Claire Miller
Reporter
February 4, 2005
Milligan students and faculty helped to count roughly 400 homeless people in a point-in-time survey that took place Wednesday and Thursday of last week, said Dr. Joy Drinnon, assistant professor of psychology.
The survey counted homeless people in the area over a 24-hour period and was designed to provide information for the Appalachian Regional Coalition on Homelessness. This will help the organization apply for funding.
According to Drinnon the approximate geographic breakdown results were as follows: Roughly 200 homeless were found in Washington County, 100 in Sullivan County and 125 were unsheltered.
Approximately 200 of those counted were surveyed by volunteers, many of whom were Milligan students. In reflection on her participation, junior Angela McCann remarked that the highlight of her experience was, “Just talking to the people and understanding that they’re just like us in every way — normal people who just haven’t had a good time in life.”
McCann interviewed a man in his 30s who began wandering after he lost his wife and baby in a car accident and eventually found his way to Johnson City from Chicago.
Sophomore Jan Mitchell admitted that the project pulled her away from her comfort zone. “Everybody looked at me like I was the different one,” she said. “It was just like falling through a rabbit hole.”