Speaker educates ARCC students about reality of homelessness, pervasive stereotypes

 By Jordan Rowan

 Staff Writer

Advocate, Monica Nilsson, spoke at Coon Rapids campus on Sept 15 to educate students on what homelessness is and end the stigma that surrounds it.

In Minnesota, there are 10,000 homeless individuals, according to a 2012 study.  What Nilsson hopes to do is try and help those who are not homeless to see those that are not as “graffiti, bus fumes, and things to be changed” but as human beings.

“Homeless is their address, not their name.” said Nilsson, the Director of Community Engagement at St. Stephens.

One of the biggest misconceptions about people going through homelessness is that they are all panhandlers, out begging for money on the street.  They are made up of a small minority, according to Nilsson.

“The reason, I think education is so important is that through television and through driving by somebody who’s flying a sign, Americans have this stereotype of what a homeless person is.  Before I can even start talking about a solution or funding, I want people to have the accurate information to be educated on the issue,” said Nilsson.

During the event Nilsson pointed out that homelessness doesn’t just impact adults. Children make up the largest percent of homeless people.

Nilsson played a video of a nine-year old girl, Paris, from Minneapolis who has lived in three different homeless shelters throughout her short life with her mother and three brothers. She says that being homeless is “living on the street, begging for money.”   Although she does not view herself as homeless, according to the statistics, she is.

“The majority of homeless people look more like Paris than like a panhandler.” said Nilsson.

Nilsson herself wrote an article for the Southwest Journal on a man named Jesus that she met living in the metro area under a bridge by the river.  She said that when people see him, all they see is a “bum” who “needs to get a job”.  What she wants everyone to understand is that this man, and people just like him, had a job.  He was barge cleaner, paper delivery man, and stadium worker.  He also fought cancer.  People like Jesus can’t afford care.

If you would like to learn more about how you can help, there is a youth (under age 23) outreach program located here in Anoka.  Hope 4 Youth seeks to help youth feel safe, valued, and supported while reaching their full potential. The drop-in center, 2665 4th Ave N. Suite 40 is in Anoka. Hope4youth can be reached at 763-323-2066.