In recognition of National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, CCH is sharing reflections from people who work with us – interns, board, and associate board members – writing about what inspires their work.
Today’s essay is written by Policy Intern Sana Sami, a student at Loyola University School of Law graduating this spring.
My current goals and priorities in my work so far with CCH include educating myself through all the tools available to understand homelessness and the data associated with homelessness. I came to CCH with a preconceived notion of what homelessness actually entailed or what it looked like in our local Chicago communities and along the way I have learned that there is a lot more to understand. Since we all have a responsibility to work towards a better future for everyone in our communities, understanding that homelessness can take many forms is a key step in beginning to work towards real solutions.
Something that I would want more people to know or understand about homelessness is that the idea of homelessness we may picture is truly just a small snippet of the ways people experience homelessness in Chicago and/or Illinois. Although there is a lot of data on homelessness available, it is important to understand where and how that data is captured because the comparison may not be apples to apples. Instead, it likely requires a deeper analysis of what exactly is being measured and how it may be presented to the public or for research use.