by Marcus Lindsay Clark
During the summer semester of 2013 at the Community College of Denver (CCD), I
gave a speech to my Public Speaking Class about my experience with homelessness
and the Camping Ban Ordinance enacted by the City of Denver. In that speech I invited
my classmates to experience 30 continuous days of homelessness in order for them to
fully realize what it is really like.
I did this because of the things I have seen some students do to show solidarity with the
homeless plight in this country. In these acts of solidarity the students would spend a
night together camping out in a parking lot or a parking garage or some such place with
adult supervision and refreshments.
Although I applaud their efforts, I have to say that they are severely short sighted and
target the wrong demographic. Most of the homeless people that I know are middle
aged white males, divorced or recently separated, living on the streets because the
rents are too high in this area. Many have part-time jobs or work in the volunteer sector. Most of them came to the streets because they slowly but surely lost everything they
owned and/or loved.
This means: no friends, no family, no means of communication or transportation, with
only what they can carry and only what is absolutely necessary to survive. This means
having to walk sometimes miles a day just for food to sit and eat right there, in whatever
conditions they were in or experiencing. Many times in these food-lines people are
suffering and lashing out at anyone and everyone they see. The weather can be harsh
and cruel, and personal hygiene is a difficult task.
Finding these resources for the uninitiated is also quite daunting. I can still remember
the horror of not being able to find a place to use the bathroom: realizing for the first
time that you are truly desperate and alone as you defecate in an alley to avoid messing
yourself. (This occurred on my first full day of total homelessness.) It is because of
these things and many others that I encouraged the class to experience real
homelessness. Nobody accepted my challenge. I don’t blame them.
gave a speech to my Public Speaking Class about my experience with homelessness
and the Camping Ban Ordinance enacted by the City of Denver. In that speech I invited
my classmates to experience 30 continuous days of homelessness in order for them to
fully realize what it is really like.
I did this because of the things I have seen some students do to show solidarity with the
homeless plight in this country. In these acts of solidarity the students would spend a
night together camping out in a parking lot or a parking garage or some such place with
adult supervision and refreshments.
Although I applaud their efforts, I have to say that they are severely short sighted and
target the wrong demographic. Most of the homeless people that I know are middle
aged white males, divorced or recently separated, living on the streets because the
rents are too high in this area. Many have part-time jobs or work in the volunteer sector. Most of them came to the streets because they slowly but surely lost everything they
owned and/or loved.
This means: no friends, no family, no means of communication or transportation, with
only what they can carry and only what is absolutely necessary to survive. This means
having to walk sometimes miles a day just for food to sit and eat right there, in whatever
conditions they were in or experiencing. Many times in these food-lines people are
suffering and lashing out at anyone and everyone they see. The weather can be harsh
and cruel, and personal hygiene is a difficult task.
Finding these resources for the uninitiated is also quite daunting. I can still remember
the horror of not being able to find a place to use the bathroom: realizing for the first
time that you are truly desperate and alone as you defecate in an alley to avoid messing
yourself. (This occurred on my first full day of total homelessness.) It is because of
these things and many others that I encouraged the class to experience real
homelessness. Nobody accepted my challenge. I don’t blame them.
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