A Weekend of Reporting on Homelessness and Housing

In conjunction with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Denison University’s Journalism department hosted a student reporting event in Licking County, Ohio, and surrounding areas over three days in April 2019. Ten students focused on homelessness and housing while reporting on the ground in Newark, Zanesville, and New Lexington, towns near Denison’s campus in Granville, Ohio, that are often underreported.

For Medill students, the objective was to mimic the “parachute” experience — independent reporting in an unfamiliar community while on a tight deadline. Denison students, already equipped with some knowledge of local issues, were tasked to deeply engage with the communities.

Together, they were challenged to report and write ethically and quickly. Students split into groups and developed angles of their choice for their stories told with a national outlook. Journalist and Medill professor Kari Lydersen and Denison professors, Jack Shuler and Doug Swift, mentored students throughout the weekend. Denison students reflected on their experiences from the weekend:

Embracing the Community

Liz Anastasiadis ‘21 and Managing Editor of The Denisonian

During the reporting outing, Newark, Ohio reminded me a lot of my hometown, Warren, Ohio. Newark has a close-knit community of people who care about one another, who are passionate about their stories being told, and who want to improve the living conditions of those in the town. I found myself relating to those in the town through my own experiences growing up in Warren.

Over the weekend, I reported on people who have co-occurring disorders, which is the topic of my summer research. Co-occurring disorder, or dual diagnosis, refers to the condition of suffering from a mental health disorder and substance use disorder. I will be reporting on this topic and the overdose crisis in Licking and Trumbull Counties during summer 2019 with Professor Jack Shuler.

I went to The Main Place, a mental health recovery center in Newark, to talk with their clients as they had lunch. One of the Medill students, Lu Zhao, accompanied me. It was a great experience to connect with people I met there by talking with them about their lives and passions and expressing my personal struggles with mental health.

I think that more events like this in the future will benefit journalism students, giving them real-world experiences through reporting, interviewing, collaboration, and research. I made connections with the community and expanded my scope of life outside of Denison’s campus “bubble.”

Using Our Knowledge of Local Issues

Mara Kilgore ‘19

During the reporting weekend, I met with community experts and organizers in Newark who had experiences with unaffordable housing and poverty in the town. While practicing fast-paced, parachute-style reporting, it was important for us to hear from residents about the work being done, and the work that still needs to be done, in Newark. Going in with some knowledge of local issues and using a community-based approach to our reporting provided us with a deeper understanding of how people in Newark are vulnerable because of unaffordable housing and poverty. I think we were able to be more conscious of avoiding exploitive reporting because we started with a small idea of how people in Newark were affected by the issues we wanted to write about.

Reporting with Compassion

Kellon Patey ‘19

Over the weekend of reporting, students found themselves in the middle of a heated moment in the community, as several instances of apparent homeless harassment and discrimination had recently occurred. With the help of community leaders and concerned citizens, our team worked to contribute stories that would not only deepen the community’s own understanding of its housing crisis, but also communicate lessons to be learned from the efforts of local organizers, politicians, volunteers, and service providers to audiences nationwide.

As a local organizer, journalist, Denison student and Newark resident, I’m happy to say that I’m proud of the dexterity and compassion that each of the reporters carried with them from one end of town to the next. They treated interviewees with professional respect, and handled their wisdom with reverence. The stories that came from this effort are unafraid, curious, and truthful. I strongly believe that Denison and Medill will benefit from further collaboration, and I look forward to reading next year’s stories.