Homeless on Campus: a response essay

         

          Eleanor J. Bader, in her report Homeless on Campus (n.d.), sheds light as to the unmet needs of homeless students in colleges and universities. Bader lifts the veil and reveals the hardships of students, like that of Aesha Broadway, who are going to college while being homeless. While Bader does give examples of how educators are helping, she also gives many more examples of how colleges and universities are not helping in order to expose the problem, and hopefully inspire some solution. Ms. Bader seems to speak to those who are college age, if not in college, and seems to be speaking as one in authority urging those within here influence to act.

          While there are many issues facing those who are homeless, education after high school may not be the most important. Veronika Scott is the co-founder of The Empowerment Plan (http://www.empowermentplan.org/#!the-coat/cass) (Links to an external site.) which employs homeless individuals, and manufactures a coat/sleeping bag that is distributed to the homeless. In an interview on CNN.com she stated what a homeless woman said to her, "We don't need coats. We need jobs." This happened when Scott was passing out the coat/sleeping bag she had designed. While she had good intentions to help the homeless, it didn’t meet the need they desired most to be met; independence.

          So while Bader is doing good, and making people aware of a need, perhaps it is not the need that most homeless are desiring to be met. In no way is Eleanor Bader wrong for writing and informing, quite the opposite. However, when considering the resources that would need to be put together to fund and operate such a facility or program, one cannot help but wonder how it might be put to better use. Maybe those who would desire such an education could get involved in a program like that which Veronika Scott founded, and in time be able to support themselves and achieve those educational goals.

Refences

Bullock, Richard; Goggin, Maureen Daly,; Wienberg, Francine. (2006). The Norton Field Guide to Writing: with readings and handbook. Third Edition. W. W. Norton and Company, Inc.

Homeless student photo, retrieved April 30, 2016 from http://theodysseyonline.com/spelman/homeless-invisible/254703

Marissa Calhoun (Updated 1:23 PM ET, Thu March 10, 2016). CNN Hero Veronika Scott. CNN. Retrieved April 1, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/10/us/cnn-heroes-veronika-scott-detroit-homeless/ (Links to an external site.).