You never know what the person in front of you might be going through.
In line at the market, at school dropoff, at the park. Maybe there wasn’t enough food in the fridge that day for three meals because rent is so high or maybe rent can’t get paid this month despite two jobs, risking homelessness.
United to End Homelessness, an initiative of Orange County United Way, is turning that fact into a teaching tool with its “‘The Person in Front of You”‘ campaign that launched recently for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
Volunteers and advocates have been wearing shirts with that campaign statement on the back and the message “Wants you to have a safe & affordable place to call home.” On the front, the shirts ask, “Are you with me?”
And on Saturday, volunteers gathered in their shirts at the Championship Soccer Stadium at the Great Park in Irvine to spell out the message with their bodies.
They lined up for an aerial video of them creating a giant home on the field, with signs forming 359,000 for the number of people who are hungry in Orange County and 17,145 for the number of Orange County residents who experienced homelessness last year — of those people, 1,508 were children and 1,500 were seniors.
“Visual solidarity matters. When we show up together, we remind one another that none of us is alone,” said Susan B. Parks, president and CEO of Orange County United Way. “This display is a powerful reminder of just how many of our neighbors are struggling.”
But the event, its organizers said, also shows what can be achieved when the community comes together to try to solve a problem, combining resources and support to help others.
“It’s a symbol of what’s possible when we stand united, shoulder to shoulder, to say to our neighbors, ‘I am the person in front of you. I will advocate for housing and an end to hunger in Orange County,’” Becks Heyhoe-Khalil, executive director of United to End Homelessness, said Saturday. “Together we embody what it means to care deeply for our community and to act on that. This is what collaboration looks like.”
Saturday’s event had been scheduled for a few weeks ago, to launch Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, but it had to be delayed because of rain. Other events were held during the awareness week, including community meetups and advocacy classes, but the message of the importance of making sure all members of the community have access to housing and enough to eat continues on.
Heyhoe-Khalil said ahead of the awareness week that the group approached its campaign this year a little differently than in the past. That started by meeting with key partners and asking in the “current climate what does it look like to raise awareness about hunger and homelessness in OC.”
The decision, she said, was that they needed to find a way to be together, to show how many people are passionate about the cause, “so people know there are people who care about them.”
The idea of a giant piece of art, in the form of a house, using their bodies to show their solidarity would only add to the awareness, she said, but also help remind those who work hard to meet the demand for resources, “the people who work on the front lines, they aren’t alone.”
The T-shirts have been out in the community since last month, with ambassadors wearing them receiving FAQ cards to help answer questions people might be prompted to ask.
That natural conversation is “a huge win,” Heyhoe-Khalil said, sparking curiosity and engaging people in ways they can help or receive help.
“Collective compassion is stronger than our current crisis,” she told Saturday’s crowd of volunteers. “When we stay connected, when we keep showing up, we help to turn awareness into action. We can make sure that less people are hungry, and we can turn hope into homes.”