Students promote poverty awareness and activism

Students have an opportunity to examine some of the issues affecting poverty and homelessness at the local and international levels this week. Poverty Awareness Week is a student-initiated campaign that works with the Faith-Justice Institute organizing the events to encourage poverty awareness and activism on campus.

The goal of the week is "to raise awareness on Saint Joseph's University campus about issues like homelessness and poverty that might get overlooked quite easily," said Kieran McCourt, '12, one of the student organizers.

"The focus of the week is to raise awareness and also to provide educational opportunities for people on campus, as well as for the local Philadelphia community, to learn more about the root causes and devastation of poverty both locally and globally," said Jill Amitrani-Welsh, MSW, assistant director of student development and community-engaged scholarship in the Faith-Justice Institute.

A number of events held throughout the week will examine poverty from the local and international perspectives, with a special focus on the issues facing Philadelphians.

"We have events that deal directly with the issues of homelessness and poverty as they relate to Philadelphia, since that is the place in which Saint Joseph's University finds its home and…a community that we belong to and feel responsibility for as college students, and a Catholic Jesuit university," said McCourt.

This year, the school is partnering with Old St. Joe's in Old City during the week. On Monday, the opening event focused on homelessness and what the Philadelphia community can do to combat homelessness in the city. A man who is currently in the Philadelphia shelter system spoke about his experiences.

"Most of the week has either an international or a local component to it, most specifically the week-long collection for canned foods that will be going to Philabundance," said Amitrani-Welsh, who has served as the week's staff facilitator for eight years.

There will be a week-long collection for nonperishable and canned goods that will go to Philabundance. Students can drop off goods on the first floor of Wolfington Hall. Additionally, the St. Paul's Society will come to the Jesuit residence on Thursday, Nov. 10 to collect clothes, shoes, towels, and small working appliances in plastic bags.

"I would like students to take away an educational experience in what poverty looks like, what poverty is, what homelessness is, and what hunger is, and how [those issues] may apply to themselves, how they may apply to Philadelphia, and what college students are capable of doing to make a change," said McCourt.

Those wishing to continuing fighting poverty have a number of options they can pursue as college students in Philadelphia. McCourt recommended volunteering at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter "to deal directly with those in poverty and those who are experiencing homelessness right now in Philadelphia, [and] to gain a personal relationship with homelessness and poverty, which we can easily write off."

Students can also become active citizens by educating themselves, paying attention to government action that affects poverty and homelessness, and by contacting their representatives and senators about such issues.

"The hope is that people will participate in the events, attend events, learn a little bit more than they knew before, and that it will ignite an interest and passion to work for social justice," said Amitrani-Welsh.