Urban Issues and Actions

Given the current economic state of our country, Americans could benefit from a lesson in humility.  Foreclosures and job losses are much closer to home than many middle class Americans are will admit.  Homelessness is not a farfetched occurrence for any family especially if someone does not prepare for a crisis in advance.  Recognizing financial problems is the first step to preventing a housing crisis. 

A perfect example is the story of a man from New York who had lost his job.  After applying for several jobs with little success, he decided to take a more drastic approach.  Dressed in a suit and tie, he went onto the streets of New York with a sign reading “Almost Homeless”.  He gave out resumes and even had a few televised interviews, thus increasing his visibility to potential employers.  This man acknowledged the fact that his resources were running low and he and his family were going to be unable to live at the level they were accustomed.  He put aside his pride for a moment to ensure his family would be taken care of.  While it may not be necessary to carry around a sign, going to organizations like Virginia Supportive Housing for help is not below anyone.  We all need assistance at some point and the only way to receive it is to humble ourselves and ask. 

Last Friday while I was singing Christmas carols with the a cappella group I had an interesting experience with a stranger. While walking down Cary St. we would stop every once in a while and serenade passers by with our voices. At one point, a man came up to the group and asked us to give him a four-part tune so that he could freestyle rap over it. We sort of looked at each other and decided that this guy, who looked very homeless, wouldn’t hurt us or cause any serious danger. During the song he put a dollar bill in the hat we put for donations and he gave a beer to the girl who apparently sang the best out everyone.

            The entire time I kept thinking about the urban homeless and the underground economy that most people don’t understand. Even more than that, most people in my group were scared of him or just laughed at him and joked about how crazy he is. He might be homeless and he might have a mental illness, but I might have been the only person in the group who realized that the two are usually related. Ever since the American government downsized the mental institutions or cut back on funding for the mentally ill there has been an increase in the homeless population. Though there are many nonprofits in Richmond working to monitor the homeless population and provide food and shelter, I don’t know if Richmond will ever be able to actually implement the programs that are really necessary for eradicating homelessness – actually giving them homes.

            For all the good that food and shelter programs provide, there is just no equivalent to the security of a stable home. Almost every study presented on homelessness has revealed that a minority of the population result in a majority of the cost to the government primarily in the area of health care fees. As a result, the most effective way to provide for the homeless would be to find the most costly members of the population and give them a permanent place of residence. Even more progressive non-profits such as one in San Diego would even go so far as to provide “psychiatrists along with doctors, dentists, case workers, and drug counselors” (citation).

            Unfortunately, in the city of Richmond I worry that there are too few citizens really willing to take on such a program. My hope in the coming years is that Obama’s administration will be true to its original emphasis on preventative healthcare and services. I don’t know what his presidency will look like considering the current state of our economy, but I have to hope Americans realize the fact that our current policy regarding the homeless is not effective. When my friend Sara from Denmark visited me in Tyler she said, “This is nice, but I’m glad to live in a country that gives all of its citizens a place to live.” I could only point to band-aid organizations like the Salvation Army and say I wish I could say the same of America.

So, the “airing” of the documentaries was on Thursday and I must say, it was awesome! It was really interesting to see how each group’s documentary turned out. Although we may have been in the TLC together all night, I never really saw any other groups’ products. Therefore, a lot of things definitely caught my attention yesterday.

As a part of the homelessness group, it was amazing to see how all our documentaries become so interconnected. For instance, the HIV/Aids documentary discussed homelessness as a main factor of the spread of HIV/Aids. Although our documentary did not particularly focus on the disease as the “root” cause of homelessness, it is, nonetheless, a reality that HIV/Aids does play a huge part. Since I wrote my research paper on health care for the homeless, I also researched a lot about how this disease has increased drastically among the homeless population; whether it is the main cause of why people become homeless or why the disease has spread so much.

The same exact thing goes for the Gentrification group. Their documentary focused on the process by which people are shifted to live in lower-class areas. With that comes the increases in rent which often result in the dispersal of communities whose members find that housing in the area is no longer affordable. As a result, as Kelly King Horne of Homeward said, the lack of affordable housing becomes the root cause of homelessness. Moreover, because of the construction of highway 95, most people were forced out of their homes as well, leaving them homeless.

