Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

It Takes A Village To Uplift A Population: Addressing The Homeless In District 16 Of Virginia, Chloe Allen

Student Writing

Homelessness is a community issue which affects every country. My research group and I decided to look into the causes of homelessness in our community. We interviewed the Fredericksburg Regional Continuum of Care (FRCoC), The Brisben Center (TBC), and Micah Ecumenical Ministries (MEM) to better understand the situation in District 16 of Virginia. This paper discusses the actions already in place in the district as well as our proposed solutions to help the homeless population. We propose acting on minimum wage, petitioning and revising a budget proposed by the FRCoC, and opening a new shelter to serve the chronically homeless. …

Fearless Friday: Kelsey Deraffele, Kelsey A. Deraffele

SURGE

SURGE is honored to feature Kelsey DeRaffele ’16 for Fearless Friday!

Kelsey is a senior Sociology major. She’s originally from Golden’s Bridge, NY and has spent her time at Gettysburg College getting as involved as she can. Kelsey was the president for the Autism Speaks club for three years. [excerpt]

The Perennial Purple Heart, Anonymous

SURGE

Let’s talk about Veterans’ sacrifices. I must admit that I didn’t know much myself about veterans until one of my siblings entered the Navy. I’m very proud of his service, sacrifice, and dedication to protecting the United States. It’s probably not a common thought to all of us, but I think often of what it is like to be away during wartime serving our country. Military folks sacrifice a ton – whether it be lower pay, moving around a lot, being away from family for a long time, going into risky military operations, etc. These men and women sacrifice comparatively …

Give Us Your Poor: A National Public Education Campaign Addressing Homelessness, Barbara L. Graceffa, Center For Social Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The objective of this campaign to create awareness that the Government alone cannot solve homelessness. The campaign also creates awareness that corporations need to be involved to help bring to scale solutions as well as promote innovation. The aim of the project is to create an awareness that collaboration between government, non-profits, academia, corporations, faith communities, and individuals is key to solving the issue.