One of the University’s newest student organizations is fighting to change the way homeless populations are viewed, one relationship at a time. Encounter, formed in March, seeks to serve Baton Rouge’s homeless through community work and forming personal connections, said club president Tabitha Kearns.
As several of the club’s founders grew up in small towns, they were surprised by the homeless population surrounding campus, Kearns said. They wanted to help, but couldn’t find on-campus organizations whose outreach transcended monetary efforts. Vice president and biochemistry junior Joshua Caskey distinctly remembers looking for ways to get involved on TigerLink last year and coming up empty-handed, he said.
Kearns and the rest of Encounter agree that as a society people tend to stigmatize the homeless population, viewing them as less-than, and are taught to fear them. However, Encounter wishes to deconstruct these ideas by emphasizing the humanity in all people regardless of circumstance or socioeconomic status.
Investing in others is the driving force behind Encounter. One of the ways the club plans to eradicate preconceived notions is by providing an avenue for connection, compassion and service between students and those in need.
“We actually want to get to know them as well,” director of outreach and junior biological sciences major Dylan Roberts said. “We’re encountering them on a personal basis, instead of simply raising something for them.”
University students remain within a metaphorical “bubble” rather than pushing past their assumptions and ideas of the homeless population, Caskey said. Therefore, the group’s mission focuses on educating the University community on homelessness.
“Homelessness affects our country and beyond,” service director and biochemistry senior Florencia Scaglia Drusini said. “We want to bring to light an issue that’s often [ignored]. We want to get University students, faculty and their families talking.”
This connection Encounter strives for is as simple as giving someone back their name. Club secretary and kinesiology senior Matthew Cheramie and Roberts recalled a story in which they were approached by a man outside of a Hobby Lobby store, learned his name and had a conversation with him.
“The smile on his face after our encounter was something that sparked an interest in me [to do more for the homeless],” Cheramie said.
It’s encounters like these at local shelters, the soup kitchen or during various service projects that moved each member to desire a deeper connection to the homeless population. These encounters are also where the club ultimately got its name, Kearns said.
Encounter also hopes to facilitate a sustainable investment toward ending homelessness in Baton Rouge by hosting local guest speakers at their later meetings, director of education and biological sciences senior Lexie Miller said.
Encounter has partnered with St. Vincent de Paul, Volunteers of America and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank to conduct service outreach projects throughout the semester. By collecting donations and delivering them to the respective organizations, they can give back to the community.
To aid in their emphasis to interact with members of the homeless community, Encounter plans to participate in St. Vincent de Paul’s “Manna” dinner in early November, where they will raise money to create and serve meals to those in need at St. Vincent du Paul’s main men’s shelter.
“It’s all about that human connection, because at the end of the day that’s what we are — human,” Kearns said. “We’re all one in the same.”
Encounter’s first meeting is Sept. 7.
LSU Encounter officers pose with their club sign in front of the Student Union on Monday, Sept. 9, 2017.
