Though life sometimes seems picture-perfect inside the Princeton bubble, things are not necessarily so just outside our doorstep. Homelessness is a problem that is closer than many students know. Only a few short miles from the University on Route 1, about 100 people are housed, with their only income coming from welfare.
Through Homefront — a homeless advocacy group in Mercer County — Cloister, Colonial and Terrace clubs provide hot, prepared meals one day per month.
Now, the Princeton Justice Project is attempting to get the other eight eating clubs to join the effort.
"It really is a critical issue and especially students here don't realize that there is a homeless problem any closer than Trenton," said Anne Healy '04, a member of the PJP housing committee.
Homefront is an organization that is committed to ending homelessness by "harnessing the caring, resources and knowhow of the community," according to its website.
Homefront acts as an intermediary, providing lists of people who need meals to volunteer organizations that make and deliver the food.
Cloister has been providing meals "for as long as I can remember," said Homefront Volunteer Coordinator Lynne Helmke.
Colonial and Terrace more recently began to provide meals once a month.
Robin Williams '04, co-founder of PJP, organized the project in Terrace last year and suggested this year that the organization expand its outreach effort to the other eating clubs.
Healy approached the Inter-Club Council about making it a Street-wide service project shortly after the new officers were elected in February.
"This project would not only have a meaningful impact on the lives of community members, but I also think it would improve community-club relations," said Healy.
ICC and Quadrangle Club President J.W. Victor '05 said he and the other club presidents were enthusiastic about the project.
"It's a really great opportunity for us to work together to give back to the community," said Victor. "Between the 11 clubs we would be able to feed these people about a third of the month, every month we are in school."
It would cost the clubs only about 200 dollars to prepare approximately 100 meals, Healy said, resulting in a relatively small financial burden for clubs.
Before the clubs' monthly delivery day, Helmke sends them a list of people receiving meals in the motels where they live.
Each club's kitchen staff prepares and packages the meals with the help of student volunteers who then deliver the food to the motels, Healy said.
"I know they have several nights a month when no one brings meals and I don't know how they eat, living in motels with no kitchens," Williams said. "It's not that big a time commitment or food commitment to get out 80 or 90 meals a month."
And the simple monthly service gives the people who receive the food much more flexibility in their lives. Knowing that they will be given 10 to 15 meals a month allows them to conserve their government-alloted food stamps.
"We are grateful that students at the University are willing to do this and participate in this kind of outreach," she said.
To help pay for the project, Quad is hosting a "man auction" on Saturday that will benefit PJP and Homefront.
PJP and ICC hope to coordinate delivery dates and start the expanded program by April 1, Victor and Healy said.
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