A group of students from the Paidiea spent last week living on the streets of Atlanta as a part of a homeless emersion experience.  What the article does not mention is the role the residents of Covenant Community played in making the experience an unforgettable one for the students.  Last Wednesday thirteen 14 year olds along with their three chaperons arrived at Covenant and spent 90 minutes engaged in a frank and honest discussion about homelessness, addiction, decision making and managing emotions with the residents.  The experience was profound and impactful not just for the students but for our residents also.  By the end of the 90 minutes there were tears and hugs all around.  Two young men shared how they were being bullied and pressured into smoking marijuana by a peer at school and that hearing the stories of our residents they felt strong enough to stay away from him and to get help if needed.  On young lady shared that after listening to the residents she will no longer judge homeless people the same way and that the situation is not as hopeless as she first thought.  The benefits for our residents included increased confidence, self-esteem and the personal fulfillment that comes with doing service work.

 

In a partnership with the United Way, a group of middle school students is learning a tough lesson on homelessness.

The students are wrapping up a week long experience living in the elements.

For some local eighth graders, it's been a hard day's night.

"I couldn't fall asleep because the ground was really hard and I had to go to the bathroom so I was just walking back and forth all night and I didn't get any sleep," said student Rebecca Shapiro.

The group of students from the Paidiea School spent the last five days living on the streets of metro Atlanta with the goal of experiencing homelessness first hand.

"When I first heard it, I thought it was going to be kind of cool. I was excited. But then when we actually got down to the basics of what we really had to do, I was getting kind of scared. I was like oh, really?" said student Geremy Perriman.

They were only allowed to bring $$4 for the week and a garbage bag to carry water and a blanket. No change of clothes, no shower facilities, no communication with home. They spent every night sleeping in Inman Park. Their days were spent helping out at local agencies.

"This course, over the five day period, slowly teaches students that we all tend to stereotype and assume we know something about a particular group of people. But if we take the time to get to know them, we often find that we can empathize," said science teacher Elizabeth Hearn.

What the kids say has been the hardest part about the last five days was the walking. They say everyday they've walked up to 12 miles.

"I actually got blisters pretty early on. We went to one of the clinics, but they were having a crisis there so we didn't have time to be seen," said Shapiro.

"It's not just being homeless or acting as if they're homeless. But this awareness. They've visited more than a dozen agencies and interviewed over a dozen actual homeless people and understood their stories. I believe that the future has changed at least for these young people," said Protip Biswas of the United Way.

"It's shown me to be more grateful for the things I have. I'll probably never waste food ever again, ever in my life. I've just learned to be thankful for my parents and what I have," said Perriman.

"At home, when I'd pass homeless people, I really wouldn't think about it. But now, it seems like, there's so much I can do to help. It's definitely made me see there's so much we can all do. And that it's not like a hopeless cause like I thought it was," said Shaprio.

Many of the students now say they want to go into social work and try to end homelessness.

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Story posted 2011.05.27 at 06:45 AM EDT

 

More information can be found at:

 

http://www.paideiaschool.org/about_us/homeless.aspx