A recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated persons in their early twenties were the least likely demographic to commit their time to volunteer work (18.4 percent).  As students at the Jesuit University of New York, however, we are called upon to be men and women for others.

Every year, the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice organizes Fordham volunteers for the HOPE Count (Homeless Outreach Population Estimation), is an annual survey that assesses the number of individuals living in New York City's public spaces.

Sandra Lobo Jost, director of the Dorothy Day Center, stressed that this evening is not about doing an outreach project, but rather about gaining accurate data and capturing a moment in time in which we can analyze how many homeless people are on the streets on one of the coldest nights of the year.

On the evening of the event, which took place on Jan. 30 this year, the volunteers are teamed up in groups of six with one or two leaders and sent out to survey the streets of New York. The mission of this event is not only to estimate the number of unsheltered individuals, but also to evaluate city programs in hope of providing better services.

In total, more than 100 Fordham students, faculty and staff gathered in McGinley Center at 10 p.m. and later fanned out at midnight across the Bronx to participate in the City's ninth annual HOPE Count, after participating in a training session. Many students bundled up in hats, leg warmers, vests and other clothes to fight the below freezing temperature. Leader Colleen Chambers, FCRH '13, even brought extra clothes in her backpack in case any of the students in her group were not warm enough.

Dr. Susan Greenfield, a professor in the English department, is currently teaching a service-learning course titled Homelessness, and encouraged all of her students to participate in this event.

"If nothing else, they'll know what it's like to be tired. It's one of the things I don't think we think about - how tiring it is to be homeless and how hard it is to get sleep," she said. "It's okay if you don't meet anyone because you're participating in a bigger movement, and if we don't see anyone we can still ask questions and learn."

Greenfieldthen continued to reflect on her experience with another organization where she met many people who were once homeless.

"I once met a man who hadn't slept more than four hours in a row in more than seven years," she said. "Then his mood completely transformed and it was because his housing situation had changed for the better."

Some students from this course added their reasons for getting involved with the HOPE Count.

"Having done community work in the area, I have discovered how many homeless people are in the area, which led me to want to participate in a larger cause tonight," Emily Santa-Donato, FCRH '14,  said.

 Cathy Landry, FCRH '14, and Alex Coumbis, FCRH '13, noted that their work with the Global Outreach project in NYC sparked their interest in homelessness and that, after their work, they wanted to see the problem first-hand and know what it was like to spend the night on the streets of New York.

Another leader, Ann Pierret, FCRH '14, expressed her interest in wanting to partake in the initiative.

"I volunteered last year and it was a great experience where I learned a lot," she said. "It was very humbling and I was very excited to participate again this year in the role of a group leader."

Chris Cepeda, FCRH '13, who is one of the four student coordinators for the Dorothy Day Center, confessed that he was a little worried.

"Last year I had a really awesome co-leader who was good at reading maps," he said. "It'll be interesting, I'll be putting my leadership skills to the test in order to complete the mission and achieve the objective."

Artie De Los Santos, GSB 2012, also acknowledged that he was a little apprehensive.

 "After all, we will be out until four in the morning," he said. "but tonight is truly about spreading awareness and getting the word out there."

Carissa Avalos, FCRH '14, another student coordinator, asserted that she thought that this event helped make the issue of homelessness ‘real' for many students. She reflected on her experience last year.

"It's easy to complain that our feet feel frostbitten at 3 a.m. in the middle of January, but then you see a man who lives outside all the time in this weather, and suddenly it puts everything in perspective," Avalos said.

Jost also emphasized that Fordham students learn in the classroom about cura personalis, which entails paying individualized attention to the needs of others and giving distinct respect to his or her unique circumstances, but tonight was the night to turn our teachings into practice.

Once all the information is compiled, the final number will have some influence on federal aid made available under the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Fordham students will have been part of a larger cause to improve this issue, which exists right outside the gates of our school.