Elizabethtown College will welcome youth social and health services advocate and author, Vicki Sokolik on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. for the annual Lefever Lecture in Leffler Chapel & Performance Center. Sokolik is the founder of Starting Right, Now (SRN), a pioneering nonprofit that provides social and health services to unhoused students in Florida.
Her 2024 book, “If You See Them: Unhoused and Alone in America,” explores the largely unrecognized crisis of homeless youth in America. Sokolik’s lecture will be followed by a public book signing in Leffler Chapel & Performance Center.
Sokolik will present her lecture, “Why We Need to De-Criminalize Poverty,” where she will break down the inadequacies in support systems for homeless youth and advocate for a shift in our criminal justice system to address the root causes of homelessness and poverty, ending the cycle and fostering long-term change.
During the event, Sokolik will also participate in a conversation led by alumna and Chief Executive Officer for the Community Action Partnership of Lancaster, Vanessa Philbert MSL ’16, as well as take questions from the audience.
This year’s Lefever Lecture will also include the recognition and celebration of the 2024-25 Educate For Service: Service Through Professional Achievement Award recipient, Dr. D. Rodney Chamberlain ’74. The Educate for Service Awards are the highest honors bestowed upon alumni by Elizabethtown College and the Elizabethtown College Alumni Association. The Lefever Lecture is made possible by a generous endowed gift from Ernest W. Lefever ’42, H’92. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
What: Elizabethtown College Lefever Lecture – Vicki Sokolik
When: Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
Where: Leffler Chapel & Performance Center, Elizabethtown College