A Note from the EditorsHomeless Times began as a group project when four strangers came together to research, understand, and gain insight on the homeless situation in Salt Lake City, Utah. For Victoria and Tiffani, it was a topic of interest. Sarah had a very personal connection to homelessness, and Jessica recognized this as an opportunity to work with smart, talented women who have compassion for those suffering.
As a group we felt compelled to understand the causes and effects of the homeless lifestyle, connect with those in our community that are currently homeless, gather statistical information on the large population of homeless individuals, and learn about the programs available to them. Our report provides an overview on homelessness in Utah. The emphasis of our report is on people: those that are homeless, the people who have overcome homelessness, and those in our community that are making a difference in these peoples’ lives. We did not focus as much on the solution to homelessness, but we recognize that it is an important topic that needs to be addressed by not only concerned individuals, but the government as well. The message of our magazine is simple: these people matter. They reside in our communities in larger numbers than anyone wants to recognize. By helping them we can improve our community. There are many opportunities to serve and many organizations that would like an extra hand. In the profile section of our magazine you will find four very different individuals profiled. Tiffani profiled Sergei, who is an 18 year-old teen left on the streets of Salt Lake City by his own mother, to showcase a story of the youth affected by homelessness here in Utah. Victoria chose NFL star Michael Oher, because of his inspiring story from life in the streets to success and a life most people can only dream of. Sarah picked Leena, who is a local homeless girl living on the streets of Salt Lake City, because of her touching story that tells of the struggles of being young, pregnant, and homeless. Jessica chose to profile Dr. Sharon Prescott, principal of her children’s elementary school. As a parent volunteer at the school, Jessica recognized the sincere affection Dr. Prescott has for the students of Pleasant Green Elementary and the community of Magna, Utah. Our other articles present homelessness in different writing styles for our readers. Tiffani chose to write a provocative commentary on homeless veterans and the attitudes towards the homeless community. She shares her disappointment concerning how, once hailed as heroes, veterans are now are disregarded and looked down upon. Victoria chose to write a movie review on a documentary about homeless women competing in a beauty pageant for the chance to win a home rent free for a year. Writing a review gave her a way to introduce the readers to the homeless and give a face and voice to a group of women forgotten by most. Sarah chose to write a memoir to share her experience as a child with a homeless parent. Her memoir gives each of us an insight to a powerful story that shaped the person she is today. Jessica chose to review the homeless programs available to veterans and their families. As a veteran of the US Navy, she has a personal connection to those that served and is passionate about what resources are available for them. We each chose one of our own papers to translate into visual works as well. Victoria chose to create a short video to showcase her profile on Michael Oher. She believed that presenting Oher's story through a video was a more captivating option. Tiffani chose to use a Prezi presentation to translate her commentary regarding homeless veterans. Through the presentation, she is better able to fully express her thoughts concerning the issue and display the research and information she found. Sarah chose to translate her memoir into a slideshow to give the reader a more personal and emotional attachment to her story about the time she spent with her father. Jessica created a poster to translate the article "Help Our Homeless Veterans." This paper was chosen to be recreated as a poster using Wordle and is now a visual explosion of the text from the report. Each of these multimedia translations enhance the message of the original articles and help the readers experience each of these papers in a different way. The research, writing, and revision of each of the articles in our magazine has been a learning experience for all of us. We began this magazine with a brainstorming free-write that helped us come together as a group with a common interest in homelessness. Researching a topic as broad as homelessness made us realize that we had an overwhelming amount of resources to choose from. This led us to focus on a group and location of homeless people and the things happening in our community. The writing process involved a lot of free-writing to create ideas without needing to focus on correct form and grammar. Although not shared in this magazine, the amount of brainstorming and expanding on those ideas brought up more topics that may have been overlooked. Working with new genres helped us learn each writing style along with its requirements. This project has been a team effort. When working collaboratively, it is important to understand the people you’re working with and their style of writing. It is also important to be willing to accept new ideas and play to the individual strengths of each member. Organization, timeliness, being open to new ideas, and willingness to work together are just a few of the strengths in our group that we encourage others to be aware of when working with others. We feel that Homeless Times is very clear and persuasive. Each of the topics are very well researched from online and written resources, and by conducting personal interviews. The theme and formatting of the magazine has been strategically chosen to fit the tone of our topic. The design is reflects an organized look and is easy to navigate. We chose to feature in our magazine personal and touching stories of individuals who have experienced homelessness, stories that are personable, not just information and graphs. With more time to prepare our magazine, we could have expanded on each writing. One of the difficulties we encountered when creating Homeless Times was our inexperience with Weebly, but we believe we managed our issues well. Overall with more time we could manage our time more efficiently, allowing extra time for research, revision, and formatting. Now as this short semester draws to a close we proudly submit Homeless Times as a compilation of our work. Last revision: 2/2013 |
About the AuthorsVictoria H.Victoria was born and raised in California, but now shares a loving home with her husband in beautiful Utah. Her interests are in audiology, infertility, pathology, and disorders. She desires to make a positive difference in the lives of those in need of assistance, including the homeless. Sarah H.Sarah is from Salt Lake City, Utah and is a full time student at Salt Lake Community College. She is studying health science and hopes to become a nurse. Sarah is 33 years old has two beautiful sons, and a hard working husband. She enjoys camping, fishing and target shooting. She is a loving and compassionate person who enjoys helping others. Jessica M.Jessica was born and raised in Utah. She is a full time student and mother of two. Jessica is on her way to earning her nursing degree. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, doing crafty projects, and reading the latest romance novel. Jessica is outgoing and loves people. Tiffani N. Tiffani currently resides in the wonderful state of Utah. She is fascinated by the medical field and is on her way in becoming a nurse. She loves to be able to help others and tries to leave a positive impact whenever she can. Tiffani enjoys spending most of her time with her family and friends. Her favorite hobbies and activities include: camping, gymnastics, hiking and traveling.
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