There are about 1,500 homeless people in Wake County. They prowl downtown, and many can be found on Hillsborough Street bumming change and smokes off passersby.

They are often dirty and disoriented, and the clothes they wear are tattered and torn. Some see these homeless people but ignore them — they are nameless, therefore faceless and helpless.

But for one group of students, this forgotten population gives them purpose.

According to John Leibowitz, president of the on-campus organization Hope for the Homeless, many students do not believe it is important to provide volunteer service to members of the homeless population because they do not fully understand the people who compose it.

“There are so many misconceptions about people on the street,” Leibowitz said. “People see them as parasites, but so many of them are very loving.”

Since it was established five years ago, Hope for the Homeless has volunteered through other organizations, such as Salvation Army, to combat homelessness.

“We need mentors. Someone who will not judge us, who can help us and who we can talk to about everything without fear of being judged or reprimanded or looked down upon. We need guidance without all the judging. Someone to encourage us and help with self-esteem.”

According to Erin Bergstrom, the club’s vice president, this quote from a homeless person living in the Triangle area epitomizes the type of aid Hope for the Homeless wishes to provide Raleigh’s displaced population.

However, according to Leibowitz the club has become dormant this year due to the time limitations of Bergstrom, a senior in business management, and himself, a senior in mechanical engineering.

“Last year, a large majority of the work we did was hanging out with kids from broken or poor families, in temporary housing or without dads,” Leibowitz said. “It was very rewarding. It’s great for them to have role models.”

Bergstrom said the mission of the organization is to provide a way for students to get involved in serving the homeless population in Raleigh.

“We try to do the little that we can to bring hope to the homeless,” she said.

But in addition to providing help for Raleigh’s homeless population, Bergstrom said the club also reaches out and educates students about homelessness. She said the organization hopes this will help students become more excited about contributing their time and efforts.

Kay Ferguson, a member of the oversight team for Raleigh’s 10-Year Action Plan to End Homelessness, said even those students who do not volunteer or donate money have the ability to help the homeless population by just staying informed.

“[Students] can help by learning about homeless systems,” Ferguson said, “so that when they are approached by people on the street they can tell them, ‘I have no money to give, but I know where you can get a meal tonight. I know where you can sleep tonight.'”

In the past, the club has participated in a variety of fundraisers. It held blanket and coat drives and participated in a series of downtown runs in which stores and restaurants donated food. It also organized a puppet show for the children of homeless families.

“There are a million things to do,” Leibowitz said.

Bergstrom said club members last year also volunteered for tutoring programs in the Salvation Army and organizations that provide transitional housing. The tutoring programs focused on children who are at risk for becoming homeless.

“There are different faces of homelessness. Some people live in shelters, hotel rooms, with family or on the street,” Bergstrom said. “”By being homeless, these children face a lot of obstacles that most people don’t have to face.”

According to Leibowitz, the group hopes to find a new president, vice president and treasurer willing take over the club next year in order to continue working with the homeless community.

“We need people with a little time and vision to step up,” Leibowitz said. “Experience isn’t a huge deal. We just want someone who has a heart for people, who can take the time to set up programs and get the campus involved. There is an opportunity to branch out even farther than that.”

Recently, the club began to work closely with Raleigh’s 10-Year Action Plan to End Homelessness. The organization began in 2002 when the National Alliance to End Homelessness challenged counties and large cities around the country to change the way they target homelessness. The organization is working to shift from a system in which homelessness is handled through food and homeless shelters to one that ends and prevents homelessness with the aid of the larger community.

“We began talking with people in that group to find out how we can best fit in to the overall goal of the county,” Bergstrom said. “We want to become a piece of the bigger puzzle and make sure that piece fits.”

Ferguson said Wake County, Triangle United Way and the Wake Continuum of Care are working with the City of Raleigh to end homelessness by implementing the following four steps: prevention, outreach and engagement, housing and supportive services, and education and employment. “My personal goal is that everyone will have a safe place to go home to every night,” Ferguson said. “To give them a place where they can realize their potential and have stability.”

Ferguson said people should not think of the homeless as a large, homogeneous group; instead, they should be seen as individuals from every circumstance and background.

“Nobody in seventh grade says ‘Oh, I’m going to be homeless when I grow up,'” Ferguson said. “Nobody chooses this life. Any one of us could be [homeless] as well.”