To raise awareness for Hunger and Homelessness Week, Volunteer ETSU hosted a variety of events including a screening of the documentary “Lead Me Home.”
The screenplay explored the stories of people who are without a place to call home in large cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, and Seattle, Washington.
President Elayna Chavis, of Volunteer ETSU, explained that the events that were hosted during the week of Nov. 12-19 were in coordination with ETSU’s Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement. These events were Hugs for the Homeless, Oxfam Hunger Banquet, the “Lead Me Home” screenings and Service Saturday.
“The Hugs for the Homeless allowed us to make 50 bags for the downtown Johnson City Day Center and we also made blankets to send to them to prepare for the winter,” said Chavis, “as volunteers we helped make these bags to help those in need.”
Chavis explained that there are a few organizations, such as the Downtown Day Center and the Salvation Army, in the Johnson City area that help provide resources for the homeless population. The Oxfam Banquet, which occurred on Thursday, Nov. 17, was “an immersive experience that students, faculty and staff can see what hunger looks like at certain levels,” according to Chavis. She explains that the hunger crisis has gotten worse as we continue our lives post-pandemic. The hope of this banquet is to highlight this crisis and bring awareness to it in our community.
The screenplay “Lead Me Home” was shown on Friday, Nov. 18, in the Culp Forum 311.
Chavis asked the audience questions on what the ETSU community could do to support the local homeless population and the emotions that were brought out in audience members. Many of the suggestions and replies mentioned how devastating and saddening it is to see the conditions that over 500,000 Americans are living in.
Volunteer ETSU hosts a “Service Saturday” each weekend throughout the semester that allows ETSU community members to give back to the local organizations supporting the homeless population.
“Just offering your time is the best way to get involved and just to see how these organizations play a role in topics like this,” said Chavis, “which is why our biggest thing with our ‘Service Saturday’ is to get volunteers out to these sites to firsthand what they do for the community.”
To learn more about Volunteer ETSU visit their Instagram @volunteeretsu or email serve@etsu.edu. If you’re interested in learning more about “Lead Me Home” it is available for streaming on Netflix.
