Homelessness is a complex problem, from which the community and the University of Oregon are not exempt. Nationally it is the focus of many debates with just as many opinions on how to address the issue. On Friday, Nov. 7, the discussion comes to the UO in a roundtable topic titled “The Role of the University in Addressing Local Homelessness.”
Community leaders, including the mayors of Eugene and Springfield, will join university staff and community organizers to delve into what it means to be homeless in our community and investigate ways to enhance collaboration to better support the “unhoused” in our area. The talk is an expansion of ongoing work by the UO Community Philosophy Institute (CPI), led by philosophy professor Naomi Zack.
On Thursday, Nov. 6, the CPI will host a public discussion with Chad Kautzer, University of Colorado assistant professor of philosophy and an advocate for increased university participation in the homelessness issue. Kautzer is also scheduled to participate in the Friday roundtable as another voice advocating for action items the UO could implement.
While discussions about addressing homelessness are not new, Zack hopes that philosophy can offer new insight into the complex problem of assisting those most in need. CPI’s goals moving forward are to fight ignorance and confront denial about homeless people. The institute is using a combination of interdisciplinary approaches through academic study; art; and informational, philosophical and roundtable events, such as the two involving Kautzer, to connect those who may not otherwise be engaged in the discussion.
“It is very difficult for those with stable housing to imagine the daily life of a homeless person,” Zack says. “The work of the CPI is to provide the vehicle for discussion in a productive manner. As philosophers, we believe the problems of homeless individuals speak to the entire human community.
“The UO should be a place where collaborative discourse occurs,” Zack continued. “It is my desire that we can host the intersection of great discussions and practical solutions that will ease the suffering of our people in our community. A starting point for the CPI is to develop a means for reaching out with better support to our own unhoused and food insecure students on campus.”