For my teaching project a classmate and I tabled at the Sustainability Festival on March 29th. We had the table from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm and were able to get to know a few of the people and businesses there and strike up some very interesting conversations with some of the people who were interested. It was tricky at first when we were trying to figure out how to engage passing people, not to mention we felt a little bit out of place originally. I was confused at first how hunger and homelessness applied to sustainability, however as the day progressed we were able to understand not only the role that we were playing in creating a sustainable future through our awareness of the legitimate reality of homelessness and hunger, but were also able to learn a lot from the people that we spoke to. What stuck out to me the most was that the whole experience was in one way or another proof that most people don’t understand the structural causes of homelessness and the ways in which government aid truly works. The only people who seemed to have any real knowledge about federal safety net programs were the ones who admitted to having received services in the past. I noticed a great deal of shame that the few people who had admitted to receiving assistance felt in association with their particular government aid. It was heartbreaking because there was one woman who admitted that the aid she was receiving wasn’t helping her, but she was still struggling with the guilt that she felt for receiving anything in the first place. It was also strange to hear to hear an old man say that he believed homelessness was perpetuated through laziness and a diminished need to work due to government aid. Although we have been discussing how many people do falsely believe that these are the causes of homelessness, it was strange to see a perfectly kind stranger voicing these beliefs in such a casual manner. What was most interesting was when Taylor or I was able to tell someone about some of the structural and political failures that have directly related to the perpetuation of homelessness, because most people were more than willing to try and understand a new way of thinking. There was one woman who I was able to have a discussion with about our theory of homelessness as not being an issue of the individual. She seemed mind blown by the thought that perhaps homelessness had to due with the structural aspects of our society, culture, and government. She was so intrigued by the idea that she stayed to discuss it with me until she felt she properly understood. While some moments seemed more productive than others, overall it was a great experience. I learned that we cannot be sustainable as a society with structural policies and discourses that are not made with all people in mind. The sustainability fair provided people from all walks of life. From different countries, cultures, religions, class,  etc. but nearly everyone we talked to was willing try to understand and create a discourse about homelessness that no longer perpetuated blame.   That for me, was enough to prove how important this class and the discourse that it can creates is. I am glad that  I was able to have such an incredible experience teaching what we have been learning and discussing in class. While at times it was hard to get people to actually talk about how they really felt about homelessness, the few that did proved that a new discourse can possibly be created that perpetuates the real causes of homelessness, poverty, and hunger in the United States.