Reality Columbus: Life Beyond the Freeway
Click here for Youth Beyond the Freeway information.
The Good Life...
A household medium income of $42,734. An average annual temperature of 52 degrees. The largest city in the state. The 15th largest city in the United States. The only city in the Northeast sector of the country that has actually grown in recent years. Major hospitals, a wealth of universities, institutes of research, culture, sports, entertainment, restaurants and shopping. The sweet aroma of success.
The good life... for most of us. But for more than 16.7% of our neighbors and 14.2% of our children who live daily in the world of poverty, the good life seems light years away. Why can’t some people embrace the success of our city? What obligation do we have as individuals to care for one another? What is the "safety net" in our society?
Reality Columbus: Life Beyond the Freeway can help you put the pieces together. A unique tour of our city, Reality Columbus transports you from the relative safety of your world into the safety nets. The tour provides an educational focus on the issues of poverty, hunger, and homelessness.
Following a brief orientation you will venture into the public assistance environment and meet the people whose job it is to assess the needs of those who have little or nothing. See where you sleep if you have no place to call home. Witness the line on which you must stand if you have nothing to eat.
Reality Columbus: Life Beyond the Freeway is a four-hour trip across cultures. Fasten your seat belt, Reality Columbus will not only affect how you view the lives of our less fortunate citizens but how you view your own life as well.
Sites available include human service providers such as homeless shelters, permanent supportive housing units, Engagement Center at Maryhaven, community kitchens, food pantries, Mid-Ohio FoodBank, Amethyst, Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services Opportunity Centers, settlement houses, Habitat for Humanity, clothing pantries, half way houses, MAP Furniture Bank, health clinics for low income, Boys & Girls Club of Columbus, Salesian Boys and Girls Club, Somali Community Association of Ohio and others. Fee.
Click here for Youth Beyond the Freeway information.
For more information contact:
Joanna Huffer, Community Education Administrator
195 North Grant Avenue
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 221-6766 ext. 119
Email training@firstlink.org.
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