NEWS

Badger Students Sleep Out for Homelessness

Reporting By: Marie Joanis

Videography By: Emily Horowitz

As the holidays approach and temperatures drop, many UW-Madison students are reflecting on what they’re thankful for—and realizing the reality for many local residents is much more challenging.

The Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group organized a sleep out on Library Mall to give students a sense of what homeless people experience every night. City data estimates that almost 6,700 people in Dane County were homeless last year, with another 2,000 in transitional housing.

“I want to get a dose of what it’s like to live out in Madison when it’s freezing out and not have any shelter,” said Chris Vaker, a UW-Madison junior who joined in the sleep out. “I don’t know I see a lot of homeless people around. I can’t imagine how they do it.”

Students began assembling in the early evening for the National Hunger and Homelessness Week event. Temperatures dipped into the low thirties, with light snow flurries falling.

“It’s being aware of the situation,” said Arianna Netzky, a WISPIRG intern and UW-Madison sophomore. “If you can maybe put in a couple of hours, maybe once a month even just maybe help out a local soup kitchen or something.

“People always need help like that,” Netzky said. “The little things really do count.”

A Habitat for Humanity representative spoke to the students about the organization’s efforts to help the homeless move into permanent housing.            

“We know the families,” said Brian Miller, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Dane County. “We have social workers to support them and help them through.

“For low-income families, even though they are stable, hard-working folks, they can have some ups and downs,” Miller said. “And we’ll be patient with them…we’ve had tremendous success.”

Local organizations like the Interfaith Hospitality Network are also working to give Dane County homeless a place to stay.
“There’s not enough affordable housing,” said Kristin Rucinski, Interfaith Hospitality Network shelter case manager. “And then when you take into account if one of the kids is sick and have to stay home from school and then they have to call off work... that’s eighty dollars out of their paycheck and, you know, then they fall behind on rent. It’s just a spiral. ”

A long, cold night gave students a taste of what it means to be homeless.

“It was really long, cold, windy,” Vaker said. “It wasn’t very pleasant at all.”

For more information on how to help the homeless in Madison, please click on one of the following links:

Interfaith Hospitality Network of the Madison Area

Habitat for Humanity of Dane County

Porchlight, Inc.

The Salvation Army of Dane County

Wisconsin Department of Commerce

WISPIRG-Madison Chapter