Similarly, with the Education group, I am able to see how education plays a huge role in the issue of homelessness. According to our research, the lack of education becomes a major cause in creating homeless individuals. This is because many people who aren’t educated cannot find proper jobs, leaving them without a salary, unable to pay for rent, etc. They must then result to giving up their homes and living on the streets instead.

Even if I don’t focus solely on the issue of homelessness, it is obvious to see how other documentary subjects are interrelated. For example, the connection between the Education group and the Gangs group. Many of the interviewees of both documentaries say that education plays a huge part in determining whether people join gangs or commit themselves in doing something violent or wrong. They say that if people aren’t educated enough or even loved enough, they are more prone to joining gangs. This is because people are not educated about what could happen or are not educated enough to know what is best for their futures.

All in all, I was shocked by how our documentaries tied into each other. Although each topic had its own problems, all issues really do end up affecting the other. Having said all this, I am truly proud of what everyone in this class has done. We have really worked hard and I believe it paid off tremendously :)!

Today, I came across a New York Times article called Home Prices Plunge in October, and I felt obliged to read it and see how the economic and housing crisis was progressing, based on the title, not well. Living here at the University of Richmond, we are in a bubble. Even if it is not the ‘Richmond bubble’ that people talk about, we are definitely in a college bubble. The biggest concern college students have, including me, is getting through their classes, finishing their work that is due tomorrow, and then trying to get as much sleep as they can with the little amount of time available. Once you add working out, research, extracurricular activities, and socializing there is very little time for worrying about the real world beyond this college campus.

So, I took time from all that to read this article about the housing crisis, which is unfortunately linked in a cycle with the economic crisis. As the housing crisis worsens, it hurts the economy, and as the economy fails, the housing crisis worsens. The article believes that the housing crisis will improve when housing prices hit bottom and then the buyers will start buying again, which will benefit the economy and pick everything back up. However, until then we have to wait for everything to get worse. This just seems wrong.

Why do we have to let the economy do as it pleases? Is it wrong to want regulation of the economy? To have financial and local stability? We discussed some similar questions in sociology recently, and the conclusions my fellow classmates and I came to involved increased government regulation of businesses. If the government played a larger role in the economy and businesses, then it could regulate the economy and hopefully prevent these recessions and depressions from occurring. Recessions and depressions are always going to happen for as long as we have a free economy. However, I am not saying that we should allow the government to have complete control because that would potentially lead to conflict of interest. If elite government officials owned all businesses then they would enact laws and regulations for their benefits. Although, if the government owned a small portion of every business, like one-fourth, then they would be capable of keeping businesses alive and regulating the economy, but they would not have a large enough conflict of interest to be corrupted (hopefully).

As I continue reading articles about the housing crisis, I cannot help but wonder how many more homeless people there will be over the next year. With the majority of houses that are being sold on the housing market due to foreclosures, one must wonder where the people that were foreclosed upon go. Fortunately, there are a lot of great programs and shelters in Richmond that can help the homeless, but hopefully they have enough resources for the amount of people that will need help over the coming months, especially through the holiday season.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and remembers how lucky we are to go to a great school like the University of Richmond. Don’t ever take good health and happiness for granted

On November 20, 2008, Homeward of Richmond presented the national Project Homeless Connect for another year.  The Project is a huge even in which people experiencing housing problems and other issues associated with it can go to receive help.  There was a dentist, an optometrist, lawyers, shelters, transitional housing reps, AA and NA meetings, haircuts, and so many other organizations.  I had the pleasure of being a volunteer navigator and the experience was amazing.  I worked one on one with people experiencing homelessness and spoke to them candidly about how they came to that point. 

My first job was to help a 65 year old African American man.  He was a registered nurse who lost his job after having a stroke and losing the ability to use his right arm.  He was currently staying at the Salvation Army but had no source of income.  Even in his dismal situation, he is one of the most optimistic and spiritual people I have ever met.  We spent 45 minutes talking over fried chicken and lemonade and I learned so much in that short amount of time.

