I experienced poverty in Indiana, and it was eye-opening

Since I got back to school, I’ve done a lot of reflecting about Christmas break.  It was so warm, and so cozy, and my time at home was so wonderfully boring compared to the chaos of freshman year. For Christmas, I received Notre Dame necessities: warm scarves, thick sweaters, and wool socks.  

But this year, the best present I received wasn’t under the tree – it was in frigid camps, cramped police squad cars, and serpentine soup lines. I participated in the Urban Plunge, a Center for Social Concerns seminar that opened my eyes to the complexity of poverty in my own city.  

The Urban Plunge is a one-credit course with the goal of teaching students about urban poverty and immersing students in the active fight against poverty.  The two hour classes introduced us to a whirlwind of causes, effects, and activism regarding poverty in urban areas.  We listened to leaders fighting homelessness in the South Bend community, brilliant professors, and prepared ourselves for a variety of experiences over break. The two-day immersion varies from place to place – in Austin, Notre Dame students actually live on the streets for two days!

My immersion was much more gentle, however. The trip to Indianapolis encompassed visits to different organizations working to alleviate the effects of poverty in the city.

All of us had the opportunity to ride with the IMPD homeless and mental health division. We packed into an old, cramped van with the police officers, a psychologist, and a social worker.  Our first task was to deliver some papers to a woman at Fern, a homeless camp that sprawls along the White River.  I didn’t know what to expect as I tentatively followed my friends outside.  We surveyed the makeshift tents and elaborate lean-tos and noticed that no one was there (except for a few stray cats).  

For some reason, I had never thought of what people who are homeless do during the day.

It’s easy to dehumanize people when their situation is so starkly different from yours, and that’s what I did.  I never intentionally caused harm to anyone who was homeless, but I rarely said “hello” or “good morning” to people who asked me for money on the sidewalk.

A man who works with homeless youth told us that teens choose to become homeless for a reason. You wouldn’t run away from home unless you knew that living on the street was a safer option, right?  That was a terrifying thought for me.  I have parents who love me, I always have presents under the tree at Christmas, I have an extended family who loves and respects me – how many kids just like me never had that?  

This trip made me acutely aware of my privilege.

Over the course of the Urban Plunge, we slept on the floor of some recent Notre Dame graduates – an incredible, inspiring couple living in Carmel. Carmel is really, really nice. Being from Indiana, I had the same notion of Carmel as Leslie Knope does of Eagleton. They’re rich and they’re better than the rest of Indiana – evil, right?

But having privilege isn’t bad or evil.  The Urban Plunge helped me become more aware of the privilege that we hold as Notre Dame students, and realizing that having it really good doesn’t mean that you can’t help or that you’re not qualified to try to understand people who are poor.  

The Center for Social Concerns fights the stereotype that Notre Dame students are rich snobs who don’t have time to care for others by providing amazing seminars like the Urban Plunge.

Participating in the Urban Plunge made me realize how much I’ve forgotten to value my safe home, my crazy friends, and my amazing school.  I can’t imagine a better Christmas gift than that realization.