National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week just ended.
Recently Morgan Hill and Gilroy city councils, along with others
across the county and nation, declared that week a time for their
citizens to engage in activities to raise awareness and provide
services to alleviate hunger and homelessness.
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week just ended. Recently Morgan Hill and Gilroy city councils, along with others across the county and nation, declared that week a time for their citizens to engage in activities to raise awareness and provide services to alleviate hunger and homelessness.
This week, Oakwood Country School in Morgan Hill engaged in such activities. Led by the irrepressible Penny Polayes and many tireless volunteers, it has transformed the school’s traditional Thanksgiving Feast, a legacy of the old Morgan Hill Country School’s founder, into a series of activities that focus more on the giving than the feasting.
Everyone at school is involved. The librarian features books at all reading levels about kids or families who struggle with hunger or homelessness. The teachers take their students through budget or meal planning exercises that help the students gain an idea of the tough decisions families that have limited incomes must make. There are exercises that help them become aware what it’s like to spend a day in the shoes of a person without shelter.
One teacher used the “Hunger Banquet” in her classroom. The class is arbitrarily divided into three groups.
One, representing first world countries, has the fewest students, but has more than enough food. The second has more students, but less to eat, and the last group, representing the third world, has the most students, and only bread and water. It is interesting to see if the third world, knowing the bread and water will not nourish them enough, asks for help from the first world, or if the first world notices the disparity among their peers, and offers to share its abundance.
Meanwhile, classes, school groups and families assemble and donate bins of food, each containing ingredients for a complete traditional Thanksgiving dinner. This year, Oakwood is donating more than 80 bins to Community Solutions. The library collects books to accompany the bins. In addition, the Community Service class sponsors a linen drive benefitting the family shelter in San Martín.
The week ends with a celebration, where students, faculty and volunteers “break pie” in anticipation of the family feasts to come. The purpose of any celebration is to have fun, but Mrs. Polayes and Oakwood have a longer term goal in mind: to educate children about hunger and homelessness so that when they grow into adults, they will be likely to substantially contribute to the changes needed to eliminate both. Bravo!
Speaking of homelessness, every five years, the county conducts a survey to find out how many homeless people are among us. This year, for the first time, planners will conduct the most comprehensive and thorough count and survey since they first started in 1989. This year’s assessment will include “observational” counts of those on the streets and in shelters, in addition to surveys.
This year’s count is very important to South Valley. Gilroy has more homeless people per capita than the rest of the county, yet the fewest resources to fight it. Morgan Hill and San Martín have homeless people, but they stay largely hidden. Crucial information from this assessment will help South Valley develop comprehensive solutions and attract more resources to help alleviate, and some day, eliminate homelessness.
South Valley must not be undercounted. The numbers served at the armory and by St. Joseph, include only those who have “come in” for services. We need to know how many still remain “outside.”
This is a call to volunteers willing to participate in the street count. Volunteers will be assisted by homeless and formerly homeless people who know the areas where homeless people congregate. There is no interaction with people on the streets; this is merely observation. This effort is guided by an experienced organization that has assisted communities across the nation to conduct similar assessments.
So far, they are scheduled to provide two 90-minute training sessions at St. Joseph Family Center on Dec. 2, one from 9-10:30am, the other 3-4:30pm. (Of course, if we have more volunteers, we can schedule more trainings). Volunteers only need to participate in one to be well-prepared to participate in the count. The street count will occur Dec. 15-17.
This is an exciting opportunity for our community to help focus our efforts and our resources to make them more effective. If you are interested in participating, whether you are from Morgan Hill, San Martín, or Gilroy, please contact Marilyn Roaf of the City of Gilroy at 846-0241.
