Oakton students to raise awareness of homelessness

More than 50 Oakton Community College students will find out what it's like to be homeless when they spend the night in outdoor shelters Thursday, Nov. 7, outside the main entrance to the Skokie campus, 7701 N. Lincoln Ave.

Hosted by Oakton's Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter, Student Services and the Student Government Association, volunteers will call attention to homelessness by filling the college's front lawn with makeshift shanties built from discarded materials.

"This project will allow Oakton students to understand the struggles many people in our society face on a daily basis," says Oakton sociology lecturer Cheryl Thayer, who also is the Habitat Chapter faculty adviser.

From 6 to 8 p.m., people can talk with the shanty builders. Students will also organize a "soup kitchen" for participants and will discuss their experiences before disbanding.

The club will be taking donations in collection cans outside the shanties. To make a donation, email habitat@oakton.edu.