Twelve student journalists, 16 weeks, one city. Thousands of people homeless in the Windy City alone. This spring, at Roosevelt University, where we embrace a mission of social justice, students in the capstone undergraduate journalism course, the convergence newsroom, set out to chronicle homelessness in the city of Chicago in a project entitled, “When the City Turns Cold: Homeless in Chicago.” Against the backdrop of a national mortgage crisis and rising home foreclosures, increasing joblessness and poverty, and the lingering misperception of homelessness in America as being mostly a portrait of indigent men, we examine homelessness in Chicago. The objective over the spring/winter semester was to take a literary and microscopic look at homelessness during the most brutal months of the year here—winter.
Embracing the traditional approach of public affairs reporting and the tools of convergent media, Roosevelt University journalism students took to the streets where the homeless often dwell in the shadows of downtown’s lower Wacker Drive on icy nights and cower in blankets in the darkened doorways of buildings in an effort to seek shelter from the wind; to homeless shelters, among them Pacific Gardens Mission, perhaps Chicago’s most well-known haven for the homeless that has operated for more than 100 years; to a suburban church, where a program known as PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter), is seeing a burgeoning number of middle class families turn to them for shelter amid mounting foreclosures and an unforgiving and relentless economic downturn.In addition to the written narrative, the student journalists also sought to document through the use of digital media, the voices and faces of those most affected and those working on the frontlines to combat homelessness and hunger as well as those who provide a lifeline.
To that end, our stories as presented here, take the form of written narrative, as well as a collective multimedia project. Additionally, posted are podcasts by students on their reflections of covering the story, an American story, one that we cannot afford to ignore, one that is crystalized by the reporting, writing and storytelling of these student journalists.
Professor John W. Fountain
Dear John,
ReplyDeleteI applaud you for challenging your students to take a deeper look at homelessness. It goes far beyond the person begging on the street.
I am a case manager for Bridge Communities located in DuPage County where we offer transitional housing to 75 families at any given day. Our website is www.bridgecommunities.org if you want to have more information of what we offer.
As an agency we partner with churches and community groups who provide finances and volunteer mentors to walk the journey with each family. Working with families who are the working poor puts a whole different face on homelessness. Perhaps you might consider focusing on this aspect with another group of students.
Thanks for your leadership in challenging your students...
Karen Stewart
Professor Fountain, Thank you and the students/writers/producers for heading out into Chicago and finding these stories.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of homelessness is important to us at Heartland Alliance, where we provide a wide range of services including health care, dental care, mental health counseling, and affordable housing.
I'd love to chat with you and hear what feedback you and the students have received from this project and brainstorm ways that we might be able to help contribute more stories.
Thanks,
Yesenia Sotelo
ysotelo@heartlandalliance.org
I think this is a great project for the students at Roosevelt University to undertake. Many people out there believe that those who are experiencing homelessness bring in upon themselves. The fact is, nothing could be further from the truth. In a big city like Chicago, jobs are hard to find, and most people are only a few paychecks away from being out on the street. Equally, I hope this project takes into account the social and cultural conditions which can contribute to people in our society living with out an address. In Chicago, nearly 75 percent of those who are homeless are African American; which is disproportionate to the rest of the country. Additionally, thousands of people are released from prisons each year in Illinois, and have no where to turn once released. Most employers conduct background checks today and for those with a criminal record-it's nearly impossible to find a job. Good luck with this project, the story needs to be told.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I hope that this program with the school will educate others in out society about those who experience homelessness. The truth is, most of us are only a few paychecks away from being out on the street.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that this project looks into the contributing social factors to those who are homeless. In Illinois, nearly 75 percent of homeless are African American. We have to look at the social issues which cause Afrian American numbers to be so unequal to the rest of society. In Illinois, we release thousands from our prison system each year without providing them with the skills neccessary to find employment. Worse yet, it's difficult for them to find a job with a conviction on their record.
A small group of us have been going to Lower Wacker every Saturday morning for the past two years. We bring food, coffee, blankets, sleeping bags, clothes, etc. We have come to personally know many of these people. There for the grace of God, it could be any of us.
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