The Wake

Homeless.

What are the first images that spring into mind? Ideas may vary slightly but overall many people hold the same concept of a homeless person. Everyone sees them passing through Dinkytown. They’ll ask for some spare change or if they can bum a cigarette from passers-by. A majority of the responses are a simple “No, sorry,” or completely ignoring them.

Such responses are due to the lack of awareness and education in our community. One effort on campus brought together a few small student organizations to present the Washington Avenue Bridge Sleepover.

Students were invited to sleep on the bridge overnight, just to be in the shoes of a homeless person for one night. Although the evening’s weather was relatively mild, the event was more than about just being homeless for one evening.

“It’s really a way to humble ourselves,” says second-year business student Irene Fernando. She is a member of Students Today, Leaders Forever, one of the student organizations that collaborated on this event.

Accounting and finance senior Greta Tracey says “this event is a way to focus on something that can make a difference in our communities.” Tracey is part of Student Association for Non-profit Enterprise. The group’s focus is to bring awareness to non-profit organizations and service opportunities.

The more awareness that is brought to the issue of homelessness, the more educated community members will become. Tracey’s group also sponsored the evening’s guest speaker, Steve Griffiths. Griffiths works as development coordinator at People Serving People, one of the largest providers of emergency housing in the Twin Cities.

PSP not only serves as a shelter, but is also known for distinguished programs designed to help homeless adults overcome barriers that prevent them from obtaining work and affordable, permanent housing. Since the focus of PSP is serving families, they also have programs to fit the educational and recreation needs of homeless children.

In fact, Griffiths informed the group, children account for two-thirds of those who come into the shelter. He added that homelessness is often a generational problem, and homeless children are at a high risk of becoming homeless adults.

Griffiths suggested that education, volunteering, and coordinating awareness events, like the bridge sleepover, are imperative in combating homelessness and the stereotypes that accompany it. After Griffiths gave the overview, he welcomed questions from the students.

It’s apparent that homelessness is a problem, so the common question was why or how does it happen? Griffiths gave a list of contributors to homelessness: lack of affordable housing, low wages, lack of education, substance abuse, poor mental health, domestic abuse or natural disasters. He also suggested that the problem works in a domino effect. One of these causes is most likely to be linked to another.

PSP is dedicated to serving homeless people, but in order to meet their mission they collaborate with 30 or more organizations at any given time. This was the goal for the bridge sleepover. The event brought together students so that they could raise awareness of homelessness.

Katie Kohlbeck is a staff writer for The Wake. She welcomes comments at office@wakenews.org.