COLUMBIA — A shooting on the weekend of Homecoming and the City of Columbia's response have led to protests Monday outside the Daniel Boone City Building in downtown Columbia.
In UM System President Mun Choi's letter to city leaders, he pushed them to address homeless encampments in the name of safety. That call to action has led to mixed reactions among the community.
The protests were peaceful on both sides, but there was honking and yelling in support for and in opposition to proposed solutions.
Bonnie Steinmetz, one of the protesters, believes there are two types of individuals who are homeless.
"I think it's important to know the difference in those who are acutely homeless versus those who are chronically homeless and choose that as their lifestyle and don't really utilize the resources that are available to them," Steinmetz said. "And that's where I think a lot of people have issue."
Luke Gensen was one protester on the other side of the issue. He believes increased funding to programs uplifting people who are homeless is the answer.
"These are still human beings ... we should be supporting them in any way that we can," Gensen said. "I don't think that increasing police presence and removing their encampments will help anything. I think that we need social programs that will help rehabilitate them."