News

Hunger, homelessness in spotlight

Related articles this week: • Front-page photo: Shack-a-Thon at St. Norbert College • Homeless shelter opens     Diocese supports plans to open shelter at local church • Come to the feast: Free Thanksgiving meals     Area groups offer turkey feasts for anyone who wants     to come on the holiday Past articles: from October 26, 2007 issue: • On Nov. 1, where will Green Bay homeless go?     City plan for most marginalized may not happen,     but church hospitality center ready from September 28, 2007 issue: • Alternative to COTS homeless shelter in works     Green Bay's New Community Shelter in mix,     advises patience from August 31, 2007 issue: • Green Bay nixes winter shelter at church     COTS offered a place to sleep to people     who couldn't go to city's other shelters • Bridging the Gap by Bishop David Zubik --     A scraped knee and beyond     Emergency shelter in downtown     is all about caring for each other

GREEN BAY -- Brown County shelters house approximately 300 homeless people each night, according to research by the Brown County Homeless & Housing Coalition (BCHHC).

A report released by Green Bay Public Schools indicates that 187 students are identified as homeless in the district. Many more families in the county are at risk of homelessness.

Brown County Human Services reports that there were 5,600 households with 13,693 individuals using Wisconsin FoodShare (food stamps), an increase from 5,100 households at the beginning of 2006.

The BCHHC has scheduled several Green Bay events in observation of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, Nov. 11-17.

Kicking off the events is Youth Summit 2007, which offers students in grades 7-12 the opportunity to learn about local grass roots efforts in several areas:

• to serve the homeless population,
  
  
• to engage in leadership for change activities;
  
  
• to enroll in Food Stamp Challenge 1-2-3;
  
  
• and to share a simple meal.

Interested adults are also welcome to attend the event, 4-7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 11, at First United Church of Christ, 509 S. Webster. There is no cost to attend.

Homeless advocate Karina O'Malley will give a presentation titled, "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." O'Malley and her late husband, Lou, founded the Room at the Inn shelter and Crossroads Justice Center and Shelter for families in need.

O'Malley will sell and sign copies of My Dissent, a collection of Lou's columns for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Lou wrote a weekly opinion column for the paper. His most frequent topic was the many causes and faces of homelessness.

The first two chapters of the book deal with the history of Brown County's response to homelessness, from the first attempt to regulate shelters in 1994 to the first year of COTS in 2005. Lou died in 2006.

Other events include:

• "Economic Diversity Training" for adults, presented by Green Bay Area Schools social worker, Alison Draheim, and Danz School principal, Teri Willems, 6:30-8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12, in Bona Hall, Nativity Church, 2270 S. Oneida.
  
  The training teaches a greater understanding of poverty and enhances skills in working with children and families of poverty. There is no cost to attend. The program repeats from 9-10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14 at the Salvation Army, 626 Union Court.
  
  
• The Neville Public Museum and A. G. Edwards and Sons, Inc. sponsor a free showing of the Will Smith feature film, "The Pursuit of Happyness" at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the museum, 210 Museum Place. A discussion will follow the film.
  
  
• UW-Whitewater social work professor Jim Winship, a professional storyteller, will perform his one man show, "Poverty and Homelessness: A First Person View," 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, in the auditorium at Central Brown County Library, 515 Pine St.
  
  Winship's appearance is made possible by the Wisconsin Humanities Council and co-sponsored by the Brown County Library.

For more information about any of these events, contact Cathy Putnam at (920) 435-1540 or Br. Steve Herro at (920) 337-4345.