ASU professor Neal A. Lester says one of the worst things about becoming homeless can be the loss of one’s humanity.
His long-running outreach program “Spontaneous Service Saturdays” — which, at this point, is perhaps a bit misnamed — aims to address that need, both for volunteers and the people they assist.
“Helping the homeless is a transformative experience because it teaches many of us about what we take for granted: a place to live and sleep, as well as some measure of human kindness,” said Lester, Foundation Professor of English and founding director of Project Humanities.
Every other Saturday, he helps volunteers organize in downtown Phoenix to distribute various items, including clothes, shoes, sandals, backpacks, books and magazines. "Homeless people read," Lester said in an interview.
Among the things that sets the Project Humanities outreach apart, he said, is that organizers ask those they serve which items would be most useful. Also, Lester said, volunteers and homeless people address each other by name.
“Such service reminds everyone that homelessness is a circumstance and not an identity,” he said.
The work began in 2014, when Lester, on a whim, asked students and community supporters to gather and give away clothes and shoes from their closets. He saw an ongoing need and decided to make it a year-round effort.
The outreach takes place from 6:45 to 8:15 a.m. every other Saturday on the sidewalk at S. 12th Avenue between W. Jefferson and W. Madison. The next event takes place Saturday, July 16, and organizers welcome donations and volunteers.
For information, visit the initiative’s website, or call 480-727-7030.
More Arts, humanities and education
‘A vessel for all of that feeling’: ASU poet composes libretto for 9/11 concert in Manhattan
Safiya Sinclair has always had a way with words.Her debut poetry collection, “Cannibal,” won a Whiting Award for poetry in 2016. Her 2023 memoir, “How to Say Babylon,” was described by more than one…
For this ASU alum, preserving a language means preserving a culture
Tucked into the forests of northern Minnesota lies a landscape of rolling hills, wetlands and sprawling freshwater lakes spanning more than 1,200 square miles. The Red Lake Nation, a band of Ojibwe…
ASU expands access to careers in education with new 3-year bachelor's degrees
Arizona State University is launching its first three-year bachelor's degree programs, giving education students the option of an accelerated curriculum for certain paths while maintaining the…