Post Classifieds
NYPIRG braves unseasonable cold to help homeless
By Angelica Rodriguez
On April 24, 2013
NYPIRG stepped into the shoes of the homeless Friday night, hosting a Sleep Out from 7 p.m.
to 2 a.m. underneath Cleveland Hall to raise awareness and support for over 5,000 people living
on the streets of Buffalo, and millions more elsewhere.
Participants braved the drastic temperature drop, wind and occasional snow flurries to learn
what a person in severe poverty goes through every day.
"It brings a lot of attention to campus," said NYPIRG coordinator Patty Ceravole. "We start
planning at the beginning of every semester. We were excited to have it a little closer to the
warmer weather, but even though it's not great weather out, I think it'll really show the student
body another level of the reality of what homeless people deal with in Western New York."
The organization held non-perishable food, clothing and toiletry collections during the campaign,
and had quick facts about homelessness available for those who attended, along with snacks
and hot chocolate to stay warm and nourished.
Kathleen Jordan, NYPIRG's chair of the board of directors, said this issue affects more than just
one group of people.
"The stereotype of a homeless person is single male, either suffering from mental illness or
substance abuse, sleeping out on the street, but that's not what the bulk of the homeless
population is," she said. "It's families, with children."
This semester's event focused on LGBT homelessness, with speakers who emphasized the
importance of keeping gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth in safe homes.
Kitty Lambert-Rudd, an LGBT activist and one-half of the first same-sex couple to legally wed in
New York State, spoke of her experience as an unemployed, homeless mother. Diagnosed with
liver cancer, she spent nine months in the hospital, recovered, and came home to find herself
jobless, and her house foreclosed upon. She and her three small children lived out of a Ford
Pinto until Lambert-Rudd could find help.
"At first I was so ashamed of being homeless," Lambert-Rudd said. "I'm a mom, I'm supposed
to protect my children. That should not have happened. So I spent three weeks hiding from my
family."
She added that the average age of an LGBT youth who ends up homeless - usually due to
parents who refuse to accept their sexual or gender orientation - is 14 years and seven months,
which is too young to have working papers.
"They have no job skills, no idea where to get food, or clothing, where to sleep, where to go get
help," she said. "They're the most vulnerable they can possibly be, and there are individuals
cruising the streets looking for these little chickens to abuse.
"For one of you, this issue is going to eat at your heart, and you're standing here
thinking, 'What's it like to be 14 years old, out in this every night, wondering why the people who
should have loved and protected you dispensed of you like so much garbage?' And then you're
going to step up."
After a brief statement from Pride Alliance president Shakora Purks, participants took part in
an hour of silence to commemorate the Day of Silence that Pride held earlier in the semester,
in honor of those silenced by anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. Then, S.P.I.R.I.T
Gospel Choir arrived to break the silence with song. There were also board games and other
simple forms of entertainment.
The main theme of the Sleep Out was education and, ultimately, action regarding homelessness
in Buffalo and elsewhere across the country.
"Without education of the factors leading to hunger, homelessness, poverty in general and who
it actually affects, we cannot hope to solve this problem," Jordan said.
Angelica Rodriguez can be reached by email at rodriguez.record@live.com.
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
Recent The Record News Articles
'Injustice' is a fighting delight
In the spring of 2011, the award-winning NetherRealm Game Studios established itself as a heavyweight in the fighting genre of the ...
NASO engages college community in cultural comeback
The Native American Student Organization explored oral history, cultural identity and other topics in a speaker series entitled ...
THE RECORD TURNS 100: Animal Kingdom - April 8, 1970
In celebration of 100 years of service to Buffalo State, The Record will re-print one former article in each of its 10 issues this ...
Discuss This Article
GET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
FOLLOW OUR NEWSPAPER
LATEST THE RECORD NEWS
- We've Moved to www.buffstaterecord.com!
- Obama divulges new higher education initiative during visit to UB
- Ailing Podolefsky steps down as president
- SUNY appoints Cohen interim president
- President Podolefsky announces leave to fight cancer
- Rappers put Pepsi in a bind
- Congrats to grads: take next step with gratitude
RECENT THE RECORD CLASSIFIEDS
OUTSIDE THE LINES
- A Story To Sing About
- The Gap in Gum Care: Why Caring For Your Teeth’s F...
- Top Tips for Signature Scents and Better-Smelling Laundry
- A Dog Trainer’s Top Tips to Support Pets Through Life S...
- Clear the Air of Indoor Pollutants This Spring
- Stroke & Dementia in Black Men: Tips for Staying Healthy...
- Hispanics and African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye...
- African Americans at Higher Risk for Eye Disease
- Infinity Kings: Final Book In A Favorite Fantasy Series
- What You Need To Know About Keratoconus and the iLink...
FROM AROUND THE WEB
- Don’t Let Diabetes Shortchange Your Golden Years
- No Child is Forgotten By Marine Toys for Tots
- Sweeten Your Springtime Salads With Healthy Chilean Grapes
- Young Author Translates 4,000-Year-Old Text to Reveal...
- Keeping Cool and Energy-efficient Amid America’s “...
- Addressing Sarcopenia with a Healthy Diet
- Subway’s New Wraps Elevate Eating on the Go
- Family Teacher Conference Topics Beyond Academics
- Youth Take Down Tobacco
- BookTrib’s Bites: Four Reads to Kickoff Spring
COLLEGE PRESS RELEASES
- Shoff Promotions Comic Book & Sports Card Show
- Semiconductor Research Corp unveils 2024 Research Call, $13.8M Funding
- Charles River Associates Opens Second Scholarship Cycle, Expands to the UK
- BLUMHOUSE AND AMC THEATRES LAUNCH FIRST-EVER HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN FILM FESTIVAL
- THE GEN Z IMPERATIVE: LISTEN TO FEELINGS AND GIVE GEN Z A VOICE
