6A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009
ACTIVISM
Homelessness continues to be problem
Shelter closing leaves more out on local streets
BY KAYLA REGAN
kregan@kansan.com
Homelessness in Lawrence is on the rise.
The city estimated that more than 318 homeless people lived in Lawrence as of May 2008, up from 112 in 2005. The 2008 estimate is the most current data available, but David Tucker, homeless outreach specialist for Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, said he expected the number would increase even more during the year.
On March 25, The Oread Neighborhood Association met with homeless-outreach workers and community members to discuss possible solutions to the homeless problem. Tucker, one of three panelists at the meeting, said it was important for students to be part of the problem-solving process.
"College students come in and see us as a loving and open-minded town," Tucker said. "A reason to try and help the homeless is so we actually try and make the city that kind of town."
April Rend, Missouri Valley, Iowa, graduate student, said she and other students attended the meeting to hear how community members planned to solve the issue and offer their own input. She said students should be part of the solution.
"I think every person in the community has something to offer," Rend said. "It's important to get several different perspectives on how to solve an issue and that's how we're going to come up with good solutions."
where to go
The Lawrence Community Shelter and Salvation Army are the two largest service providers to the city's homeless population, but Tucker said the agencies could only offer overnight help to one out of ten homeless people in Lawrence. The LCS has beds for 31 individuals who need a place to sleep, and
United Way — (785) 843-6626
Lawrence Community
Shelter — (785) 832-8864
Hillcrest Transitional
Housing — (913) 400-2573
Community Commission
on Homelessness —
(785) 843-0286
Jubilee Cafe — (785) 864-407
Lawrence
Interdenominational
Nutrition Kitchen —
(785) 331-3663
Salvation Army —
(785) 843-4188
Bert Nash Community
Mental Health Center —
(785) 843-9192
The East Central Kansas
Economic Opportunity
Corporation —
(785) 242-7450
For a full list of volunteer opportunities, contact the Center for Community Outreach at (785) 242-7450 or www.ku.edu.cgi/cco programs.php
turns away 15 to 20 people eligible for space each night. The Salvation Army is set to close its underfunded homeless shelter May 1, forcing approximately 40 individuals who use the service to join the population of people already competing for minimal space.
Tucker said he expected more people who couldn't find shelter to join the growing number of illegal "campers," people who sleep outdoors when other shelter is unavailable.
"When people don't have a place to sleep they're treated as criminals," Tucker said. "If you don't have a place to stay, or you don't have the money to stay there, it's illegal to fall asleep."
Meredith Caldwell, Jubilee Cafe coordinator for the Center for Community Outreach, said the majority of the 100 to 120 people the program fed every day were homeless. Currently, the
University doesn't offer a program focused solely on homeless relief, but Caldwell, Dallas sophomore, said she doubted students would take advantage of such an opportunity if one existed.
"A lot of the homeless have mental problems or depression," Caldwell said. "So, I don't think a KU student would be prepared to help somebody out like that."
Tucker said 30 to 60 percent of homeless people suffered from a mental illness. Some mental illnesses make it difficult for people to keep their jobs or live on their own and can make them more likely to fall into homelessness, Tucker said. Enduring the hardships of a homeless lifestyle, Tucker was, a traumatic experience and could cause an otherwise stable person to become mentally ill. Although this correlation may lead people to believe they're unable to offer support, Tucker said it was important for students to try to connect to an individual's story or situation.
"I would hope people would be supportive." Tucker said. "It's a community issue, but it's going to affect all of us."
The KU Work Group for Community Health and Development is made up of KU community members who help agencies plan, execute, evaluate and advocate potential solutions to social problems. Christie Holt, WGCHD director of training and technical support, helped organize Thursday's discussion. She said students were capable of helping the homeless, and could take advantage of opportunities such as alternative breaks or service learning to better themselves and the community.
"You can get professional experience from volunteering and it's good to put into practice what you're learning." Holt said. "You get credit, help people and have a better college experience."
Edited by Melissa Johnson
BY DAVID UGARTE
dugarte@kansan.com
Speaker will address being 'part of the solution'
The word on the streets is that students are being taught new ways to address homelessness in the Lawrence community.
The Jewish student organization KU Hillel, along with the CocaCola Grant Foundation, is hosting "Robert Egger Presentation
— How You Can Be A Part of the Solution"
Egger, an influentialleader in the nonprofit world, will discuss the issues of hunger and homelessness in Lawrence at 7 p.m. tonight in the Alderson
Auditorium, Egger is the president and founder of the D.C. Central Kitchen, where unemployed men and women learn marketable culinary skills while donated food is
Egger
converted into balanced meals for homeless people.
The theme of the presentation is youth empowerment and social entrepreneurship, to motivate students to be active in their communities.
"Robert will be
speaking to the students, not just about the importance of youth being involved in their community," said Jonathan Eisen, justice intern at KU Hillel and organizer of the event.
"He is developing programs that are geared towards student participation such as Campus Kitchens, which is based off of the D.C. Central Kitchen concept and we here at KU have the opportunity to bring this great program to our campus," he said.
Eisen, St. Louis junior, said that J-Lead Tzedek, a KU Hillel group, brought Egger to speak as a part of the group's effort to focus on issues of hunger and homelessness.
After Egger's discussion, J-Lead Tzedek will host an opportunity fair, which will highlight the work that nonprofit organizations in the community provide. Signed copies of Egger's book, "Begging for Change," will also be available.
"Our community is currently facing a lot of issues such as the closing of the Salvation Army emergency shelter," Eisen said.
During an alternative spring break last year, Eisen learned that in the National Coalition for the Homeless "10 meanest cities towards the homeless," Lawrence was ranked second, but had been number one in the past.
"I feel that we are making a huge difference for the Lawrence Homeless Shelter."
Dena Hart, Chicago senior, went on the alternative spring break to Washington, D.C., with Eisen. Hart said during the first part of the trip
NORA FREYMAN
St. Louis freshman
they visited soup kitchens such as D.C. Central Kitchen and So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E).
at one of the after-school programs, where they played with children who live in impoverished neighborhoods, Hart said. She said the group had heard from people who were homeless or who had overcome it.
"The highlight of the trip was the National Coalition for the Homeless Urban Plunge program. For 48 hours, we were put on the streets of D.C. with only identification, sleeping bag, jackets, and anything else that could fit in our
details
**Who:** Robert Egger
**What:** Presentation — How You Can Be A Part of the Solution
**When:** Tonight at 7
**Where:** Alderson Auditorium at the Kansas Union
**Cost:** Free
large, black garbage bag we carried around with us," Hart said. "At last, we lobbied on the Hill about homelessness issues in D.C. It was very powerful to be able to express ourselves after such an intense experience."
Anne Bracker, a member of the board of directors for the Lawrence Community Shelter, said that local results from the 2009 Point-In-Time Survey on Homelessness wasn't available yet but that the latest numbers available identified half of the homeless individuals in Lawrence as members of families with children.
Additionally, 54 people were chronically homeless, 23 percent had a disability and 4 percent were veterans.
Nora Freyman, St. Louis freshman, and member of J-Lead Tzedek said she learned at J-Lead meetings that the city of Lawrence is one of the cruelest cities to the homeless population. Freyman said there was only one homeless shelter in Lawrence so the homeless had few places to turn to.
"I feel that we are making a huge difference for the Lawrence Homeless Shelter," Freyman said. "After volunteering there first semester, I realized how much they really need our community's help."
Edited by Melissa Johnson
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