Guest columnist
On a recent chilly fall morning I was walking down 42nd Street in New York City headed to catch the subway to Central Park. As I raced down the stairs a rather familiar sight caught my eye. At the bottom of the stairs sat a man in tattered clothing, begging for spare change. One had to nearly step over him to board the subway.
A few days later, back home in Chapel Hill, I was driving down U.S. 15-501 toward Durham. Stopped at a red light, I looked to my left to see a man holding a cardboard sign that simply read, "Homeless Veteran: Please Help."
That evening, I was out with friends on Franklin Street, and I passed two gentlemen sitting on a bench. These men accosted many people telling them they were homeless and needed some change.
Had I had any of these encounters in my previous three years at Carolina, I would have been overwhelmed with a multitude of feelings. More than likely I would have been scared, felt threatened or wondered if the person truly needed my money, or were they just lazy. However, as I prepare to graduate and "enter the real world," my views on homelessness have changed drastically
In one of my public relations classes at UNC-CH, a course requirement is to intern with a local nonprofit throughout the semester. Knowing little about Durham, I chose the Durham Affordable Housing Coalition (DAHC). I had no clue what kind of PR work I was getting into or how much I could really help them.
In the end, they have helped me.
Growing up I always had preconceived notions about homeless people. I thought surely they did it to themselves. Why couldn't they just get a job or better yet go to a homeless shelter and get off the streets? It wasn't until I started working with the DAHC and more specifically with the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in Durham that I realized the severity of the situation.
The first thing I learned in working with the Ten Year Plan was that it is individuals like me, with a skewed sense of reality, who have the most to gain from helping the homeless people of Durham. I have learned more than anything that my preconceived notions were false assumptions and unfair judgments. Who am I to judge as to why someone is on the street, to assume it is a situation that could never happen to me or to assume I know why it happened to them? The truth is I am in no position to judge or find fault with anyone.
The annual one-night count of Durham's homeless people identified 536 individuals in January 2009. Nearly 27 percent of the 536 were considered chronically homeless or homeless for an extended period.
The Ten Year Plan seeks to provide stable, affordable permanent housing to all chronically homeless people and ensure that no one is homeless for more than 45 days. The plan is a partnership between city and county governments, nonprofit organizations, the faith community and the business community. Implementation of the plan requires the support of the entire community -- there is something everyone can do to help end homelessness in Durham.
Most important, the plan aims to change the way we look at homelessness. It calls us to no longer accept that homelessness is inevitable and to recognize that those who are homeless in our midst are someone's brother or sister, father or mother and are deserving of our concern, love and support.
For me the plan has definitely changed the way I look at homelessness. Though my contributions to the Ten Year Plan came in writing news releases, fact sheets, media lists and brochures, the knowledge the plan supplied me with is immeasurable.
What started as a mandatory internship has created some personal conversion that I trust will carry me throughout my life's journey.
I want to thank the staff of the DAHC, as well as the Ten Year Plan. More important, I want to encourage anyone reading this to get involved.
Go to www.durhamtenyearplan.com and learn what you can do to help end long term homelessness in Durham.
It is your city! It is up to you to change it.
Mark Pilkington is a senior at UNC-CH majoring in Public Relations. He may be reached at markwpilkington@gmail.com.
