The following is an excerpt from an article in the Jan. 9, 2016 issue of The Wichita Eagle about "A Night Under the Stars," an event hosted by Wichita State University students that raised awareness of Wichita's homeless population. (Subscription may be required to view full story.)
All day Monday and into the night, Wichita’s homeless population was expected to temporarily grow by about two dozen people.
Kaitlin Heaton voluntarily added herself beginning at 8 a.m.
By 2 p.m. Monday, the Wichita State University student had developed the type of sniffle you get from being out in cold weather.
In five hours, she had already learned volumes about being homeless.
“We have learned the homeless community is respectful of any help they can get,” said Heaton, a senior in social work at WSU. “They want changes made in favor of them, and they want people to spend time with them and understand what it means to be homeless and how it affects your life to be homeless.”