Ledger

In an effort to help feed and clothe the homeless, the University of Washington Tacoma student organization CIVITAS is now accepting donations of food and clothing from all UWT students to help contribute to the Friday Night Feed – a weekly charity event that takes place under the Interstate 705 overpass in downtown Tacoma.

CIVITAS, part of the UWT Urban Studies program, gives one third of the clothing and food from its fund drive to the Friday Night Feed and gives the remaining two thirds to local shelters and non-profit organizations.

Currently, bins and cardboard boxes on campus have been overflowing with donations. According to CIVITAS president UWT Urban Studies student Patrick Reed, the donations so far have mostly come from the Social Work and Urban studies programs.

"We received far more clothes than food, with a disproportionate amount of women’s clothing being donated," said Reed, who coordinates UWT’s involvement with the Friday Night Feed. "What it does is ‘put the rubber to road’. We can take what we are learning in the classroom and see it happening in real life, right outside our front door."

Besides free food, coffee, clothing and personal items, The Friday Night Feed gives needy people a chance to connect with social workers and charitable organizations.

Anthony Cantwell, a member of the homeless advocacy group Prepared Gateway of the Northwest, was at the Feb. 9 Friday Night Feed trying to educate people on the many avenues of help available to the homeless. He also shared his personal experiences with living on the streets.

"I experienced homelessness for nine months and lost about 60 or 70 pounds," said Cantwell. "At the time, I didn’t even know there were shelters. I’ve known three people who died from homelessness. One of them died of on an illness, another froze to death and I knew one guy who starved to death.

The problem is that there just isn’t enough information out there to let homeless people know how they can get help. When I was homeless, I didn’t even know there were shelters."

According to Cantwell, he has seen people from every walk of life become homeless, even people with advanced degrees who were successful professionals.

"Homelessness does not discriminate," said Reed. "It crosses both gender, all ethnicities, all ages, all skin colors and a wide range of economic backgrounds. They could be veterans, mental health patients, AIDS patients or substance abusers. Unavoidable circumstances, poor decisions, good decisions with bad luck or lack of a support group, could render you homeless."