Break the Cycle to End the Cycle

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Sophia Joseph

My name is Sophia Joseph and I am a 17 year old living in Holliston. I found my passion to help others as a young child, living in London. It pained me to see so many homeless people, scattered all throughout Central London, some who were even my age. I tried my best to help them anyway I could, even if it was just giving them the last biscuit I had. So, driven by my intention to help others, I took CSL. This is where I started my club Break the Cycle to End the Cycle.

The Issue/Community Need

The End to Homelessness

Solutions

There are many proven ways in which we could improve the life of a homeless person. The first solution would be to give everyone the right to a shelter. To many people living on the streets going being able to stay in a shelter is the difference between life and death. Next are more long lasting solution such as housing-based solutions and prevention and stability.

Homelessness

Almost 1.6 billion people lack adequate housing any given night, that is almost 20% of the world's population. Despite the problem of homelessness being a substantial one, many people lack basic understanding of the problem. One big misconception is the government is not as involved with the issue as much as you would expect. There is enough public rental assistance to help almost one our of four low income families.

Causes of Homelessness

Everyone's story to homelessness is different. Here are some of the common causes for homelessness: lack of affordable housing, natural disasters, mental illness, physical disability, and many more.

Community Partnership

For my basket I had to ask many local stores such as Fiskes, Superette and Kamla if they were willing to donate anything to the cause. By using the products they have generously donated to the program, I will put all the items in one basket and raffle it off. The using that money buying products for the local pantry I partnered up with. For my community partner I have chosen Holliston Pantry Shelf. Holliston Pantry Shelf goes above and beyond from just providing food to the low-income families of Holliston. Before starting my project I called them asking if there were any supplies that they needed, and they told the shelter desperately needed children snacks.

Action Plan

Fundraiser

My first fundraiser took place at at the Coffee House Fundraiser. While the band played, some other groups in our class collected money and raised awareness about their project. By raffling of the multiple prizes I had collected, I was able to raise $69! I also sold Boxed Water at an art show held by a students in this class. I also plan to sell it the showcase evening.

Service Learning

For the learning aspect of my project I posted eye-opening facts about homelessness that many people don't know about.

Learning

So far I am happy with the progress I made with the project. Even though I was very skeptical with how much I was going to be able to collect for the raffle basket, it's shocking to see how much people were willing to donate. I feel as if though throughout the project I have learned so much, not just about homelessness but also about how shelters works and how generous people really are as well as much more. I also learned things about myself such as how well I work under pressure.

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