UTSA master's students help former homeless share stories in new anthology

graduate student project

Graduate students working on the My Journey Through Homelessness Project

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(Dec. 8, 2014) -- Master's students in the UTSA Department of Social Work conducted interviews with 28 men and women experiencing homelessness and wrote an anthology of their personal stories.

Published by AuthorHouse, the anthology, "My Journey Through Homelessness: The Real Story," will be released at a book signing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 13 in the Buena Vista Street Building Assembly Room (1.338) on the UTSA Downtown Campus. The public can meet the authors, and the book will be available for purchase.

A presentation on the book will be from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Refreshments will be served. Free parking will be available in lot D-3 under Interstate 10 across from the campus.

The My Journey Through Homelessness Project is the fall semester project for graduate students in the Advanced Community Practice course. For the project, the students worked closely with the Center for Health Care Services (CHCS) to engage a group of formerly homeless men and women participating in the CHCS In-House Wellness Program (IHWP). The IHWP is designed to equip participants with the tools and support that will allow them to live independently without returning to homelessness.

Many of the men and women participating in the IHWP have experienced some form of extreme trauma in their lives including physical or sexual assault, witnessing the death of someone close to them, or involvement in a life-threatening accident or combat experience in a war zone. Many of them have turned to alcohol and drugs to help blur the effects of these experiences.

The anthology is an outlet for these individuals to tell their personal stories about being homeless while sharing their hopes and dreams for the future.

"Some of the things that have happened in my life are due to me making bad choices, but other things that have happened to me that are just life," said Emily, one of the book's many authors.

"I refused to be that guy standing out with a sign in the street that says 'please help,'" said Matt, another of the book's authors. "I've come to realize that it doesn't matter what social class you are from, anyone can be homeless. Anyone has the capacity to become physically or mentally ill and financially struggle."

The students were solely responsible for all aspects of the project from conception to execution. They conducted interviews with IHWP participants, secured resources including in-kind and other donations, managed project logistics, promoted the project to the media and organized the book-signing event at which the anthology is released.

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For more information, email the My Journey Through Homelessness Project team or contact course instructor Bob Ambrosino at 210-458-2026.

Connect online with the My Journey Through Homelessness Project team on Facebook and Twitter.

Connect online with UTSA on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

 

 

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