Components of the day include:
- A Walking Education: Led by trained educators who have experienced homelessness, participants walk to shelters, drop-in centers, and other services to learn about them.
- Learning from the Experts: Participants engage in candid conversations with individuals who have experienced homelessness to gain an understanding of their challenges, successes, and perspectives. Service providers and case managers are normally the gatekeepers of information about accessing resources; in A Day in the Life we flip the narrative and rely on the individuals who have accessed and utilized services to share their expertise.
- Reflection: Opportunities for discussing the day's events provide a chance for a deeper understanding of issues of homelessness and why and how they occur.
- Action Opportunities: Participants are given an overview of ways in which they may become more engaged in working to end homelessness
A Day in the Life is unique because participants not only learn about the services and systems in our community, they also connect real names and faces and stories to the word ‘homeless,' which makes the concept more perceptible and less abstract. Many biases are broken down, and compassion develops, when we realize that homeless can happen to anyone. We have created a platform for individuals who have experienced homeless to share their personal stories, knowledge, and perspectives about homelessness and the services available in our community.
A Day in the Life is available as a full- or half-day experience for groups of 8-24 people. The full-day tour (9AM-5PM) is $85 per person. The half-day tour (9AM-1PM) is $50 per person. Experiences are scheduled Monday through Thursday. For more information on what to expect from A Day in the Life, click here.
To organize an A Day in the Life experience for your group, start by filling out the form below. If you have any additional questions, please contact Abby Abele at or 612-715-0449.
Tour participants may encounter viewpoints or situations that are challenging or uncomfortable. Not all views will reflect the philosophy or practices of St. Stephen's Human Services, but are nonetheless an important part of the A Day in the Life experience.