On November 8, students, staff and faculty gathered in the Kittredge Center’s PeoplesBank conference room to hear a first-hand account of what it means to be homeless. Speaking to the crowd were Francine and John, who shared their stories about living on the streets, and Mike O’Neil from the Washington-based National Coalition for the Homeless.
Sponsored by HCC’s AmeriCorps/VISTA program, the event also marked the culmination of MassPIRG’s Skip the Party campaign, which sought to raise funds for Springfield’s Jefferson Avenue Homeless Shelter.
“ Instead of having a banquet or fund raising dinner, we thought we should skip the dinner and just collect the money from folks,” said MassPIRG organizer Lily Cavanagh. “We raised $220, which will go to the Adopt-a-Room campaign at the Jefferson Avenue Shelter. We’re going to adopt a room (at the shelter) and go in and paint it, and fix it up.”
O’Neil said he hoped that people attending the November 8 event would walk away with something to think about.
