Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Homelessnes By KUSM1.LL lUNMJbY Staff Writer Students from Small Town USA, who come to Columbia to study at USC, will almost certainly come face-to-face with one of Columbia's social problems: homelessness. USC student Tony Lipscomb of Gaffney recalled one such experience. "It was totally dif- fiijiji* ferent from anything I had experienced in Gaffney," he said, "There were home IC5S pcvjpic <1(1U bums all over Main S treet at night asking v k for money or food. It <v ^ freaked me out." dumpsters there, M an unidentified staff % member said. 4ft "We do field interviews with them, so they know not to stay on cam pus. A lot of them work at Farmer's t^r 4.^ Market during the You try to StO day, buy alcohol you get IK) hel] with it after work, Jjve when you' and it starts all over r. , , / again." he said. five O ClOCk 3Tli .. T, der the streets. According to John Massey, executive director of Center Place a non-profit organization helping homeless people in Columbia to find jobs, the numbers would surprise you. ' It's hard to be absolutely positive about the size of homeless populations. But from speaking with shelter directors in Greenville, Spartanburg and Charleston, we almost surely have the largest homeless population in the state," Massey said. "My agency alone helped over 1,800 homeless people last year," he said. Pnlnmhta N/favnr Rnh CnKl^'c rvffirv hoc ?w_ viously estimated the Columbia homeless population at about 3,000 people. One 1991 study conducted by the Central Midlands Planning Council estimated the number in the Midlands region at about 4,500 people. If the figures are accurate, almost one out of every 100 people living in Columbia is homeless. Five Points, a popular hangout for USC students, is also popular with the homeless. Lance Filler, manager of the Village Idiot r%:~r. r*-.u r:..? 1 ruj^a <uiu ruu 111 rive ruinis, saiu uicse people often pose problems for area businesses. "A lot of the homeless people around here are always pan-handling, hustling or scaring the people, including the students. It's definitely a problem for businesses here." Filler said. Many USC students agree with Filler's view about the homeless in Five Points. "Just about every time I come here, I get asked for money by the same people who are always here but have different stories every week. It's a constant harassment," USC junior Lance Riley o lU TTC o uiicaicii^ uu said. Byron Moore, owner of Stuffy's on Main Street for six years, said many of the homeless he has dealt with don't cause problems, but some of the individuals are extremely troublesome. "It hasn't been that bad this summer," Moore said. "But I've actually been physically assaulted several times before by some of the homeless people that came in here." Walt Pomihiro, manager of the Pantry on Whaley Street near the uau/3 mid, doiu lit usually has no <\ problem dealing X with the homeless ?"" V people. "You'd be surCis prised. A lot of the homeless people f are very well J behaved and gentle m. people," Pomihiro said. A w|. Homelessness is k not only a problem which concerns businesses and charity organizations. Police are also affected by the it. "It's a very large Jay King^The Gamecock problem for the p drinking, but police," said Sgt. n, lVo U^A 4-^ Thom Thomas of p. It s hard to the Columbia re kicked out at Police Department. d have to wan- "Business owners // get upset and complain because they Don feel the homeless Homeless person people are scaring away their business. "It's a major problem for the police because if we put too much pressure on the homeless people to move on, we end up being the bad guys. If we don't put enough pressure on them, we're bad guys also. It puts the police department in a Catch-22 situation," Thomas said. "Citizens really don't complain that much, but we still get calls about the homeless," he said Carl Stokes, USC law H Free I enforcement and safety direc- H ??; tor, said problems with the H homeless on campus have H c??oin?n decreased over the past sever- H H?rw?