Opinion: Addressing Homelessness at Our Front Doors

Posted By Gettysburgian Staff on Sep 6, 2024 | 3 comments

Stine, a first-year residence hall. Leah Nath ’26 argues that student housing should be used to house homeless people while vacant over the summer. (Photo Eric Lippe/The Gettysburgian)

By Leah Nath, Staff Writer

When I first returned to the Gettysburg College campus this semester, I was struck by the eerie quiet and stillness of the grounds. While I have gotten used to the gray that grows over the campus and its students returning with the end of summer and the entrance of winter, the 90 degree heat and lack of movement in the days before move-in felt far more unnatural. 

With eight dorm halls, six apartment buildings, in addition to motels and theme houses, Gettysburg has a lot of living space that sits empty and unused for a large portion of each year; I propose that this space be given a purpose, both for the college and the community, and that this proposal would be viable for any and every college or university in the country. 

A report by the Gettysburg Area Democracy for America outlines poverty rates in Adams County, homelessness issues and the lack of affordable housing that impoverished people face in this county. 

Similar to X-SIG, a STEM summer research program offered by the College, the school could open a program for students, staff and community members to support homeless people and people living in poverty in the county. The money for this program could be paid for by government welfare housing stipends, donor gifts and grants. 

Without having to pay for cleaning crews, the remaining costs of the program, such as electricity, water, income for renters and hygienic supplies could be covered by the program as part of the materials and payment necessary to run the program. 

When students are not living on campus, the college does not require as many staff to maintain the grounds, but the reduced staff that stay on have to are responsible for a larger area. The would-be renters could stay in the empty residence buildings free of charge since the maintenance costs would be much less without having to provide cleaning and care services. 

People staying in the buildings would have the option to work on the campus during their stay to establish financial stability. Mentors would be responsible for assisting their mentees with finding more permanent work and housing after their stay, engaging in community volunteer opportunities together to build interpersonal connections, assisting with finance management and offering services specific to mentor skills/mentee interests, such as professor-supervised counseling by psychology students or writing courses by english majors.

Gettysburg College prides itself on being a school of opportunity, which the speeches at this year’s convocation were centered around. As a student of Gettysburg College, opportunity is one of the main reasons I chose to enroll here in the first place, but opportunity inside of the Gettysburg bubble only serves to prepare students for living inside the bubble. 

Learning to put one’s skills and interests to use in serving the larger population prepares students for finding a fulfilling career path while exploring individualism, independence and decision-making before entering the adult world after college. 

Homelessness and poverty are not impossible issues to solve, as seen by Finland’s near-eradication of homelessness in recent years. Capitalism demands that people earn, rather than inherently own, the right to basic necessities like food, housing, access to clean water and more. 

However, even in a capitalist society, the government’s job is to redistribute funds for the care of its constituents and the purpose of higher education to help its students care for the world. 

This proposal has the potential to provide real-world application of skills for students, housing and assistance getting on their feet for people who are struggling, community care for the borough, and the allowance of Gettysburg College to be at the frontlines of schools pushing society forward.