A forum on State Street panhandling at Memorial Union Wednesday led to a wider discussion about the causes and solutions to homelessness.
The discussion was meant to raise awareness of panhandlers and student reactions to them. But after some initial exercise, the group began to discuss the larger problem of helping the homeless.
Many group members proposed more government programs and wealth redistribution to help the homeless and narrow the gap between the rich and poor. But others said the programs would only be canceled eventually, and the real solution lies in grassroots community activism and private charities.
Joe Lindstrum, a worker for Tellurian, a shelter-finding group, said these discussions tend to turn into political arguments because people understand that society influences homelessness and panhandling.
\In today's society we have a tendency to blame people for their problems, but people throughout history have had these problems without having to resort to begging for change,"" Lindstrum said.
According to Lindstrum, his group tries to help one person at a time.
""What we're going to do is we're going to find people and try to get them into housing,"" he said. ""We're going to try to get them jobs and we're going to try to get them into treatment.""
According to Antoine, a State Street panhandler, the lack of jobs for homeless people led to his panhandling.
""I was going to high school, I was graduating, I loved to play basketball. I got shot in my knee and that took my life away from me. If there are any jobs out there, there ain't any jobs for [homeless people],"" he said.
Katherine Loving, the Civic Engagement Coordinator at University Health Services, said it is important for students to find a ""point of action"" for themselves where they can help the problem.
Glenn Austin, the Webmaster of a site that deals with homeless issues, agreed, and said he believes many problems having to deal with poverty are the symptoms of a society gone wrong.
""I really feel that the capitalist system has gone awry. Unless we can significantly change something within the system, I don't think that we're going to do anything about this,"" Austin said.
But others called for activism within government.
""If we use government programs to tax the wealthy more to help the poor, all we're going to get is a bunch of bitter rich people who will vote people into office who won't tax them,"" said one student, who would not give his name. ""We need to mobilize and direct our energy to private programs.\
