City leaders kicked off National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in Lubbock with a city proclamation and a meeting about how to fight the problem.
Every year, the event is held the week before Thanksgiving to raise awareness for those in need during the holiday season.
According to the South Plains Homeless Consortium, over 430 people in Lubbock don’t have a place they call home. With just 100 people staying in shelters, that leaves over 330 people in unsheltered locations.
“When we go outside in the morning and feel the cold, we think about the people who were in the cold all night,” South Plains Homeless Consortium President Chad Wheeler. “So, I think it is important for us to also think about what we can do to help those people.”
City council members said it’s a problem year round, but want to use this week to emphasize how Lubbock residents can be a part of the solution.
“When you drive down the streets, you see the problem. We are getting into some very hard times, the weather is going to get colder,” City Councilman Juan Chadis said. “It shouldn’t just be just a week. This is the start of… let this continue. Let this be an infection out there. Let it be infectious. Continue helping the people out there.”
Wheeler said they hope to get information out about the different ways people can help.
“There are many great organizations that help and provide real solutions hunger and homelessness,” Wheeler said. “We want to encourage people to make contact with those groups… and help be a part of the solution.”
In Lubbock, groups like the South Plains Food Bank and the Salvation Army work to combat hunger.
“We want to invite people to fight, not just to help, but to fight these problems,” Salvation Army Corps Officer Nathanael Doria said. “Around the year, we pass 150,000 meals, and we only can do that because generous people like you help us to do this work. But this week we want to make a big emphasis this week that we can all be the solution to the problem.”
CLICK HERE for more information on the Salvation Army.
CLICK HERE for more information on the South Plains Food Bank.
CLICK HERE for more information on the South Plains Homeless Consortium.
CLICK HERE for information on the LPD Homeless Outreach Team.
