The College of Charleston, along with countless organizations and individuals, will observe National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week November 15-20 – the week prior to Thanksgiving. The College of Charleston Center for Civic Engagement will host a variety of programs and events during the week to bring attention to and educate students about issues of hunger, housing, and homelessness locally, nationally, and internationally.
On Thursday, November 18, students will participate in the Missouri Community Action Poverty Simulation, sponsored by the Center for Civic Engagement. This exercise will be split into four 20-minute segments, during which participants will take on the role of an assigned character. Some will be disabled, some will find themselves homeless and others will be senior citizens on Social Security. Each 20-minute block represents a week that participants will have to survive and “make ends meet” as their character. Through the poverty simulation, participants will actually have a chance to walk a month in someone else’s shoes.
The poverty simulation is being offered in partnership with East Cooper Community Outreach (ECCO), a local non-profit organization, which provides basic needs, healthcare and emergency financial services to residents of Charleston and Berkeley Counties.
A Faces of Homelessness panel was held on Monday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. Turning to an international perspective, students were able to catch shuttle rides to the City Gallery to see Pedro Lobo’s Favelas: architecture of survival and students will learn about how housing is an environmental justice issue. This exhibition is a component of bluesphere: Earth Art Expo and shuttles are provided in partnership with Alliance for Planet Earth.
The Center for Civic Engagement will also sponsor a CanCastle Competition and a Food for Thought lunch. On Saturday, November 20, students will end the week by taking action and serving with Lowcountry Food Bank, Crisis Ministries, and Rural Mission.
For more information, contact Mary Pat Twomey at twomeym@cofc.edu or (843) 953-0810.
