A recent Washington Post article predicted a surge in the number of homeless D.C. families as another particularly long and cold winter approaches. A Winter Plan approved by Washington, D.C. leaders and social service advocates in September aims to provide shelter for the District’s homeless during extreme winter conditions as temperatures drop.

One of the District’s tactics is to find housing units that can serve as temporary lodging for homeless families while families find alternative and affordable living accommodations for more permanent purposes. However, one of the difficulties with this arrangement is that with exorbitant apartment prices in D.C., finding an affordable apartment is by no means an easy feat.

Georgetown’s recent 5K Race Against Homelessness, which drew a sizeable crowd and concluded with a finish line on Copley Lawn, testifies to the university’s commitment to doing what it can to address homelessness. But with more than 820 homeless families predicted to seek services from initiatives like the city’s Winter Plan, it’s all too easy to get lost in the magnitude of this problem.

Georgetown students should be conscious of the fact that, as freezing temperatures settle in, many Washingtonians will be forced onto the streets without shelter, but they should also be inspired to help alleviate this problem however possible. In doing so, Georgetown students can demonstrate that being women and men for others is not only appealing in theory but powerful in practice.

However, in addition to an increased effort from students, offices like the Center for Social Justice would do well to advertise and coordinate ways that students can reach out to the homeless community. Georgetown can be a strong asset to the D.C. community when it proactively reaches out to help neighbors in need.

Homelessness will not be solved overnight. And 820 families will not be instantly housed with the mere snapping of fingers this winter. But there is immense power when a coordinated body of concerned citizens resolves to make on-the-ground differences on behalf of those whose voices are often not listened to, and faces rarely seen.

Through volunteering with the many outreach programs aimed at fighting homelessness in D.C., Georgetown students can contribute to ending this destitution, and reveal to our host city the stock of our character.