Housing and Homelessness Panel discussion sponsored by Drexel University's Center for Hunger-Free Communities and by Rutgers University September 18, 2013

September 18, 2013

From left Witness to Hunger Nia, Diane Johnson, Witness to Hunger Christie, Witness to Hunger Anisa, Witness to Hunger Kathy, and Executive Director of St. Joseph's Carpenter Society Pilar Hogan Closkey

To advance the Department's objective of utilizing HUD assistance to improve health outcomes, on Wednesday, September 18, 2013, Newark Office Director Diane Johnson was a panelist at a Housing and Homelessness Panel discussion sponsored by Drexel University's Center for Hunger-Free Communities and by Rutgers University. Ms. Johnson was joined by Pilar Hogan Closkey, Executive Director of St. Joseph's Carpenter Society, and two "Witnesses to Hunger", Anisa and Kathy, who spoke to students from Rutgers, community members, and community-based organizations in Camden. The panel was the opening segment of a four-day-long exhibit of "Witnesses to Hunger - Camden", an advocacy project in which parents used digital photography to depict their experiences raising children on a limited income. In her remarks, Ms. Johnson discussed her experiences with housing in Camden, housing challenges in the City, ways to insure housing quality, and keeping a healthy home. Drexel's coordinator for the program thanked Ms. Johnson for her presentation, saying "it really made the discussion quite fruitful and powerful for both the audience and the fellow panelists."

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