The UW-Madison campus is a thing of beauty as the last traces of summer fade away, turning leaves vibrant shades of orange and red and whipping crisp breezes over the surface of Lake Mendota. And from the middle of such an ideal place, it is not surprising that most students do not think twice about the parts of their city that aren't painted in the same picturesque light—where the dropping temperatures point to a cold winter ahead and promise many long nights for Madison's homeless population.
""I can't help but imagine how lovely this city would be if we didn't have the problem of homelessness,"" said Jon Patberg, UW-Madison senior and vending coordinator for the city's StreetPulse newspaper.
Deedra Atkinson, senior vice president of Community Impact for United Way of Dane County, insists homelessness is an issue that reaches far beyond its immediate effects on those left without shelter.
""The quality of life for some affects the quality of life for all of us,"" she said.
Madison's homeless population
The 2005 Annual Report on the Homeless Served in Dane County reported more than 3,000 individuals were served in a shelter in 2005—the lowest number recorded since 1989.
However, this number does not take into account those homeless who did not spend their nights in a shelter. Indeed, the report noted that 60 percent of all homeless households in Dane County stated they ""doubled-up"" with friends and family before turning to a shelter. One fourth of single women and 100 percent of unaccompanied youth slept on the street or in a vehicle before seeking provided shelter.
Although Atkinson believes the problem in Madison is fairly similar to that in any U.S. city, she also noted that as Wisconsin's second most expensive county for housing, Dane County is not a cheap place to live. Unaffordable housing coupled with low wages for service sector jobs are, according to city of Madison grants administrator Sue Wallinger, significant driving factors in the number of homeless in Madison.
Mona Wasow, a member of the board of directors at Porchlight, Inc., a Madison organization for improving and preventing homelessness, and retired UW-Madison professor of social work, said Madison has a reputation as a city with many jobs. This reputation draws large numbers of unemployed even though there are not as many jobs available as is often perceived. And, even if the jobs were there, Patberg said the homeless are often at a great disadvantage in the hiring process.
""[People wonder] ‘Why don't these people have jobs? Why are they on the streets?'"" he said. ""I can't imagine how difficult it must be for someone who doesn't have an address, the nicest clothes and a place to clean up to find a job.""
But it is often the underlying personal troubles—alcoholism, drug addiction and mental illness, among others—that translate into a life without foundation. One in four households living in Madison shelters reported mental health issues, and one in 10 reported alcohol and drug abuse.
These factorsA- also provide ample breeding ground for the development of stereotypes about homelessness—judgements not only questionable in accuracy, but that also perpetuate the problem.
For this reason, Patberg said students should be wary of generalizing the entire homeless population to what they see on State Street.
""The face of homelessness is that middle-aged drunk guy,"" he said. ""[But] people almost forget that one of the biggest segments of the homeless population is women, children and families.""
And it is also not necessarily safe to equate being homeless with being jobless, Wasow said. Indeed, 16 percent of families reported earning wages upon entering a homeless shelter.
In the same way, assuming someone is homeless can also be a mistake. UW-Madison lower campus police officer Heidi Laundrie stressed there is no homeless prototype.
""[I knew] somebody who was always out and about,"" she said. ""He was mentally ill and he ate out of a garbage can and he smelled terrible, but he wasn't homeless. He lived in a group home, but this is where he came everyday.""
Wallinger agreed. ""You can't judge someone by how they look. You really, really can't,"" she said.
What's being done
Dane County divides more than $1.8 million in its Human Services budget among 10 different initiatives, which, among other things, provide food and emergency services.
The county also joined forces with the city of Madison and the Homeless Services Consortium in the Housing For All plan, a program launched by United Way of Dane County in June 2005. United Way also helped develop the Housing in Action Leadership Team, a four-pillared research initiative aimed at cutting the percentage of homelessness among children in half by 2010.
""Success depends on focus on a particular area within homelessness and finding the appropriate strategies for that particular group,"" Atkinson said. United Way, for example, concentrates on families and children.
HALT has already seen success with a 15 percent drop in homeless children in the Madison Metropolitan School District and a 21 percent increase in surplus food reaching Dane County during the past year.
Wallinger said the joint efforts of these organizations to curb the problem fall under three main objectives: to provide support services for those falling into homelessness, to shorten the period of homelessness for those already without a home and to keep an inventory of affordable housing options—which can be achieved by making rent cheaper or giving individuals housing subsidies (the tenant pays a portion of the rent relative to their income, and the government pays the remainder).
However, one such government-sponsored subsidy program, Section 8, has not had room to take new names for more than two years, Wallinger said. In addition, public housing—units of rental housing operated by the Community Development Authority in contract with the city of Madison—also has a limited number of openings.
""The need far exceeds the amount of money we get from the federal government,"" she said.
Wasow said the ticket is to prevent homelessness before it starts by investing in the long-term issues that can produce it, as opposed to simply addressing problems as they arise.
""You have to help with physical and mental health, a variety of things that go beyond the food and shelter, and try and help people get out of that situation,"" she said. ""In the long-run it costs less money than what's going on when people are just cycling in and out of shelters, in and out of jail, and in and out of mental institutes.""
Madison's StreetPulse newspaper, a local publication produced jointly by UW-Madison students and homeless adults, draws on another alternative approach: looking within the homeless population for solutions.
The newspaper aims to give voice to the unheard by making the homeless authors of their own improvement and dispelling common misconceptions that they are unintelligent and unmotivated.
""No one really hears from [the homeless] except their drunken slurs at night,"" Patberg said. ""[The newspaper] gives Madisonians a chance to hear how concerned and focused these people are. It breaks down the stigma that they're just drunken bums.""
How students can help
So what's the best way for students to help and where should they begin?
Despite what many may think, giving money to panhandlers on the street is not the best answer. In fact, it's quite the opposite.
""You give [panhandlers] money, and all you're doing is this: If they have an alcohol problem, they're going to buy alcohol. If they have a drug problem, they're going to buy drugs,"" Laundrie said. ""If you feel that you would like to give to somebody who is unfortunate, give to your local food pantry, give to the homeless shelters, give to the men's and women's shelters.""
Atkinson suggested volunteering time with food pantries or other groups devoted to the social cause, and Wasow recommended giving panhandlers the name of a place where they can go to get help or buying them a sandwich to directly meet a need. However, she cautioned not to give out names and phone numbers, and above all, not to make promises that cannot be kept.
""This is already a population that suffers from great rejection,"" she said, adding that often the biggest difference students can make comes from the subtlest gestures—recognizing homeless people as fellow human beings, not outsiders. Simply acknowledging them or engaging in conversation can have a great impact.
""It makes us so uncomfortable that we don't even make eye-contact with [homeless] people,"" she said. ""That social isolation is so cruel.""
