Clarkson Integrator

Issue date: 11/24/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Kevin R. Wexler (MCT) Anthony Valente and Zach Zoccolli, 16 year-old juniors from Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey, repair cardboard sleeping areas after the wind had knocked them down. Students slept and ate outside to learn what it is like to be homeless, Sunday, November 16, 2008.

55 temporarily homeless teenagers huddled against the cold in cardboard huts on the grounds of Paramus Catholic High School on Sunday night. The teens were homeless by choice to show support for those who have no choice but to be homeless.

The outdoor sleepover is intended to increase the students' empathy for the less fortunate. But participants said the economy is already doing that, by making them realize how quickly someone's fortunes can change from good to bad.

"There's a lot of people who didn't think they'd ever be homeless, but if you lose your job on Wall Street it could be you out there, too," said Matt Sartori, 18, of Lodi, N.J., a Paramus (N.J.) High School graduate. You don't have to look hard to see growing numbers of homeless, said Sartori, a freshman at Seton Hall University. "I can walk two blocks off campus and see homeless people at the Dunkin' Donuts."

Sartori was one of a handful of Paramus Catholic grads who showed up to encourage the students. They've had their consciousness raised by helping hand out food and toiletries in twice-monthly visits to areas in New York City where homeless people congregate. The trips are coordinated by Paramus Catholic's Dean of Campus Ministry Joseph Wilson, along with Bridges Outreach, a homeless support non-profit based in Summit, N.J.

Lois Bhatt, the executive director of Bridges Outreach, visited the Paramus Catholic box city Sunday and said the need for services for the homeless is growing every day.

"We've seen the demand for help increase over the last couple of months," as the economy has cratered, she said. "People who have part-time jobs are losing hours and people who are day laborers are seeing those jobs drying up."

The Paramus Catholic teens arrived at the school midday Sunday, with refrigerator and appliance boxes they or their parents had scrounged from Route 17 stores. They then staked out spots in a section of the school grounds sheltered from Sunday's gusty winds by a stand of trees.

Continued...

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