This blog is all about The Homeless Challenge Project, offered by National Coalition for the Homeless. This project is a life altering experience with the power to effect change, as it asks individuals to give up everyday things for 48 hours or more as they live on the streets as a homeless person.
Friday, March 27, 2009
What 3 things would you tell someone who is preparing to take the Challenge?
Use the comments section to stress to new Challenge takers how they should prepare, what they should bring or what information was most important as you took the Challenge.
While we try to cover as much as we can in the manual, it is by no means exhaustive and there are always new things that come up. Please share!
1. Not only prepare yourself mentally, but physically as well. Try to arrive for the start of your Challenge in already dirty clothes, unshaven and as unclean as possible. This really helps create a sense for others that you are indeed homeless and you will be treated as such. 2. Bring a sleeping bag or a really warm blanket! It gets cold at night in DC! 3. If you are nervous, apprehensive, etc about the experience... all the better. Imagine what it's like for those who really are becoming homeless for the first time. They don't have any sort of manual, guide of debrief! Get outside of your comfort zone and experience what too many Americans do each day.
1. Don't be afraid to get "dirty". The point of the challenge is to experience homelessness, so do it! It makes the whole thing a lot better if you can panhandle and talk to people (especially homeless people). 2. Bring warm clothes! If you were ACTUALLY going to run away from home and be homeless, you wouldn't leave with nothing but a T-shirt and jean jacket - let's be honest. Depending upon the time of year, it could be cold and night and day, so be prepared. 3. Make a sign early. We waited until the second day to make a sign, but that was the biggest money-maker we had. Make sure to put something serious on the sign - "Family killed by ninjas" doesn't work.
1. You should be prepared to be without over-the-counter medicine for the weekend. Don't bring it with you--just endure. Those experiencing homelessness don't typically carry around Tylenol. But know that you are likely to experience for headaches, backaches, allergies, etc. 2. Give it up. If a truly homeless person asks you for something, give it to them. It's a great conversation starter and of course, the nice thing to do. Cigarettes, if you can deal with them, are a great way to do this. But, so are your sleeping bags, jackets, backpacks, etc. (although you should probably wait to the last day) 3. Don't be afraid to go inside all kinds of businesses. You'll be surprised where you are welcome sometimes.
1. Talk to everyone you have a chance to. Cigarettes, even if you don't smoke are a great way to meet people. If someone asks you for a cigarette you can give them one - you don't even have to smoke. 2. Try to make eye-contact with as many "non-homeless" people as you can and take careful note of their reactions. 3. Go to the library for some part of the day; I experienced a lot of different things there. You can also borrow scratch paper and a pencil to reflect on your day. 3.5. Be prepared to walk, walk, walk!!! You will definitely learn your way around the city in a short amount of time.
I see a lot of sterotypical and unfortunate things said here. I DO carry around tylenol, aspirin and some other such items. I DO shower and launder regularly. I DON'T panhandle. At all. Ever. No "signs". etc.
I understand that the most visible "homeless" do, but one of the worst things about actually being homeless is exactly this kind of stigmatizing about what that is and means, and then having to live with deleterious effects of that.
1. Not only prepare yourself mentally, but physically as well. Try to arrive for the start of your Challenge in already dirty clothes, unshaven and as unclean as possible. This really helps create a sense for others that you are indeed homeless and you will be treated as such.
ReplyDelete2. Bring a sleeping bag or a really warm blanket! It gets cold at night in DC!
3. If you are nervous, apprehensive, etc about the experience... all the better. Imagine what it's like for those who really are becoming homeless for the first time. They don't have any sort of manual, guide of debrief! Get outside of your comfort zone and experience what too many Americans do each day.
1. Don't be afraid to get "dirty". The point of the challenge is to experience homelessness, so do it! It makes the whole thing a lot better if you can panhandle and talk to people (especially homeless people).
ReplyDelete2. Bring warm clothes! If you were ACTUALLY going to run away from home and be homeless, you wouldn't leave with nothing but a T-shirt and jean jacket - let's be honest. Depending upon the time of year, it could be cold and night and day, so be prepared.
3. Make a sign early. We waited until the second day to make a sign, but that was the biggest money-maker we had. Make sure to put something serious on the sign - "Family killed by ninjas" doesn't work.
1. You should be prepared to be without over-the-counter medicine for the weekend. Don't bring it with you--just endure. Those experiencing homelessness don't typically carry around Tylenol. But know that you are likely to experience for headaches, backaches, allergies, etc.
ReplyDelete2. Give it up. If a truly homeless person asks you for something, give it to them. It's a great conversation starter and of course, the nice thing to do. Cigarettes, if you can deal with them, are a great way to do this. But, so are your sleeping bags, jackets, backpacks, etc. (although you should probably wait to the last day)
3. Don't be afraid to go inside all kinds of businesses. You'll be surprised where you are welcome sometimes.
1. Talk to everyone you have a chance to. Cigarettes, even if you don't smoke are a great way to meet people. If someone asks you for a cigarette you can give them one - you don't even have to smoke.
ReplyDelete2. Try to make eye-contact with as many "non-homeless" people as you can and take careful note of their reactions.
3. Go to the library for some part of the day; I experienced a lot of different things there. You can also borrow scratch paper and a pencil to reflect on your day.
3.5. Be prepared to walk, walk, walk!!! You will definitely learn your way around the city in a short amount of time.
I see a lot of sterotypical and unfortunate things said here. I DO carry around tylenol, aspirin and some other such items. I DO shower and launder regularly. I DON'T panhandle. At all. Ever. No "signs". etc.
ReplyDeleteI understand that the most visible "homeless" do, but one of the worst things about actually being homeless is exactly this kind of stigmatizing about what that is and means, and then having to live with deleterious effects of that.