R.E.A.C.H for BSU homelessness
By Becky Kennedy
Comment Staff
There are many students that go to BSU. Unfortunately, some of our students are suffering from homelessness. But fortunately, there are fundraisers and donation drives that are helping to solve that problem.
One of them is called R.E.A.C.H., or Raising Education and Awareness for College Homelessness. The donation drive is through the Social Work 432 course on campus. The donations go to the homeless college students.
Maggi Noyes, a student in the class helping to organize the drive, said that BSU has 21 homeless students on campus that are documented. She also said that on April 16th, REACH will be having an information fair that will include presenters from Father Bill’s & Mainspring, The Home of Little Wanderers, the BSU Food Bank/St. Basil’s Food Pantry, the BSU Counseling Center, and School on Wheels.
At this event, there will also be a table presented by SCWK 432 students, a silent auction, and light refreshments. The event is going to be taking place in the Burnell Atrium, where the round tables, are from 10 a.m. until noon.
Unfortunately, it’s not just BSU students that are suffering from homelessness.
“The United States has set a record, but it’s not a good one: there are more homeless students in the nation than ever before, and many are living completely on their own, without parents or guardians, new data from the Department of Education show. During the 2012-2013 school year, 1,258,182 students enrolled in public schools across the country were homeless. That’s an 8% increase from the previous school year, and more than an 85% increase from the 2006-07 school year,” according to Allie Bidwell, writer of US News.
The rate of homeless students is increasing, and there needs to be something done about it. Luckily there are a lot of fundraisers and donation drives, such as REACH, that are working their hardest to solve the problem.
Becky Kennedy is a Comment staff writer.
