Defiance College and NOCAC Path Center to educate on homelessness
October 11, 2017
DEFIANCE, Ohio - Defiance College and the Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission PATH Center will sponsor “A Night Without a Home” on Thursday, Oct. 19, beginning at 4:30 p.m. on the campus of Defiance College. “A Night Without a Home” provides an opportunity to discuss, think, and learn about homelessness by participating in unique events and activities.
Seventeen Defiance College students will be helping with the event, including MacKenzie Combs of Milford Center, Ohio, a senior in the social work program. She commented that “A Night Without a Home” has opened the eyes of the social work students.
“Partnering with the NOCAC Path Center has been a blessing, and contributed to uniting our class to serve and host an event for a cause greater than ourselves,” MacKenzie explained. “We have worked cohesively to create an event for the homeless population to have a home for a day and eat, while bringing awareness to the community and the College about the homelessness issue.”
Seventy-five tents will be displayed on the campus lawn along Clinton Street to represent persons dealing with homelessness in rural Northwest Ohio. “Tent City” tours will educate attendees about the experiences of homeless people from our community with first-hand stories posted throughout.
The night begins at 4:30 p.m. with the opening of the resource tent and soup kitchen. The soup kitchen will provide a modest meal to participants and the public until 7:30 p.m. Freewill donations will be accepted. Welcome and a program will begin at 5:45 p.m. with a speakers’ panel that will discuss the causes of and solutions to homelessness from a variety of perspectives.
Entertainment will be presented at 7:00 p.m., with a closing and vespers beginning at 9:00 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public.
Families, groups, and friends are encouraged to spend the night in the tents to help gain a perspective on living without a home. For more information about “A Night Without a Home,” or to reserve a tent, please contact Susan Cheeseman at 419-782-6962 or scheeseman@nocac.org.
Defiance College, chartered in 1850, is an independent, liberal arts institution in Northwest Ohio offering more than 40 undergraduate programs of study as well as graduate programs in education and business. Defiance College has received national recognition for its educational experience of service and engagement. The college website is www.defiance.edu.