*? Hop al years despite the growing H 0lJwf Co#f number of homeless people H in Columbia. | "We haven't had any seri- L.,,,,, ,?, s ous encounters I can recall with homeless people for the H For more last two or three years," H call HE Stokes said. H (24 hou Thirty private agencies and L--||pnii shelters in Columbia work to ^BUEEHHaaKHl help feed, employ and shelter homeless people. But, as in many other cities across the United States, they can't solve the problem. For example, there are only 400 emergency shelter beds available each night in the city. Gloria Cook, executive director of the Oliver Gospel Mission in downtown Columbia, said more public funds are needed. community But she said it would be extremely difficult for local government to fund the necessary programs. There are no shelters completely funded by the government in Columbia. "We have an unfortunate financial problem in Columbia," Cook said. "There is not a broad enough tax base to fund programs we need to cope with our homeless problem." Robert Whitcomb, a professor in the College of Social Work, said the coalition of organizations helping the homeless in Columbia has done a good job with what they have to work with. rt_ !i. t_ J T ? 1 n . j i . _ r* xr. wnucomo anu jonn oraaiey 01 veterans Affairs in Columbia, helped lead a task force comprised of several organizations to develop a flier known as the "street sheet" for homeless people in Columbia. The flier was printed in cooperation with The State and area printers and shows homeless people where and how to get to places where they can receive help. Whitcomb said more than 5,000 fliers have been distributed and appear to be used by the homeless. "A large part of the homeless population is virtually invisible, but their numbers are staggering," he said. Despite problems in obtaining a precise consensus of the local homeless population, most nroaniyatinnc aorpp at lpact nprrpnt nf thp homeless are from South Carolina; and 70 percent are male, African-Americans. One homeless man who wished to remain nameless, said some shelters take advantage of the homeless. "It's a money thing. They don't give a f?k about the homeless. It's supposed to be a nonprofit organization, but how does Oliver Gospel get all this money to pay people $9 an hour," the man said. "We've been eating pork for three months. They've got chicken, man. FDA stuff. Stuff they're not giving away. But it's not getting to the homeless. They're taking the food home," he said. "I'd rather face the street than 00 to the mis O - ? sion," he said. But Cook said none of this is true. The mission ran a $38,285 deficit through May. None of the food is taken away except to people who live upstairs and to fill food baskets to the underprivileged. Cook said. "We received 4,000 pounds of chicken Thursday, and we served chicken Monday and Tuesday night. We also serve tuna and prepared foods donated by restaurants," Cook said. Meals I "Our records are properly H documented and we are audit I ec* ^y Food Bank," she >r?fkytRrJiR sa^, f00(j B.?k <F^ There appear to be many > 1 Minion reasons for people living on B. Horn. I the streets. * Army I Massey said when n. M?tkodiit] Columbia's correctional instiI tutions and facilities for the information H mentally ill release their I inmates, they often have no r hotline) , .4357 home to return to or any way to obtain housing, thereby ending up on the streets. Substance abuse, mental problems and bad luck are also agreed upon as the major causes of homelessness. There appears to be general agreement among politicians, educators, business people and citizens that homelessness is a major problem facing the city, and one for which there is no solution. Jack Dunn Editor in Chief T-? TT^l E/. noiman Managing/Viewpoints Editor Jay King Copy Desk Chief/Photo Editor Ann Winchell News Editor Desaree Hollins Carolina! Editor Andy Borgert Sports Editor Sean McGuinness Graphics Editor V aitVi Tnnoc IV^/l til Darkroom Technician Paul Jon Cartoonist Jim McKellar Student Media Coordinator Laura Day Production Manager Jim Green Assistant Production Manager Shannon Wadford 'j Production Assistant Renee Gibson Advertising Manager Erik Collins Faculty Advisor The Gamecock is the student newspaper of the University of South Carolina and is published weekly during both summer sessions, with the exception of university holidays and examination periods. Opinions expressed in The Gamecock are those of the editors or author and not those of fhf? TTnivprsitv nf Smith fomlina ?? V tit ? ?* ~ - VMVU V/IUVllIia. The Board of Student Publications and Communications is the publisher of The Gamecock. The Student Media Department is the parent organization of The Gamecock. The Gamecock is a registered student organization of the University of South Carolina and is partially funded by student activities fees. 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