By Armida Yee-Muñoz
ATLANTA — An Honors service-learning seminar, designed not just to educate but to incorporate meaningful action, provides students with an unfiltered lens into the struggles faced by our world today. The Honors College offers a specialized course on homelessness policy, allowing students to engage directly with the realities of homelessness and its broader implications. The inspiration for the class comes from Joseph Feinberg who started this Honors course. When Rusty Tchernis decided he wanted to teach a class on homelessness policy at the Honors College, he turned to Feinberg's syllabus for guidance. Now, with two separate sections of the seminar being taught by each professor, they commit their time to ensuring the success of this interdisciplinary class beyond the walls of the classroom.
Joseph Feinberg
Honors-Service Learning: Homelessness Policy
The two Honors service-learning classes encourage students to visit local service providers and interact with unhoused people to “learn more about the complex realities of homelessness — often by talking with people who [are] experiencing homelessness,” Feinberg said.
“The fact that we can offer service-learning courses with a focus on homelessness is a testament to the unique and powerful learning in the Honors College.”
Tchernis emphasized the importance of acknowledging the humanity of the unhoused, a sentiment that echoed throughout his students’ classwork. His advice was simple: “I would strongly recommend making eye contact and saying, ‘good day, sir’ or ‘good day, ma’am.’ Develop a relationship and know their names.” To explore more about Tchernis' classwork and his seminar’s lasting impact, click here.
Rusty Tchernis
Harita Yepuri (B.S. '24) and Abigail Quain (B.S. '24), two recent Honors College alumni, found themselves drawn into the city’s complex web of homelessness through the Honors seminar and being impacted by its curriculum.
Harita's Pamphlet: Turning Questions into Resources
Yepuri saw the faces of the unhoused every day but never developed connections with them.
Harita Yepuri
"If someone asked me what I personally did to help the [unhoused] community, I wouldn’t have an answer,” she admitted.
“I was walking home when a dad and daughter asked me for the nearest medical clinic,” Harita recalled. It took her nearly 10 minutes to direct them to the right place, and it was in that moment that inspiration struck her: What if all the resources she knew about were easily accessible in one place? The result was a pamphlet filled with information on shelters, food spaces and free clinics, which soon found its way into the hands of local organizations like Safehouse Outreach.
“Eventually, it got into the hands of the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, which made it into an actual website,” she said.
Harita remains involved, volunteering with mobile shower units that provide clothes, meals and hygiene services at Safehouse Outreach. "It’s all become very important to me,” she said.
Abigail Quain: Breaking Stereotypes with Storytelling
Abigail Quain (left) interviews Leona for her documentary.
Quain, a journalism major driven by her passion for reporting, created a documentary that captured the lives of two unhoused individuals, Leona and Joel. Through her intimate interviews, Quain exposed the invisible struggles of the unhoused.
“No matter the situation, all humans are connected through one common pursuit — the will to want to survive,” Joel states in the documentary.
Her message was clear: “Once we care about others, we will demand better for those we care about.” This shift in perspective is exactly what she hoped viewers would take away from her work, challenging the stereotypes and biases that often obscure our understanding of homelessness.
“I tell my friends that classes like those offered by the Honors College help to fill in the blanks of why the world is how it is,” Quain said.
GSU and Unhoused Community
By the course’s end, students have not only engaged with homelessness as an abstract policy issue but have also developed a deeper appreciation for the individuals affected by it. By grounding the course in both data and direct engagement, Tchernis and Feinberg’s Honors seminar exposes students to the realities faced by the unhoused and challenges the common misconception of its inherent danger.
“Experiential learning offers a powerful means to learn directly about the problems and obstacles for those around us experiencing homelessness,” Feinberg said.
Through the efforts of students like Yepuri and Quain, the seminar instills a sense of responsibility and possibility. It reminds students that small, thoughtful actions can make a difference in even the most overwhelming social issues. In the words of Tchernis, it begins with recognizing each other’s humanity — one “good day, sir” at a time.
The Honors College at Georgia State University is a destination for high-achieving students who embody curiosity, take pride in their work and dream about how they can make an impact through their studies and careers. Its mission is to serve students in a welcoming space by engaging students’ curiosity, empowering them to achieve their highest potential and inspiring them to find their place in the world. Its students form life-long friendships, participate in community service, perform research, excel academically, explore their interests and chart their career paths.