Local Teens Gather for a Universal Cause

What kind of event could lure nearly 100 high school students from towns as far away as Pottersville, Plainfield, and South Orange on a rainy Saturday afternoon? You may be surprised to find out that these teens came together in effort to be educated on the topic of homelessness.

Through ., six local high school students teamed together to organize the “Teens Tackle Homelessness” Student Conference, Saturday at Christ Church.

The Student Steering Committee included Julianne Capron (Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child), Itai Carmeli (Summit High School), Clara Mooney (Newark Academy), Emma Mustafa (Westfield High School), Gabe Grissman (Summit High School), and Alex Rothfelder (Summit Unitarian Church).

When asked what she hoped her peers would take away from the conference, Mooney replied, “I really hope they get a better understanding of what homelessness is and tear away some stereotypes.”

The goal of the event was not only to educate the youth on what homelessness is, but why people and families are homeless and what they, as students, can do to help.

The conference opened with a keynote address by Kathleen DiChiara, a Summit resident who founded the Community FoodBank of New Jersey over 30 years ago. She spoke to the teens as her allies in the fight against hunger and homelessness.

“If we are training and educating students to be good solid citizens, as important as it is to take them to a museum, it is equally as important to take them somewhere to work on the behalf of the broader community. And if your school isn’t doing it, stand up!” urged DiChiara.

Following DiChiara’s introduction, student participants attended one of four workshops, which they had selected and registered for in advance. The workshops were led by speakers who encouraged the teens to discuss their previous understanding of homelessness and to voice their questions associated with the issue.

Workshops were led by Bilal Muhammad and his assistants from the Homeless Unit in Newark, Mable D. Elmore from the Emergency Residency Program of Newark, The Honorable Wayne Smith, Mayor of Irvington, and Tonya R. Bryan, Policy Advisor for Homelessness and Housing Development at the Mayor’s Office of Newark.

Bryan, who led a workshop entitled “What’s the Plan? Addressing Homelessness in our Communities,” educated students on the “Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness “ and exposed the challenges and goals involved in such a plan.

“I hope to have brought some awareness to the youth and to let them know that their local government is really concerned about the homeless epidemic,” said Bryan.

The honorable Wayne Smith led a workshop called “How Does Homelessness and Poverty Affect a City?” He kept his students’ attention by putting them in a role-reversal situation and asking teens what they would do about the homeless problem if they were the mayors of an urban community.

“I look at this as an opportunity to impress upon young people that as problem-solvers for society we have a responsibility to look at questions we might not necessarily like. We are responsible for trying to deal with those issues as future taxpayers, as future leaders, as future business people, as future philanthropists,” said Mayor Smith, who has been collaborating with Bridges Outreach in his community since 2002.

Following these 45-minute discussions, students, speakers, and homeless friends reconvened for a pasta dinner and listened as a panel of presenters spoke further on the topics introduced in the workshops.

“They’re engaged and attentive. It’s a lot to digest. I’m impressed with them,” said Lois Bhatt, Executive Director of Bridges, Inc, of the conference’s young attendees.

At the start of the “Teens Tackle Homelessness” event, many student participants expressed that they had come to “learn something.” By the end of the evening, they had been given a new wealth of knowledge, ample resources, a healthy dose of inspiration, and even made unexpected friends.

“I hope it’s the start of many more (conferences),” said Sarah Rosen, former Bridges Outreach President, “Bridges in not just about handing over goods, it about community.”

Community seemed to be a common theme throughout the night. DiChiara put it simply: “When part of our community suffers, we all suffer. Choose to make a difference.”

For more information about Bridges Outreach, to find out how you can help in the battle against hunger and homelessness, or to learn more about conference speakers, check out the following websites:

www.bridgesoutreach.org

www.njfoodbank.org

www.ccnjredcross.org

www.apostleshouse.org