Dear Fellow Social Workers,
Last weekend, I spent 70 hours, nearly 3 days, living in a box outside of the Student Union. It was part of the Box-a-thon Event, sponsored by the Social Work Honor Society and NYPIRG, which aimed to help the local homeless by raising money and canned goods for the Buffalo City Mission. Many other students were also involved, although participation declined after the thunderstorm the first night. During my time sitting, sleeping, and eating, in and around my box on Perry Quad, there were a few things I saw and heard that angered, disturbed, and disheartened me. These are the things I would like to share with you.
The first night, our box-village sustained considerable damage due to a thunderstorm and heavy rainfall. Cardboard wreckage lay strewn across the quad. One passer-by mentioned that it looked like a bomb had hit. While that may have been hyperbole, he was not too far off the mark. The scene was by no means attractive and as I sat in my box throughout the weekend, I spent a great deal of time watching and listening to the reactions of those who walked by. Many people commented about the unsightliness of the boxes. I heard one tour guide apologize to prospective students, explaining that it doesn't usually "look like this". Several other individuals laughed at the project and loudly declared how much they were going to enjoy their nice warm beds. Some called me crazy. My muddy jeans and dirty, sandaled feet often seemed to be the object of disgusted glances when I went inside to use the bathroom.
I think this reflects a great deal about our campus attitude. Homelessness is apparently not only embarrassing, it's dirty and contemptible. However, there was one response that took it a step further "This makes the campus look so ugly and it's not even doing anything. If you want to do something just put out a donation box". I found this to be sadly characteristic of how our society perceives social problems today. In seeking to help, many are quick to give money, food, or perhaps a material object, but no one wants to give themselves. I don't mean to belittle those who do give financially or otherwise. Many wonderful people donated to our event and their generosity helped us to raise $600 and 400 food items. I would also like to note that although they were the minority, there were students who reacted in a very positive and supportive manner.
However, it seems that while people are willing to donate to a good cause, they don't want the cause to be in their backyard. It might be dirty, it might be embarrassing, and it could just be uncomfortable. Unfortunately, homelessness will not disappear. It may not be pretty, it may not be easy to deal with, but it's real and it is in someone's backyard. All the donations in the world will not fix the social problems our society faces until we are willing to understand that beneath the labels, there are people, no different from you or I, who live them as reality. I cannot claim to truly have experienced the world of the homeless. I had food, a sleeping bag, and the knowledge that I would return home in 3 days. Despite this fact, what I saw this weekend was a lot of people who were afraid of what was foreign, afraid of that which reached beyond the social norms. I choose to believe that it is this fear that was responsible for the negative reactions. The alternative is to believe that no one cares and if we, as the youth and future of our country, cannot care, than what future do we have? As Sonia Johnson once said, "One determined person can make a difference, a group of determined people can change the course of history". As a generation and as a student body, I hope that we will choose to be determined.
Sincerely,
Janelle R. Ploetz
Social Work Senior
BSC
