A structure composed of cardboard boxes, wood pallets and a tarp was all that sheltered members of Habitat for Humanity Thursday on the Quad.
The University’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds or repairs homes for families who live in substandard housing, hosted Day Without A Home in conjunction with National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
Throughout the day, members were asked to sit outside for a few hours and spend time inside of the shanty.
“It’s a visual representation. Most people don’t actually see this; they don’t know what homeless people live in,” said Cheryl Mathew, director of education and advocacy at Habitat and senior in LAS.
The temporary home was no bigger than a few square yards and was very unstable during wind gusts.
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The shanty was used to help students gain a better perspective of being homeless, said Amanda Wielgus, president of Habitat and senior in Education.
“It’s drawing attention to the dire straits that people do to stay warm, to stay in a shelter,” Wielgus said.
On posters and pieces of cardboard around the shanty, statistics about homelessness were displayed along with information about the organization itself.
Wielgus said this event is about bringing the issue of homelessness into the limelight.
“We’re bringing awareness to people who don’t know how prevalent the homeless problem is; whether it’s in Champaign-Urbana, whether it’s in the state or worldwide,” Wielgus said.
According to a 2009 survey done by Urbana-Champaign Continuum of Care, a group that supervises services for the homeless, there were 594 homeless people in Champaign Country, which included 358 children.
Mathew said the problem of local homelessness is being overlooked here at the University.
“You actually walk down Green Street, you see homeless people there. People don’t understand that it’s actually a big issue on this campus,” Mathew said. “We forget what is in our own backyard.”
Students were encouraged to buy raffle tickets and sign a petition, which would be sent to Illinois State Senator Dick Durbin. While the petition involves no specific legislation, it would encourage discussion in Congress to increase housing standards in the country.
Naomi Heinz, sophomore in LAS and member of Habitat for Humanity, said this is a big problem not only in the country, but worldwide.
“Substandard housing is a huge issue. There are millions of people around the globe that don’t have proper housing. Habitat is trying to help alleviate that issue and poverty,” Heinz said.
