Roberto ‘Marcos’ Garcia, a Sociology student in the College of Social Science Scholars Program, is one of several Scholars who have been at work on projects related to eviction and homelessness in the Lansing area, providing resources and education to the community at large.
Garcia recently spoke out at East Lansing City Council meetings to voice his opinion along with several others about a contentious city ordinance being proposed that aimed to ban public loitering and camping in public spaces. Garcia is passionate about community advocacy; it was his second time providing testimony at a City Council meeting this year.
“I’ve lived in Lansing my whole life, and I feel a connection to the city,” said Garcia. “These are also people, which means they deserve the right to live like anyone else. I think this is particularly important for the thousands of children in Lansing under the age of 18 who face homelessness, directly affecting their life chances. The unhoused get their voices stripped from them in various ways in day-to-day interactions, and this is exacerbated in government. For homelessness to be adequately addressed, it requires everyone’s voice to be heard.”
Social Science Scholars have also volunteered at warming centers and raised money to purchase jackets for impoverished families. Garcia himself has partnered with students in the College of Law on the creation of a virtual chatbot that would inform individuals at risk of eviction about their rights. For his efforts this year, Garcia was awarded the Campus Compact’s Student Leadership Award, recognizing his leadership, community impact, and commitment to learning from and deeply engaging with communities.
Fellow Scholar Sumaiya Imad is also involved with the organization of a Speaker Series in partnership with the Honors College and College of Law, which brings members of the university and community at large to campus to discuss current housing issues and the decriminalization of homelessness. Prachurjo Das, A’Nya Banks, and Garcia have been collaborating with a new Lansing-based nonprofit, Tenants Resource Center, and are helping to protect Lansing residents from eviction and assisting the previously evicted to find new places to live and thereby avoid homelessness.
“I work as an intern with Khadja Erickson and the Tenant Resource Center of Mid-Michigan, where we focus on all things housing, including homelessness,” Garcia said. “We worked to encourage others to attend [City Council meetings] in addition to ourselves, and are making information about the proposed ordinances from the East Lansing city council accessible to the public through banners stating where the meeting is taking place, and why it is important to voice their concerns.”
At the recent city council meetings, housing advocates mentioned that the ordinance would not address the root causes of homelessness and poverty, and suggested that the city focus its efforts on providing more resources to homeless people in the community. The city voted to defer consideration of the ordinance, and ultimately rejected the proposed ban on March 17, due in part to the testimony of Garcia and others.
For more information on the Social Science Scholars Program, click here.