Samantha Thatcher, a freshman majoring in social work, (pictured top left) has spent the entire week participating in the annual Tent City project. She has been without her laptop and cell phone since Monday, has been sleeping on a cardboard mattress outside and in her words, "trying to go all out for this experience. I haven't showered since Sunday, so I'm not looking my best right now," she said after being interviewed by New England Cable News' Anya Huneke for a story on the students and their experiences.

Watch the video

http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/11/19/College-students-go-homeless/1258667883.html

"It's rewarding to get out of comfort level and a taste of what it is like for a homeless person," she explained. Participating is also a way Thatcher and other Champlain freshmen are fulfilling part of their LEAD requirement for community service.

And, she said, Champlain's Tent City was one of the factors that influenced her to choose Champlain College. "I saw something about it during one of the tours and I thought it was so cool that a school would do something like that. I think it is good to have social service and justice as part of the school and not just academic. It really is at the heart of Champlain," she said.

Tent City concludes Thursday evening with soup kitchen meal in the IDX STudent Life Center dining hall, a meeting with representatives of the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS)  and the final outdoor sleeping in tents under frosty and potentially rainy skies on Aiken Green on campus. Several faculty and staff will join the students for the overnight.

During the evening meetings, students have met with representatives from Spectrum Youth Services, the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and affordable housing advocates. In conjunction with Tent City, students have also been soliciting donations on campus for COTS.

Click on the related link below.

• Champlain College students annual Tent City awareness project was also covered by the local TV news.
• See the live report from Aiken Green Wednesday night from WFFF-TV Fox 44 in Burlington, VT.
• Learn more about COTS at http://www.cotsonline.org/

College students go homeless via 'Tent City'

(NECN: Anya Huneke, VT) - The weather in Vermont has been pretty mild this week, which is fortunate for some Champlain College students spending their nights outside. But, they also know it's not the norm, as they try to get a sense of what it's like to be homeless, through a program called "Tent City."

Four days into her stay in tent city...

Samantha Thatcher is a bit the worse for wear.

Samantha Thatcher\Freshman, Champlain College "I was healthy on Monday when I started out..."

The Champlain College freshman has been spending her nights in a sleeping bag on the college green since then.

On a cardboard mattress...

Or in a tent. To get a better sense of what many other people go through every day.

Samantha "You start to realize and appreciate what you have. It sounds cliche- but it's so true."

Dozens of students at Champlain College - in Burlington, Vermont - are participating in the school's fifth 'tent city'-- a nationwide effort to raise awareness about homelessness.

Students forgo their warm beds and basic amenities for some or all of the week.

Joe "For the most part, this would be the exact opposite of average college life."

And sleep under the stars. Or, quite often- in the rain, the snow, or the frigid temperatures.

Joe Mester\Jr., Champlain College "Even after that first night- where you only sleep an hour, then you're up for 2, sleep for half an hour, up again... the message

gets through that some people have to deal with this on a daily basis."

Sleeping outside is only part of it-- though clearly the most visual part. Students also eat soup-kitchen-style meals... and are asked to give up their cell phones, laptops, and I-pods for the week.

Joe "I personally live off my cellphone/blakberry... so not to have it for a week is A. really nice... and B. you really start to appreciate how it helped and kept you organized."

Throughout the week, students have collected money for COTS, or the Committee on Temporary Shelter- which has seen an increase in clients this year.

Ashley George\CC Ctr. for Svc.& Civic Engagement "Not only folks without homes, but those really on the edge- that number has increased dramatically."

Senior Kaitlin Elias - now in her fourth year of tent city - says she has started volunteering at an organization for homeless teens- helping a population that often goes unnoticed.

Kaitlyn Elias\Sr., Champlain College "It's easy for the homeless population to be out of sight, out of mind."

Here- it's in plain sight... Not the real thing, but a taste of it- which these students now know is all they ever want to have.