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(Worcester, Mass.) -- Worcester State University will host, "The Faces of Homelessness," Wednesday October 5 at 12:30 p.m. in the Student Center North/South Auditorium. The program by the Speakers' Bureau is sponsored by the Commonwealth Honors Program of Worcester State University and is free and open to the public. The Speakers’ Bureau is a program of the National Coalition for the Homeless that is comprised of people who are, or have been, homeless and works to educate the public about homelessness and ways to end it.

According to the Speakers' Bureau, ending homelessness begins with the understanding that people who are, or have been, homeless are our neighbors and members of our community. The Speakers' Bureau notes that most Americans rarely interact with people who are, or who have been, homeless. They propose that a lack of interaction between different groups of our society, combined with impersonal or inaccurate descriptions of homelessness posed by the media and public officials, contributes to a distancing of those who have housing from those who do not. As a result, they state, homelessness is perceived as an abstract social problem.

In 2009 the Speakers' Bureau gave 390 presentations, speaking to over 20,500 people from over 40 states, traveling to 13 states.

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