A group of Penn State students recently took an ‘Alternative Break.’

It was a trip focusing on social justice issues including homelessness and food security.

Kelli Dowd, a program coordinator for Penn State Alternative Break said, “I think this program helps to really create active citizens that go out and take the community and make the issues in the community their priority when they leave school.”

This month Dowd, along with 8 students spent a week in Detroit, MI., a city she said is still recovering after the auto industry flopped.

Rana Mohamed, a sophomore a sophomore at Penn State, said this is her third trip with the organization and it’s undoubtedly an eye-opening experience.

“We’re outsiders going into the city so for us it felt very open and vulnerable,” Mohamed said.

Mohamed said they spent time at an urban garden and a food bank that are trying to boost the community.

The groups teach people how to save money by being resourceful with food.

From sorting seeds to planting both agree every helping hand counts.

“We all have a role to play in our communities to make it better,” Dowd said.

Dowd said taking students out of their own environment helps them better understand the bigger picture “and that maybe students will learn something from Detroit and come back to their community and try to implement some of the things that they learned.”

Mohamed said a crashing economy can cause a lot of damage but you can’t always tell from the outside looking in.   

“You don’t need some major like natural disaster to bring your community together, it’s all about the people wanting to improve their own lives and wanting to help out  their neighbors that brings a group together,” Mohamed said.

And if you want to make a difference in your own community the resources are out there.

“There’s help everywhere you just you wont find it, until you start looking for it,” Mohamed said.

For details on how you can apply for the next Alternative Break, click here.