As Dennis Griffin, the Evanston homeless man known to most Northwestern students as “Dreds,” walked into the lecture room wearing a Rastafarian hat and carrying three plastic bags, students whispered excitedly.

“There he is!” one student exclaimed.

Griffin was one of the four speakers at a panel organized by NU Habitat for Humanity at Swift Hall Thursday.

Four representatives from organizations dedicated to creating affordable housing and helping the homeless also spoke to the crowd of about 40 students.

But many of them said they came specifically to see Griffin.

The panel was part of Habitat for Humanity’s national “Act! Speak! Build! Week,” an annual event to increase awareness of homelessness, said NU Habitat for Humanity President and Weinberg junior Jaione Maiz.

The goals of Habitat for Humanity are eliminating substandard housing and eradicating poverty, said Tanya Pashkuleva, a Youth United coordinator from the Lake County Habitat for Humanity.

Through the Habitat for Humanity program, volunteers build affordable housing for impoverished families.

Another speaker, Martina Clark, works for the Interfaith House in Chicago, which gives homeless people a place to stay when recovering from medical problems. It also helps them get medical care, apartments and even an education.

While other similar centers focus mainly on the medical aspect of helping the homeless, the Interfaith House also works to help people identify themselves as whole people again.

“Many times the situation of homelessness itself creates social isolation,” Clark said. “Many, many citizens in the city of Chicago would walk past you. You don’t exist.”

Part of the solution to homelessness lies in increasing affordable housing, said Jessica Webster, a representative from the Business and Professional People for the Public Interest.

BPI is a public interest law and policy center dedicated to equal justice and enhancing quality of life.

She advocated inclusionary housing, where cities or counties require housing developers to set aside a portion of their developments as affordable housing.

This is difficult because people do not want affordable housing in their neighborhood.

“People worry that affordable housing is going to drive down their property values,” said Susannah Levine, also a BPI representative. Affordable housing in the neighborhood can actually increase property values, she said.

Levine displayed photos of blue cottages with white trim and manicured gardens to emphasize that affordable housing is no different than any other home in a community.

Griffin asked questions of all the speakers, often expressing frustration about existing government programs intended to help the homeless.

In his speech he criticized many of the other homeless people of Evanston, saying they should not be aggressively asking for money.

Usually, they just want drug money, he said, and he often gets in arguments with them about it.

“They think I’m a police officer,” he said. “All the guys hate me because I’m trying to help you, the students and the people of Evanston. Because you shouldn’t be treated like ‘Hey, you got money, now give it to me!'”

Griffin shared stories from his life, describing how he broke his neck playing football in high school, how black students called him an “Oreo Cookie, black on the outside and white on the inside,” and how his wife left him and took his three children to Wisconsin, an event that he said set off a chain of events leading to his homelessness.

“It’s like a snowball thing,” he said. “Now I’m too far down to pull myself back up.”

He doesn’t see his children anymore, he said.

“I cried at Christmas real bad, because I was watching all the families with their kids,” Griffin said. “I’d give anything to walk down the street with my kids.”

He said he loves giving compliments and appreciates the beauty inside every person walking down the street.

“I’m an old hippie, and I’m going to stick around,” he said. “I believe in love, peace and happiness.”

Weinberg freshman Claire Ruberg said she was struck by how normal Griffin seemed.

“To hear that (homelessness) can happen to anyone, to someone as articulate and wonderful as Dennis, it shows it’s a real problem,” Ruberg said.

Weinberg sophomore Eddie Fonner said Griffin’s attitude impressed him.

“I think it’s just incredible that he can be as optimistic and as genuinely nice as he is,” Fonner said.

Reach Diana Samuels at [email protected].