Oracle Online

Instead of spending the night in the comfort of her dorm room, Hendry had been one of a handful of resilient students who spent the evening on Old Main mall to raise awareness about homelessness and an estimated 21,000 homeless people in Minnesota.

Hendry said she slept outside because she wanted to see what being homeless was like. Patrice Anthony, who slept next to Hedry, said she came to learn what OSLV does. Anthony, a first-year, was recently hired at the OSLV.

The previous evening, 40 people donned hats and mittens and braved the evening’s cold to learn about and experience homelessness at MPIRG’s Homelessness Awareness Sleep-out.

The evening was highlighted by two speakers who were actively involved in raising awareness about the homeless.
Michael Dahl, the executive director of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless spoke at length about how the deck is stacked against the homeless.

Dahl said there are 600 unaccompanied homeless youth in the metro area, and there are 50 beds in homeless shelters designated for youth. Dahl said these homeless youth are particularly at risk.

“Within 48 hours, we can almost guarantee that someone will approach that youth about prostitution or drugs,” Dahl said.
He also criticized the federal government for giving tax breaks to homeowners simply because they own a home, yet not giving similar breaks to renters.

First-year Maggie Korder, who works at the OSLV, especially liked Dahl’s speech. She said she was impressed by his knowledge.

Casey Robbins, who raised $25,000 for the Dignity Center, a homeless shelter through the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, where she is a member, also spoke. Now a high school senior, Robbins raised the money by sleeping in a tent on her roof for 100 nights from Sept. 15 to Dec. 24 during her sophomore year.

“I wanted to take away the stereotypes we link with homelessness,” Robbins said.

Despite their experience, the students weren’t homeless. They had a warm bed and a hot shower to return to. Homeless people don’t have that, Hendry said.

“We need to do something about this, because it’s not going to go away on its own,” said sophomore Dahmon Domness, who introduced the evening’s speakers.