PSL Students Take To Their Tents To Raise Awareness About Homeless Veterans
by Brenna McCallion
This past Sunday evening, September 11th, twenty four PHS seniors participated in this year’s Shantytown overnight event. Put on by the Perry Service Learning class teachers Mr. Soeder and Mrs. Trentanelli, PSL students slept in tents overnight in front of the school to raise awareness of the issues of homelessness and poverty.
PHS has hosted this overnight for the past fifteen years, each year having a different theme. This year revolved around veterans experiencing homelessness, and the speakers came from an organization that attempts to tackle that exact problem: Sub Zero Mission. Sub Zero is a non-profit that delivers their “stay alive five”, consisting of boots, coats, gloves, hats, and sleeping bags to homeless people during the colder months. Their focus is on veterans, but they help anyone they find who needs it.
After the Sub Zero members spoke, there was a group Zoom meeting with Melissa from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. She experienced homelessness for the majority of her life, and students participating had the opportunity to gain the perspective from someone who experienced homelessness first hand. The stories Melissa told of her life were eye opening, and helped students get a better understanding of what kind of real issues people experiencing poverty and homelessness actually face.
The following morning, students participating sat outside in the clothes they slept in as busses arrived. The hope was to draw attention to the event and spark conversations and questions about what it was all for. Along with that, signs with facts and statistics about homelessness that students made that night were hung up all around the school to try and raise more awareness.
One of the tents was brought inside, and will be in the lobby for the rest of the week as a way to collect donations. Donations are collected each year and are given to local organizations that provide shelter or resources for the homeless, that being the Sub Zero Mission this year.
by Brenna McCallion
This past Sunday evening, September 11th, twenty four PHS seniors participated in this year’s Shantytown overnight event. Put on by the Perry Service Learning class teachers Mr. Soeder and Mrs. Trentanelli, PSL students slept in tents overnight in front of the school to raise awareness of the issues of homelessness and poverty.
PHS has hosted this overnight for the past fifteen years, each year having a different theme. This year revolved around veterans experiencing homelessness, and the speakers came from an organization that attempts to tackle that exact problem: Sub Zero Mission. Sub Zero is a non-profit that delivers their “stay alive five”, consisting of boots, coats, gloves, hats, and sleeping bags to homeless people during the colder months. Their focus is on veterans, but they help anyone they find who needs it.
After the Sub Zero members spoke, there was a group Zoom meeting with Melissa from the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless. She experienced homelessness for the majority of her life, and students participating had the opportunity to gain the perspective from someone who experienced homelessness first hand. The stories Melissa told of her life were eye opening, and helped students get a better understanding of what kind of real issues people experiencing poverty and homelessness actually face.
The following morning, students participating sat outside in the clothes they slept in as busses arrived. The hope was to draw attention to the event and spark conversations and questions about what it was all for. Along with that, signs with facts and statistics about homelessness that students made that night were hung up all around the school to try and raise more awareness.
One of the tents was brought inside, and will be in the lobby for the rest of the week as a way to collect donations. Donations are collected each year and are given to local organizations that provide shelter or resources for the homeless, that being the Sub Zero Mission this year.