GETTYSBURG, PA, PA., May 19, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As we celebrate Memorial Day 2014, Christopher Fee, chairman of the English Department at Gettysburg College and a staunch advocate for the homeless, believes veterans deserve even more help to climb out of poverty and homelessness than the government and local organizations currently provide.
Fee has taught an annual semester-long course on homelessness that includes a substantial service-learning component in Washington, D.C., as well as in the Gettysburg community.
"Our veterans deserve better," says Fee. "This population, as well as homeless children and homeless working-poor families, form for me the Holy Trinity of "thin-edge of the wedge" issues which allow me to engage otherwise relatively unsympathetic audiences in discussions on homelessness issues.
Among the issues related to veterans, Fee can discuss:
- Statistics, both published and hidden, on the number of homeless veterans
- How veterans in rural communities can be found living in the woods or in caves, with little food and no health care.
- How and why PSTD and substance abuse lead to homelessness among veterans
- What government and community organizations are doing, and why it isn't enough
- What the average American can do to help
- Personal stories about homeless veterans
On youth homelessness, Fee can discuss:
- Why today's homeless youth represent what Fee fears could become the lost generation
- The shortage of beds in shelters for homeless youth
- How and why LGBT youth are disproportionately homeless, as well as information on a rally in NYC on youth homelessness June 2
- Statistics, public and hidden, on youth homelessness
- Personal stories about homeless youth
For more information, or to interview Chris Fee, please contact: Christopher Fee, chairman of the English Department, Gettysburg College, 717.337.6762, cfee@gettysburg.edu; Jamie Yates, director of communications and media relations, 717-337-6801, jyates@gettysburg.edu