EUGENE, Ore. -- (Dec. 8, 2009) - A group of University of Oregon students will begin a three-day immersion on Dec. 11, to investigate homelessness and poverty in the two largest metropolitan areas of the state - Eugene/Springfield and Portland-- before going home for the holidays.

As the first Alternative Winter Break, the UO Service Learning Program (SLP) chose to focus on the local communities to enable 14 students to examine how the economy has impacted the state of Oregon. Dividing into two groups, the students will look at the issue of homelessness from multiple perspectives.

"With the loss of jobs and rising cost of housing, the number of people entering into homelessness is drastically increasing throughout the state," said Sean Dinno, coordinator of campus relations for SLP. "We chose to make this important topic the focus for our first alternative winter break program because of the widespread need for more awareness of the issues."

In Portland, UO students will check in and out of a Portland warming center shelter, eat dinner at the Portland Rescue Mission's Burnside Shelter, meet with the Portland Police Bureau, volunteer at Outside In, a social service agency for homeless youth, and get a city tour from JOIN, an organization that helps homeless individuals and families transition to housing.

In Eugene, students will check in and out of an Egan Warming Center shelter, eat and serve at FOOD for Lane County's day kitchen, meet with the Richie Weinman, urban services manager for the City of Eugene, get their hands dirty at Grassroots Gardens, serve breakfast at Crossfire Church and ride along with the Eugene Police Department.

On Sunday, Dec. 13, students will come back together for a final reflection comparing and contrasting their experiences. Focusing on ways to implement the newfound knowledge, facilitators will help participants find ways to continue to give back to the local community.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Contact: Sean Dinno, Coordinator of Campus Relations, Service Learning Program, 541-346-4351 (office), 408-476-7018 (mobile while on site), sdinno@uoregon.edu

Links: http://serve.uoregon.edu/programs/alternative_breaks

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