Brooklyn NY – The LIU Brooklyn men’s soccer team took part in New York City’s Homeless Outreach Population Estimate, otherwise known as HOPE 2012, on Jan. 30 and 31. HOPE attracts over three thousand volunteers annually to estimate the number of unsheltered individuals living across the five boroughs of New York City.
Members of the men’s soccer team were split up into separate groups and sent into various areas across Brooklyn in search of those without a place to stay. Along with providing a basic census, the purpose of HOPE 2012 was to provide assistance to members of the community without a place to live and to inform these individuals about the types of services they have access to.
After all the groups returned, the information collected is then sent to city officials in order to find ways to reach out to those unsheltered and distribute public funds accordingly.
“We really did assist with the cause and were able to help some individuals. The whole experience was very powerful,” freshman Nick Cavaretta said.
“It’s really eye opening to see how bad some people have it. It makes you thankful for what you have,” junior Rob Schroback added.