Eat dinners in the CCSJ.

"Most of us slept on top of a tarp, which protected us from the wet ground. [Aside from] our sleeping bags and the clothes we were wearing [protecting us], we were exposed to the wind, which was really strong [that] night."

The weather on Friday gave the students a realistic taste of the conditions people living on the streets have to confront on a daily basis.

The ground, still damp from morning downpours, served as a wet cushion while winds blew overhead.

"It was much colder than a lot of us anticipated, which made it very difficult to sleep," said Watson. "As frustrating and tiring as that was, we were all glad to have even a fraction of the experience that more than 3,000 people in Baltimore have on any given night."

This itinerary was not limited to merely experiencing temporary hunger and homelessness, however. After checking in at 5:30 p.m., participants gathered in groups for icebreakers, an opening speech explaining the significance of the simulation and featuring guest speakers from the Baltimore service and homeless community.

"This is an event that exposes students to facts and realities about hunger and homelessness in Baltimore in a vivid way by experiencing some of the discomforts and hearing first-hand accounts," said Watson, one of the five student coordinators for this event.

Watson, along with Caitlin McCarthy, '11, Erin Timmeny, '10, Lauren Tozzi, '11, and Sean D'Alfonso, '10, all CCSJ Service Coordinators, planned this year's Fast and Sleep Out.

Greg Sileo, '06, now the Director of Community Outreach for Baltimore Homelessness Services in the Baltimore City Mayor's office, spoke to the small crowd about the economic, political and social causes of homelessness.

"He played an integral part in writing [it]," said Watson of Sileo. Sileo laid out the mayor's ten-year plan to end homelessness in Baltimore.

A panel of individuals who suffered from homelessness followed Silio, sharing their experiences on the street and in transition homes within the Baltimore community.

A woman from Marian house, a transitional home for women who are homeless in Baltimore City, talked about her experience on and off the street. A man from the Fredrick Ozanam house, a transitional home serving men suffering from homelessness and addiction, followed.

Both talks allowed students to see the faces behind the statistics of hunger and homelessness.

After these presentations, the Fast and Sleep Out participants viewed, "Hidden America," a movie following one family's struggle with poverty, unemployment and food insecurity.

This was followed by a discussion, which, according to Watson, contained a lot of discourse due to the movie's excellent handling of explaining "the personal impact that material poverty can have on relationships and families."

Other activities throughout the night included making cards to be sold to raise money for the CARES Food Pantry, which serves the Govans neighborhood right near Loyola as well as letters to Congressman John Sarbanes, Governor O'Malley, and Mayor Dixon "to draw their attention to particular funding needs related to hunger, homelessness, and healthcare legislation," said Watson.

"In the past, this event was done in the fall every year as part of Hunger & Homelessness Awareness week in November," stated Dubocq.

"But, in an effort to educate the Loyola community about hunger & homelessness all year long, this event was moved to the spring, and other activities are done in the fall during the actual Hunger & Homelessness Awareness week."

Loyola College is also not the only school to hold events similar to Fast and Sleep Out. "I know for a fact that other universities, especially Jesuit universities, have similar events to this," said Dubocq.

"However, the specific order of events that make Loyola's Fast & Sleep Out are not necessarily the same that happen at other schools. In other words, various schools either fast, sleep on their quads or both, but the way they frame their experiences varies."

Dubocq said she hoped that this program would bring "a greater and personal understanding of hunger and homelessness issues, both due to their direct experience with it through our simulations, but also because of the "faces of homelessness" [we] encountered during our panel, movie and advocacy speaker. Additionally, I hope that participants walked away with an idea of concrete ways in which they can make a difference in the fight against hunger and homelessness."

Watson stated that she and the other student leaders would have liked to have seen more students participate.

"It is a very intense experience," she said. "I am thankful that those who did commit the time to it were wholehearted."

The Fast and Sleep Out received support from several other groups on campus, such as Campus Police, Events Services, Sodexho, and Admissions, who ensured "that accepted students visiting Loyola on Saturday who may have questions about our event learned about it," said Dubocq.