GNHS Students to Raise Awareness About Homelessness

As many in the community go to bed in the comfort of their own home Thursday night, a group of students in Public Service Practicum (PSP) from Grayslake North will be raising awareness about homelessness by sleeping in the school's courtyard in boxes. 

Students will lead activities and discussions about the issue of homelessness in Lake County and throughout the United States. There are between 640,000 people who experience homelessness on any given night in the United 
States. According to a report in 2010, 474 people in Lake County met the standard government definition of homelessness. 

The students will then experience for a night what it’s like to be homeless. Not everyone will be able to bring enough material to completely layer themselves from the cold. The night will certainly not be kind to the students, as the boxes will not be as comfortable as a house would be, since no modern luxuries such as heat and air conditioning do not come in a cardboard box. 

Such a dramatic shift from a comfy house to a stuffy box in the middle of the night outside will not be an easy adjustment to most of the students. However, the students are positive and optimistic when it comes to participating in such harsh conditions. In the end they learned a very important lesson about the life of the homeless.

“I chose to be involved in this project because I know that a lot of people are affected by hard times and I want to make a difference. This event marks the beginning of our annual food drive which is one way that we CAN make things better for those currently struggling in our community,” said student organizer Emily Erickson.

The special event kicks off the 2013 Grayslake North High School Food Drive. Each year, Grayslake North students invite all residents living in the Grayslake North School district to lend a hand to those most in need in our community this holiday season. Students from Grayslake North will be dropping off food drive collection bags to homes in various neighborhoods in the Grayslake North attendance area between Nov. 9-13. 

Neighbors who want to participate in the drive are asked to fill the grocery bag with nonperishable food items and leave on their front porch for student pick-up on Saturday, November 16. All residents are encouraged to contact teacher Chris Kubic with any questions or concerns (northpublicservice@gmail.com, 847-780-7378 for voice/text).

Grayslake Central students will reach out to residents in neighborhoods located in Central’s attendance boundary by dropping off food drive bags the following week. The collection date for the Central neighborhoods will be Nov. 23. This includes the Chesapeake Farm neighborhood, which is split between North and Central.

We hope that all people will participate on our food drive, so that we CAN make a difference for people who do not have what we do!

—Submitted by Grayslake North High School.