Humility Homes hosted a half-day immersion experience, where over 20 locals walked the path of homelessness in the Quad Cities.
Humility Homes is a Davenport-based nonprofit that assists individuals experiencing homelessness.
“Homelessness in the QC: An Immersion Experience” was held on Friday, May 2, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The event started at the group’s emergency shelter at 1016 W 5th Street in Davenport.
Sister Lynn Mousel at the Congregation of the Humility of Mary participated in the experience and said the day started with Outreach Navigator and Musician Chris Dunn performing a song on the guitar, titled “Everybody Needs a Home”.
“Well, the shelters ‘round here, they get full at night, but housing’s not a privilege, it’s a right," Dunn sang. "So this is why I gotta know, why do some people have nowhere to go? Everybody needs a home.”
Sister Mousel said while it was not her first time touring Humility’s emergency shelter, seeing it again reminded her of the reality that some individuals face.
“Here you are in a room with strangers on a cot, the lack of privacy," Sister Mousel said. "So, just to really think of that experience makes me feel like I don’t want to take always having a home for granted.”
Sister Mousel and other participants all received a backpack at the start of the day, full of basic necessities provided by Humility. However, she said the clothes in the backpack didn’t fit her, leaving her with nothing to wear.
“I would have to go through that extra effort to find some clothes that fit," Sister Mousel said. "Let’s say I wanted to go to a job interview or something, I would want to look presentable, so thinking of some of those things.”
Later, she and other attendees walked from Humility’s emergency shelter to their Corner Closet Donation Center, located at 525 Fillmore St, Davenport. There, Mousel said participants had to shop for clothes that fit, but were limited in purchasing due to their experience’s circumstances.
Humility’s Chief Development Officer, Megan Brown-Saldana, said their organization has done this experience for the last few years, but saw their largest turnout ever on May 2nd.
Brown-Saladana said she believes more people came out to the most recent experience because of not only the current times we live in but also a growing movement in the local community to become, what she calls, “change agents.”
“And so, there’s quite a few people who they know a little bit about us, maybe they already support us, [and] maybe they already know a little bit about what it's like to live unsheltered," Brown-Saldana said. "But, they’re here today to really take that next step into seeing what that’s truly like, so that they can be inspired in their support for Humility Homes and Services.”
Humility will host another immersion experience on Friday, May 9. For more information, visit their website.
