Today we went on an outreach run, which was facilitated through the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) here in DC. John Harrison, a member of the NCH speakers' bureau and a friend of Gannon who came to visit and speak on campus during my freshman year, helped us with the outreach run. Through this, we were able to learn how to approach homeless individuals on the street in DC while respecting their human dignity as well as our own. We learned a lot about people as well as what their individual needs might be, and it was awesome to see what a small gesture of kindness, such as saying hello or seeing if an individual or someone they know might need any of the personal care items we were carrying, can do.
John also pointed out the benches here in DC: both the bus stop benches and the benches around the street are designed with some sort of bar or structure in the middle that prevents homeless individuals from sleeping on them. (John also mentioned that many benches have been removed from the sidewalks here.) Being one of the trip leaders as well as someone who has been involved with OPEN at Gannon (Formerly known as the Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week Committee), I immediately became engaged in the conversation. I was so fired up to be able to talk to John about the benches issue, as it's become an issue on campus as well. Before the 2015-2016 academic year began, benches with bars in the middle were placed all across campus, and members of OPEN, DC ABST alumni, and other socially aware members of the Gannon community began a conversation about this under a certain premise: The middle bar in a bench tells homeless individuals that they are not welcome there. As Catholic institution, is this really a message we want to be sending to homeless members of the Erie community? What about Christian principles like love of neighbor and inclusiveness?
I really appreciated having the chance to talk to John today; it was very much like catching up with an old friend! I was also incredibly inspired not only by the group's willingness to go meet new people through the outreach run, but also by how much they all seemed to grab onto an issue like the benches that means something on our own campus. Even though I graduated three days ago from Gannon, I have so much hope for people to carry on the work that I started surrounding hunger and homelessness issues at Gannon.
Justine Bensur
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