Guest Speakers
During our Hunger & Homeless course we had the great opportunity to listen to two guest speakers from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to listen to real life testimonies regarding the issues we are facing today such as hunger and homelessness. It really brings light to the subject and creates awareness, inspiration , and hope for many. Each speaker lived a different lifestyle and took a different path but both ended up in a stage of homelessness and desperation. However, homelessness as a previous speaker Gwen mentioned, is not what someone becomes, its a stage someone goes through, and both these individuals as well as Gwen proved that right.
The female speaker's stories was very emotional, much like the many we have heard. She suffered the loss of her mother and life took a toll on her there going forward. She much like many troubled teens went from relatives house to relatives house and eventually ending up in the streets. She gave us an insight of how it was to experience that. She also shared her attachment to the "family" she had created in the streets as a safety net. Luckily, she was able to surpass that stage in her life and was approved for a home through the agency. Its great to see when the system assists someone. She is now bringing awareness to the issue of homelessness and we greatly appreciate her testimony!
The male speaker showed up how he was a working man in society, unfortunately injured at work and his life took a toll from there. It was like every system designed to assist was creating hurdles that led to no where. He spoke to us about sleeping in his vehicle and being away from his family. He too was homeless, living at times with a family member or in his vehicle. He was able to finally attain employment and is rebuilding his future! With both speakers we see the system is very tricky , it fails you more times then not, but with perseverance its possible!
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