It’s undeniable that every member
of the student body has come in contact with a homeless person, either while
tossing them spare change on State Street or crossing them elsewhere across
campus. For most of us, that’s all it is – a mindless encounter that comes and
goes thoughtlessly. As students, many of us haven’t had to put much thought into
the larger problem at hand: the growth of the homeless population in our
community and how it will continue to multiply without our help.

Given the poor economy, it is no surprise that more and more people face evictions and foreclosures on their homes. More often than not, those at the greatest risk of foreclosure are families with children to support, and removing them from their homes means displacement, stress and an unsupported life on the street.

The most striking increase in the homeless population is that of homeless youth. Many of those who are without a place to stay are younger than you or I. Wisconsin Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison is pressuring the state to take a stand and help those in need. Her proposal is to develop a shelter specifically for homeless youth and to increase the time they are allowed to stay from 14 days to 28 days.

This leaves me with a few questions. First and foremost, who decides the timeframes that a person can stay in a shelter? Are 14 days really long enough to find living arrangements for a homeless youth before putting them back on the streets? Are 28 days even enough? The goal is to create stability in a homeless child’s life, and I don’t think 28 days are enough to create a feeling of security. These youth will leave feeling uprooted and alone when they are once again displaced and back on the street.

By ignoring the problems of homeless youth, or simply putting a band aid over their living situation by offering 14 to 28 day stays in various shelters, I feel that we are harming these children more than we are helping them.

Cases of homeless children number in the thousands. This is partly due to the fact that documentation has increased because people are becoming more aware of the services out there to help them. But the bottom line is thousands of youths need a place to call home and develop into successful adults. Fourteen days is not enough time to construct a new life plan that includes a place to stay, a school to attend and a means of providing for both of these.

I firmly agree that something needs to be done – and soon – to solve the problem of homeless kids living helplessly on the streets of Madison. But offering them a false sense of security by providing them with a temporary shelter with an expiration date is not the answer. They will be counting down the days until they are forced out again and left to scramble to find another option for shelter and security. Instead of focusing on their education, children on the street must think of where they will sleep at night and what they will eat each day.

If our youth are to be the faces of our futures, we are doing ourselves a great disservice by leaving them to struggle each and every day to find food and shelter instead of allowing them to maximize their potential.

Christin Wiegand ([email protected]) is a junior with an undecided major.