The Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group organized a panel Friday to address the growing issue of hunger and homelessness in Madison and Dane County.
The panel consisted of UW-Madison professor of social work Susan Webster, Katherine Bolton a fellow at the Morgridge Center for Public Service and Steve Schooler, the executive director of Porchlight Inc.
Schooler identified a rapid increase in the number of homeless people as a glaring problem in the Madison community that was further compounded by a lack of affordable housing. He also said substance abuse and mental illness among homeless people create problems.
""The problem is that [homelessness] is not owned by the campus and the students,"" Bolton said.
Webster said people have gotten used to homelessness because it has become institutionalized as part of our society. According to Webster, plenty of programs have been created to cope with and manage the problem of homelessness but not actively solve it.
Webster also highlighted the importance of getting the student body involved in the fight against hunger and homelessness.
""Things that [students] do on campus makes a difference,"" Webster said. ""I think it's important if seeds are planted that inspire people or just motivate or help people learn about how they can make a difference on an issue like this.""
The panelists also highlighted several misconceptions about homeless people. Webster said a common misconception is that homeless people are choosing their kind of lifestyle and that they like to be homeless.
""It's not someone's fault that they are homeless,"" Bolton said.
Bolton then offered some possible solutions to the homelessness problem.
Schooler also mentioned a housing-first program that is being tried out. In the program, people are placed in housing, rather than in shelters, and are provided with assistance so they are eventually able to support themselves.
""One of the ways is to make sure there is affordable housing,"" Schooler said. ""And that is not just middle income housing [but] truly low cost housing that somebody can pay 200 to 300 dollars a month and rent and live there.""
He said there is a need to provide support for families and individuals who are working at jobs but earning very minimal amounts of wages.
""We're talking again about the eight to nine dollars an hour that can some way help or assist them through childcare resources and through educational resources and other resources so that they can get up to the 14 or 15 dollar an hour range,"" Schooler said.
""Because it's only at that range that households and families are going to be able to sustain long -term housing.""
