The plight of the homeless can be kept at arm’s length.

Thursday, June 08, 2000

The plight of the homeless can be kept at arm’s length.

The homeless are merely people in a television newscast – anonymous.

A vacation to a large metropolitan city may offer first-person sights of people sleeping in hallways, over steam grates along streets or beneath bridges. Still, it’s rarely a shared suffering, but rather a silent "There but for the grace of God goes me" type of fleeting empathy.

Debra Hoyt decided to bring the experience home to her Austin High School sociology class students.

Hoyt wanted them to "feel" what others endured.

The teacher wanted to bring a sense of reality to the homeless problem, so she asked which of her students would like to spend the night out in the cold in Austin.

"I was really surprised," Hoyt said. "All 30 of my students wanted to go. I think they felt it sounded cool to do, so they were willing to try it."

As the night of the planned homeless event neared, many of the eager students bowed out for one reason or another. "It was a Tuesday, May 2, and there were sports events, jobs and other conflicts," Hoyt said. "Soon, about half of those who wanted to sleep out were still willing to do it. In the end, there were only 10."

Hoyt had heard about a similar sociological experiment elsewhere. So had another student in her AHS sociology class. There was a high level of curiosity about the experiment.

After AHS administration approved the project, parents and guardians were also contacted to allow their sons and daughters to participate.

When May 2 arrived, the 10 students and Hoyt and three other teacher chaperones went to Wescott Athletic Field. "Three of them had boxes, but the rest brought blankets or sleeping bags," Hoyt said.

From 9 p.m. that night until 6 a.m. the following morning, the 10 students and four adults slept on the bleachers at Wescott Athletic Field in temperatures that dipped to 55 degrees.

"I was pleased with it when it was over and we were back in the classroom," Hoyt said. "They talked a lot about it and how much it affected them. No longer could they go to the cupboard and take a box of cereal off the shelf without feeling a little guilty about those who have nothing."

Hoyt admitted, "There were students on both sides of the issue." Some believed the homeless chose to live that way.

Hoyt attempted to reinforce the students’ thinking with an article on homeless in American society by a Chicago university professor who spent 10 days on the streets of the Windy City.

The students also watched a movie about the subject as the teacher attempted to open every avenue of thought and opinion.

She appears to have accomplished that.

On Wednesday, the last day of school, Hoyt’s sociology class went to the Crime Victims Resource Center at Austin Medical Center West.

They donated money to the CVRC’s director, Torey Miller, who told the teenagers even Austin has its share of homeless people.

In this case, it is the victims, mostly women and their children, fleeing abusive situations.

There are three safe homes in Austin as well as a shelter at Rochester to help in the crisis situations, according to Miller.

More than one of the teenagers said the experience had caused them to appreciate what they have more and to "not take anything for granted."

One teenager said spending the night lying on a bench at Wescott Field taught her one important lesson. She and her classmates enjoyed one luxury homeless people do not, "I could go home anytime I wanted, but they have no place to go."