Opinion/Guest column: Looking at the world below the overpasses
When President Eisenhower started the Interstate Highway System in 1956, it created a network that connected our country and made travel easier and faster. But it also had unintended consequences. Often, the highways were built through and over low-income communities, separating neighborhoods, lowering home values and wreaking economic and environmental havoc on the people who lived there.
Life went on under the overpass, but most people not associated with these areas would drive by without a second glance, without stopping to buy from local shops, without seeing the poverty there. People would drive to their destinations, ignoring the struggles and suffering of life under the overpass. Occasionally, when exiting the highway, they might encounter a homeless person asking for money, but most could look away and hope the light would change quickly, ignoring the suffering in front of them.
When I volunteered with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team in Dallas, I would often get called to those neighborhoods after a fire or flood to assist families in need. I was always saddened by the dire poverty and suffering – the woman who had lost everything, crying and hoping to find a safer place to live; or the family struggling to rebuild and find shelter for their children. But I was also struck by the generosity in those communities, how people would come out to offer what little they had to ease their neighbors' pain.
Later, while working at a community college in Oakland, California, I would pass the homeless encampments under the overpass and was always struck by how they built community in their tent cities. And it got me thinking, Why is it so hard for so many of us to see others' humanity, resilience and struggle of life under the overpass? And how many "overpasses" have we built in our lives to ignore those who struggle to make a living, who are victims of violence, who live in fear, who are ignored by our society?
At Quinsigamond Community College, we take our mission to serve the community seriously. Many of our students are some of the most vulnerable – single parents, veterans, immigrants, adults juggling work and family demands, while trying to put food on their tables and keep a roof over their heads. These students have chosen to work even harder by pursuing college to create a better life for themselves and their families. They entrust us with their dreams and as purpose-driven people who work at QCC, we strive every day to honor that trust. We not only provide students with a high-quality education but also create a strong safety net of support to help them overcome the challenges they face.
For instance, a few weeks ago, while visiting our Home Plate Food Pantry and Resource Center, I learned we were assisting over 700 students and their families who were facing food insecurity. (Can you imagine going to classes hungry but still pursuing your education to better your life?) At that time, our staff was also working to secure housing for several students who, despite living in their cars, continued attending classes. Despite their struggles these students saw education as a beacon of hope for the future.
Today, while community college might be easier to attend due to the commonwealth's MassEducate and MassReconnect programs, our students still struggle to find affordable housing, to put food on the table and deal with family emergencies. Yet through it all our students persevere. This is the same determination and grit that pulse through our communities and in those who endure life's hardest roads beneath its overpasses.
There are many agencies in our region that are working hard to make life better for those who are our most vulnerable. Community colleges like QCC are a part of that network, providing support and services beyond education to help make our communities a little better each day. Education transforms lives and lifts people out of poverty, but our students need more than free classes. They need food, safe housing and essential resources to help them achieve their dreams of a better future. By working together as a united front, we can make this vision a reality.
As we approach the holidays, I challenge all of us to take a detour and look at life under the overpasses of our community and embrace the spirit of giving. One of the things I love about our local neighborhoods is that we try to care about others; however, in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and busy daily life it is sometimes easier to overlook the most vulnerable. We are often too busy to see the real need that exists. Maybe we should slow down, take a pause, and look around – look at those living under the overpasses, literally and figuratively. What can we do to lend a hand? How can we help our communities thrive?
This season and throughout the year I encourage each of you to go beyond mere awareness of those less fortunate by volunteering your time, supporting local shelters, advocating for affordable housing and extending compassion in tangible ways. Together, we can restore hope, dignity and create lasting change for those who need it most.
Luis G. Pedraja is president of Quinsigamond Community College.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Opinion/Guest column: Looking at the world below the overpasses
