Impact

Penn State Lehigh Valley students adopt an apartment to help the homeless

During the first week of October, Penn State Lehigh Valley students cleaned, painted and made minor repairs to a Sixth Street Shelter apartment to help a homeless family in need. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — From early morning to late afternoon during the first week of October, Penn State Lehigh Valley students cleaned, painted and made minor repairs to a Sixth Street Shelter apartment. As part of the Adopt an Apartment program, student volunteers from Kappa Delta Pi, the Human Services Club, and an introductory sociology class worked to prepare a home for a new family’s arrival. Other students, faculty, staff and local businesses also joined the campus in support of the Adopt an Apartment program by actively collecting donations.

The program serves families that are living below poverty level or are homeless and have at least one child under the age of 18. Through the program, the families are granted shelter for 60 days to help them to regain economic stability. Many families spend three to nine months homeless while on a waiting list for this program.

Penn State Lehigh Valley's participation in the Adopt an Apartment program has become an annual one. Last year students were able to meet the family that moved in, a mother with her four children. Jennifer Parker, associate professor of sociology, is a lead volunteer and encourages her sociology students to recognize the homeless struggle.

“Last year, the four-year-old of the family moving into the apartment we adopted looked around and said, ‘You mean I do not have to sleep in a drawer anymore?’” Parker recalled. “It was a moment that really struck a lot of the students hard.”

The significance of this transition for the Lehigh Valley's most needy families cannot be understated.

“This experience gives our students a real hands-on glimpse into homelessness while giving them an opportunity to contribute to making a difference. It is also an opportunity to look introspectively at the diversity within our own student population, as some of our own have experienced homelessness at one time or another,” said Parker.

Linda Habrukovich, a Penn State Lehigh Valley senior and president of the campus Kappa Delta Pi international honor society, volunteered at the shelter.

“It was an absolutely heartwarming experience,” she said. “We painted and decorated the apartment so it is completely prepared for the family to move in. Participating in this project is a wonderful way to help a deserving family on their road to independence.”

Habrukovich is graduating in May, but she said she plans to continue her involvement with this project.

Parker pointed out that about half of the families come to the shelter despite being employed full time. Some of them work for big global companies such as Amazon and major grocery chains.  

“The reality today is that you could be earnestly working a full-time job and still be unable to keep afloat,” Parker said.   

During the first day at the shelter students learned that child care costs are often the precursor to a family falling through the cracks, noting that at a cost of about $600 per child per month, jobs that pay above minimum wage cannot cover more than one child care expense.

This year’s program has expanded and the campus is looking at ways to provide additional services to the Sixth Street Shelter during the fall 2015 and spring 2016 semesters to develop viable relationships with the families throughout the year. Penn State Lehigh Valley students will tutor children and are participating in the "Adopt a Family” program during the holiday season.

The Penn State Lehigh Valley Office of Student Life recently held its annual Thanksgiving food drive. A campus tradition for the past several years, the drive provided complete Thanksgiving meals for every family served by the Sixth Street Shelter in Allentown. The campus surpassed its goal by raising more than $1,300 and was able to provide a complete Thanksgiving dinner for 47 families, with about $200 left over to donate directly to the Sixth Street Shelter. The campus community gathered to pack and deliver the meals to the shelter on Friday, Nov. 20.

The campus’ involvement with the Sixth Street Shelter has positively impacted families in the community and exemplifies the Penn State mission of encouraging “human economic development, global understanding, and progress in professional practice.”

Last Updated November 24, 2015

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