Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is an annual, nationwide program where organizations and advocates draw attention to the problems of hunger and homelessness in communities across the country. This year, the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County and Washtenaw Housing Alliance (WHA) hosted a variety of educational, service, and advocacy events from November 13th through November 24th that were open to the public.
On November 13th at Washtenaw Community College, WHA organized the State of Homelessness Event where OCED Human Services Manager, Morghan Williams Boydston, presented findings from the 2018 Washtenaw County Continuum of Care Annual Report. There were also presentations from service providers and advocates on the work currently happening in our community, as well as stories shared by those with lived homelessness experience. A recap of the event can be found here.
On November 18th, OCED Housing and Infrastructure Manager, Mirada Jenkins, participated in a panel discussion following the screening of the acclaimed film Owned, A Tale of Two Americas. The documentary feature film provides a historical framework US housing economy and how racist policies and practices led to the current housing affordability crisis. The films context served as a platform to discuss the current housing market and status of affordable housing efforts in the Washtenaw County.
While Housing and Homelessness Week is now over, it’s important that this community continues to learn and improve it’s response to hunger and homelessness. Be sure to follow SAWC (Facebook | Twitter), WHA (Facebook | Twitter), and OCED (Facebook | Twitter) on social media to stay up to date on the latest data and opportunities to learn, support, and serve in Washtenaw County.