The number of students identified as homeless in the United States has increased by nearly 100 percent since 2006-07, and as of last year, Georgia had 37,791 homeless students in public schools, according to a state progress report from Americaspromise.org. Homelessness Awareness Week at Kennesaw State aims to increase awareness around the community and reduce these statistics.
Homelessness Awareness Week is an annual series of events at KSU that educates students on the realities of homelessness with the hope of imparting a desire to create change.
“Homelessness isn’t just something you see on TV, it’s something that’s down the street or in your community,” Founding Director of the Campus Awareness, Resource and Empowerment Services Marcy Stidum said.
The week features a variety of events so that every KSU student has a chance to participate. One new event, in partnership with the Center for Children and Young Adults, is the Pancakes and Pajamas event. For this event, students are encouraged to donate $1 to wear pajamas all day and enjoy pancakes on the campus green from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Stidum said that one of her beliefs as a social worker is to “meet people where they are.” It’s this belief that inspired an older event, the Smash Brothers Tournament.
The tournament is being hosted by KSU eSports and Student Affairs, with all proceeds benefiting CARE Services. It will take place on Nov. 7 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Joe Mack Wilson Student Center Ballroom on the Marietta campus.
“For gamers, it’s a way for them to do what they normally do with a purpose,” Stidum said. “I don’t think giving should be uncomfortable or hard, it should be something that’s just natural. If it’s natural to be a gamer, let’s smash out homelessness and have a tournament.”
The final event of the week is HAW’s Sleep Out Challenge, which challenges students to sleep out one night in honor of those who sleep out every night.
The event takes place at the Marietta campus on Friday, Nov. 9, giving students three options for where they could sleep. This year, students have the choice of sleeping in a Red Cross shelter simulation, in their car or outside in a tent.
“What I like about the Red Cross simulation is it shows people that you can go homeless because of nature and you had nothing to do with it,” Stidum said.
Stidum said that she wants every event to be successful and fun, but her favorite part of the week is that they find the students who need them. One year, a homeless student used the event as a way of finding food and shelter, according to Stidum.
“That’s the best thing about HAW,” Stidum said. “It usually brings out about 10 to 15 students who are struggling, and then they start coming to see us for case management services and we can start to help them.”
One of the ways Stidum recommends helping homeless students is by volunteering with CARE, which has one to two volunteer opportunities each week. Currently, CARE is working to create a walk-in style pantry for students on the Marietta campus.
“Real change takes time — it could take years,” Stidum said. “But to start change, it doesn’t have to be this huge thing. It could be volunteering with CARE or picking a charity to donate to. It’s small efforts that add up to huge things.”
Students struggling with homelessness or food insecurity can visit the CARE offices in room 130 of Willingham Hall on the Kennesaw campus, suite 170 in Student Center Building A on the Marietta campus or make an appointment online. To learn more about HAW, students can visit CARE’s website at care.kennesaw.edu.
