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'Shanty town' appears on Hayden Lawn

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Construction senior Phil Ostrom (right) and architecture freshman Alec Perkins (left) build a shelter on Monday for themselves and others as part of a shanty town that will be on Hayden Lawn until Thursday at noon. The event symbolizes the various kinds o

The "shanty town" ASU students will see this week as they pass Hayden Lawn is intended to make them think about the city's homelessness problem or even do something about it, organizers said.

"If people are aware, they're more likely to get involved and help solve the problem," said Emily Koeckhoven, a dance and biology and society senior and and an ASU Habitat for Humanity member. "And we're able to provide a link between them and organizations that fight hunger and homelessness to help them become active."

Koeckhoven is also a Hunger and Homelessness Week Planning Board member.

The shanty town, an annual tradition in its fourth year at ASU, is organized and run this year by Circle K International and the ASU groups Helping Hands for the Homeless and Habitat for Humanity. It is part of the national Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week activities.

The shanty town's structure, designed to symbolize - not simulate - the homeless experience, will be staffed 24 hours a day until Thursday at noon.

Early childhood development junior and ASU Helping Hands for the Homeless director Katy Chapman said volunteers will lead activities and discussions at the shanty town throughout the week on topics like resources for homeless children, myths about homelessness and stereotypes about people who live in low-income housing.

Fliers, information about upcoming meetings and sign-up sheets for volunteer work also will be available at the events.

"The purpose of the shanty town is to create a visible symbol on campus that draws people's attention to the fact that not everyone has housing," Koeckhoven said. "It's really easy if you're on campus all the time to not realize there's a problem with homelessness in Tempe."

Reach the reporter at jesse.christopherson@asu.edu.


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