Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
What is H&H Awareness Week?
This week-long event will consist of daily social media posts shedding light on Hunger and Homelessness and the connection to the 8 dimensions of wellness, and videos highlighting different resources on-campus available to students. After the week is over, the content posted will still reside on our social media and youtube channel.
Impact of Hunger and Homelessness on Wellness:
“Wellness is being in good physical and mental health. Because mental health and physical health are linked, problems in one area can impact the other. At the same time, improving your physical health can also benefit your mental health, and vice versa” (Boston University). Those in the aggie community and around the country who are experiencing hunger and/or homelessness are affected in all aspects of the 8 dimensions of wellness; physical, financial, environmental, emotional, intellectual, occupational, social, and spiritual.
When a student is struggling with obtaining food and shelter they are not having their physical needs met and are unable to maintain optimum health. They are likely experiencing financial problems, which can thus impact how safe they feel in their environment. When someone feels unsafe or uncertain about their current situation they may experience emotional turmoil and are unsure how to escape their situation. This stress can then affect their academic studies and impedes the expansion of their intellect. When one's academics suffer, their current and future occupational outlook can be negatively impacted. These stressors can impact how and when a student participates in their community and may enforce a feeling of social isolation. When a student becomes isolated their spiritual confidence in the future may start to waiver.
From this, we can see that the 8 dimensions of wellness are not independent but actually exist in a circular flow where stressors don’t just affect one dimension but all dimensions, and that experiencing hunger and homelessness only adds to these stressors.
The 12th Can stands for and supports the missions of ending student hunger and homelessness on college campuses.