YOHO: You’re Only Homeless Once

“YOHO Homeless Challenge” was the title of an email that all Eckerd students received last week, followed by the explanation of YOHO (You’re Only Homeless Once) within. The program that the

photo courtesy of Palm Partners Recovery Center

email described is technically called The Homeless Challenge Project and is supported by The National Coalition for the Homeless. The Homeless Challenge Project gives more privileged people the opportunity to step into the lives of the homeless by dressing like them and spending the weekend out on the streets, talking with them and learning about their lives. Although this program has the intention of average people getting to experience the lives of those who are less fortunate and hopefully become more aware of the problem of homelessness, some students were upset by the notion.

A number of the Eckerd College students I talked to thought that the whole idea of people acting like the homeless sounded very rude to those who are actually homeless. This is a valid point; some people may take these actions as mocking them, or not appreciate being bothered, but, I think it can also be perceived as a good thing by those who are homeless. Most of them are probably ignored on a daily basis, so an opportunity to finally get to share their story and have someone’s attention can be powerful.

I personally thought that the play on the phrase YOLO (You Only Live Once) was perhaps a bit ridiculous and did not capture the essence of the Homeless Challenge Project, but then I thought about it from the side of the person who emailed it out. On average, I would say that every Eckerd student gets about 20-30 emails AT LEAST every single day. The emails can range from reminders from professors, notifications that yoga is cancelled or that the internet is down, to weekly updates about job opportunities and weather reports. Trying to get your email to stand out to an average Eckerd student is a pretty difficult task. Honestly, about half my inbox goes straight to the trash based solely on the title of the email.

Whether the students liked it or not, the YOHO email sparked their curiosity and some heated conversation, which is one of the reasons why I chose it as the title for this article. Once I got past the ridiculousness of the acronym, I went to the actual website for the program and I liked what I heard. The whole point of the challenge is to get people to be more aware of the homeless in their city, town, etc., and to see life from their point of view. While I believe that it is true that this could offend some of the homeless, I think that it is more offensive to how most people treat the homeless now, which is to just ignore them and walk on by whenever we encounter them, including myself. Although I do not think I will participate in this program myself, it has made me think about the issue of homelessness more than I have in a long time, and interested me enough to write an article about it. For ways you can get involved, visit the National Coalition For the Homeless’ website.