As part of Hunger for Justice Week, King’s College’s acknowledgement to National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week, members of the college community held a candlelight vigil Tuesday night to honor and remember the homeless, some of whom died in the streets of Luzerne County. Around 30 students and staff attended the 8 p.m. event in Monarch Court.
Father Dan Issing and several students offered prayers for justice, understanding, respect and remembrance of the homeless, hungry and afflicted. During the service special requests were made to pray for and remember the fifteen homeless men and women who died on the streets of the county during the past year.
The event was part of the 60-hour homeless experience also taking place on campus. Cardboard boxes were set up near a well traveled sidewalk in the center of campus and student volunteers stayed in the boxes in one to four hour shifts to get a feel for what homelessness might be like.
Tammy Fritz, Community Outreach Coordinator at King’s College, said, “The awareness experience is not only for the students, but the whole King’s community as well, to show that homelessness is not only an issue nationally, but in our area as well. It’s not seen much on our campus, so it’s a chance to see that is there, and it is real.”
King’s student, Nathaly Caraballo, volunteered for two shifts in the box. She said that many people, even some she knew, completely ignored her, and others gave her dirty looks. Caraballo said she thought the experience helped her to understand what homeless people might endure. During her early morning shift she got so cold she had to huddle with her friend to stay warm in the rain soaked box. The experience only gave her a small glimpse, and she said, “You will never truly know until you find yourself in a situation with no home, support or food."
This was confirmed for her when a man stopped by the box and told them he had once been homeless. Caraballo said, “He told us we would never know the true feeling of not having a home unless we actually lived it.”
Bill Bolan, director of the Shoval Center at King’s College and president of the Board of Directors at Ruth’s Place, the only homeless center for women in Luzerne County, said that in the past “homeless people have come by and have expressed their thanks for the homeless experience. They really think it raises awareness. They don’t think they are really seen in the community, and that people don’t understand that there are still people living under bridges and in parks.”
Leanne Mazurik, director of the Office of Volunteer Services at King’s College, added that the homeless are the invisible community and that events like the candlelight vigil and the 60-hour Homeless Experience give a voice to a group that is often forgotten.
As part of Hunger for Justice Week, King’s College’s acknowledgement to National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week, members of the college community held a candlelight vigil Tuesday night to honor and remember the homeless, some of whom died in the streets of Luzerne County. Around 30 students and staff attended the 8 p.m. event in Monarch Court. 
The event was part of the 60-hour homeless experience also taking place on campus. Cardboard boxes were set up near a well traveled sidewalk in the center of campus and student volunteers stayed in the boxes in one to four hour shifts to get a feel for what homelessness might be like. 
King’s student, Nathaly Caraballo, volunteered for two shifts in the box. She said that many people, even some she knew, completely ignored her, and others gave her dirty looks. Caraballo said she thought the experience helped her to understand what homeless people might endure. During her early morning shift she got so cold she had to huddle with her friend to stay warm in the rain soaked box. The experience only gave her a small glimpse, and she said, “You will never truly know until you find yourself in a situation with no home, support or food."
Bill Bolan, director of the Shoval Center at King’s College and president of the Board of Directors at Ruth’s Place, the only homeless center for women in Luzerne County, said that in the past “homeless people have come by and have expressed their thanks for the homeless experience. They really think it raises awareness. They don’t think they are really seen in the community, and that people don’t understand that there are still people living under bridges and in parks.”
