by Scott Seider
Scott Seider is an assistant professor of education at Boston University. He completed his doctorate in education at Harvard University where he worked under Professor Howard Gardner on the GoodWork Project. His research focuses on the ethical development of teenagers and emerging adults — the ethical “E” of the GoodWork Project. In ‘Shelter,’ he considers the impact upon college students of volunteering at an entirely student-run homeless shelter.
Every winter night the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter brings together society’s most privileged and marginalized groups under one roof: Harvard students and the homeless. What makes the Harvard Square Shelter unique is that it is operated entirely by Harvard College students. It is the only student-run homeless shelter in the United States.
Shelter demonstrates how the juxtaposition of privilege and poverty inside the Harvard Square Shelter proves transformative for the homeless men and women taking shelter there, the Harvard students volunteering there, and the wider society into which both groups emerge each morning. In so doing, Shelter makes the case for the replication of this student-run model in major cities across the United States.
Inspiring and energizing, Shelter offers a unique window into the lives of America’s poorest and most privileged citizens as well as a testament to the powerful effects that can result when members of these opposing groups come together.
Shelter can be purchased on Amazon.com.