Homeless people are people too.

The Lexington community doesn’t just contain UK students and doesn’t just contain those who have a home to go to every night.

The people you see on the streets every day are real people and deserve the support of the community.

The Kentucky Council on Homeless Policy drafted a “10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness” in 2006, according to an April 30 Kernel article. Some elements of the plan were implemented in January 2007.

It is May 2009 and there are still 2,000 homeless people in Lexington.

“The problem is, we can’t help people who don’t want to be helped,” Davey King, a contributor to the organization of the Council on Homeless Policy, said in the Kernel article.

However, many people do want to be helped but are unable to find jobs or affordable housing. According to the article, if employers know someone is out on the streets, that person is less likely to find work, especially during economic hard times.

Getting people off the streets requires more than their willingness to find a job, it may require government help to provide affordable housing.

The 10-year plan doesn’t need to let these people come to them, but rather get out into the community and seek them out.

Other options for the homeless are the Salvation Army and the Hope Center, according to the Kernel article.

Yet, even these places can’t take care of all those who have fallen on hard times. The Salvation Army can only house women and children while the Hope Center houses men.

These places provide aid but only on a short-term basis. The location isn’t even convenient for some people.

The Hope Center is located more than 2.5 miles from UK’s Central Campus, according to the Kernel article. This is not an easy trip for Herb, a homeless person who collects cans on UK’s campus, to make and is not worth the walk, in his opinion.

UK students need to take their part in aiding the situation, as well. Counting on a homeless council to do all the work will not speed up the process of helping out the homeless.

In the Kernel article it said that Herb and his cousins James and Fletcher walk through campus daily, collecting aluminum cans for 28 cents per pound.

It is easy to see these people, and just walk by.

Instead of ignoring them, give them the time of day. Do not spit in their face or act as if they are non-existent.

If they ask for a couple of dollars, and you have a couple dollars, help them out. If you don’t have some spare change, then respectfully tell them you are all out.

It is time for the city of Lexington and UK students to get their act together and respect these members of the community.