Helping End Homelessness
The DU community is working hard to end homelessness. Whether it's participating in a long-term partnership with the city of Denver or volunteering at a local shelter, students, faculty, staff and alumni are pitching in.
Project Homeless Connect
Students and faculty are supporting an innitiative to end homelessness. DU hosted Project Homeless Connect in April of 2007 where more than 500 local homeless received access to the help they needed. Watch our highlight video or student-produced documentary of the event.
The University hosted the fourth annual Project Homeless Connect (PHC) on April 20. DU is the first private institution to hold the event. More than 900 students, faculty and staff volunteered for the event, and more than 500 people who are homeless visited campus and gained access to food stamps, housing, education, haircuts, laundry vouchers, legal assistance and much more.
The one-on-one support allowed them to achieve in one day what usually takes a lengthy period of time or never happens at all.
"I like helping people, and it was so nice to see how those small things could make such a big difference in someone's life," says Meghan Colombin, a junior sociology major from Evergreen, Colo.
Public Good Grants
More than $50,000 in Public Good Grants was designated in the spring of 2007. The money allowed DU faculty to explore many issues that contribute to homelessness and investigate the effectiveness and success of Project Homeless Connect. Past Public Good Grants have included developing a school specifically for homeless youth and mapping the efficiency of Denver’s panhandling ordinances.
Eric Fretz, the director of DU's Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning, says the University is working hard to make a big difference.
"It's really a testament to this University that people care about this issue and want to be a part of the solution," Fretz says.
Homeless shelters
Project Homeless Connect is just one of the many ways that DU students are helping to end homelessness. Students also volunteer with a number of on-campus organizations that work with groups around Denver like Habitat for Humanity and soup kitchens.
In conjunction with Denver's plan to end homelessness in 10 years, the University has created numerous temporary shelters for men and women.
During the winter of 2005, there were two cold weather emergency shelters. DU has also erected temporary shelters that stay open for 120 days. The shelters also provide clothing, food and bedding.
Student organizations
Many students volunteer through a number of on-campus organizations, some of which work with homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity, and soup kitchens.
Andrew Wojdyla, president of DU Volunteers and a senior studying general business from Colorado Springs says, "I feel like volunteering with the homeless has been an eye-opener for DU students. They've realized that the stereotypes about homelessness aren't true, and it’s an issue we should be concerned about."
Published on July 9, 2007