My most profound experience was with a 28 year old women who only made it to the 9^th grade before dropping out.  She was a drug addict and had lost custody of her children because of it.  She could barely spell and so I filled out her paperwork for her.  With no money to her name and no place to stay that night, I knew there was a lot of work to be done.  As we walked around to each station, the woman began to make me nervous as she shivered from an unknown breeze and scratched at a persistent inch.  Then I know there was a problem when she said “So my friend has this gun and this one time I think about just going ‘bang bang’ to end it all.  It just be too much”.  To make a long story short, I took her to the crisis unit where they deemed her suicidal and took her off to the hospital.  The congratulations on leading her toward help are still not enough to shake away the feeling I had. 

From 8 am to 2:30 pm, I met many people and heard many stories.  Throughout the entire day, I felt truly grateful for everything I have and I realized I have nothing to complain about in my life.  I wish more Richmond students would have participated because it was a humbling experience.  I hope I have the opportunity to participate next year and in more programs like it.

Today, my group and I decided to go around Richmond and film/take photos for our documentary. It was a beautiful, but cold day. We went all around-from Highland Park to Jackson Ward and ended in Monroe Park. It was an unbelievable experience. I, myself, have been around Highland Park various times, but never Jackson Ward or Monroe Park.  Many people have told us that these places would be best in seeing where the homeless live. To our surprise, we barely saw any homeless people anywhere nor did we see any of their belongings/tents, etc. until we arrived at Monroe Park.

I couldn’t believe it. In every section of Monroe Park, there was at least one or two homeless person occupying the space. Some were eating, some were sleeping, some were just sitting and watching people pass. In the middle of the park stood a public restroom. In another corner, we saw a huge crowd of homeless people formed around two huge tables. We finally understood why we didn’t see one homeless person on the streets today. All the homeless were gathered here, because an organization was handing out food, drinks, and snacks to the homeless. Having lived in India for so long, this was a new vision for me. The homeless in India never received any free snacks or any food even if they begged all day long.

We got the organization’s consent in interviewing them and found out that they come out every Sunday. I thought to myself, “If everyone did this, maybe the homeless can all be helped. Maybe their lives will be just a little better.” Immediately after though, I thought, “Ok, they come and hand out food, but what happens after today? What happens during the week?” Don’t get me wrong, I feel that what the organization is doing is generous and admirable, but does it really help the big picture of homelessness? Does it cure homelessness? Does it take away some of the homeless people on the streets? If people started handing out food/snacks/water to an area in India, what happens to the other half of the country still starving and living without a roof over their heads? Even in the US itself, does it work to help every single homeless person in Richmond, or only those that hang around Monroe Park?

Hearing about the Homeward’s 10 year plan to end homelessness got me thinking lately. Can it truly happen? Will homelessness ever disappear completely? Working with this documentary, our group has really heard it all. Every organization, shelter, or soup kitchen feel differently about the future of homelessness. Today, however, we informed the man from the organization at Monroe Park about Homeward’s 10 year plan. His response was clearly fearful and possibly realistic. All he could say was “We’ll see.”

What do you guys think? Are we prepared to make homelessness no longer a problem?

This week we’ve tackled the topic of homelessness in class.  Reading Reckoning with Homelessness by Kim Hopper and hearing Margot Ackermann from Homeward speak, our stereotypes of the homeless have been challenged, and we have been given a glimpse into their world: why it may be difficult to escape homelessness, the sometimes neglected and dirty shelters, factors that contribute to homelessness such as domestic violence, time spent in prison, and mental illnesses, just to name a few.   

On Thursday in class, Margot mentioned the homeless in Richmond who inhabit City Island, a small island on the James River.  I came across an article today from the Richmond Times-Dispatch entitled Man beaten this morning on city island and figured that it had something to do with homelessness.  Although the article is rather short and vague, it does mention that the island is inhabited with squatters (Thanks to dictionary.com, I now know what a squatter is: “a person who settles on land or occupies property without title, right, or payment of rent.”).  I think it is probable that the man—nicknamed Pony and in his 60s—is a homeless man.  Whether or not he was actually living on the island, they do not know, but I think this news story illustrates the many possible dangers of being homeless.  Kim Hopper discussed the threat of violence as a trade-off between sleeping in very public places and dealing with stares and noise of the people walking by, or sleeping in a secluded area and facing higher risks of being jumped or beaten. 

Unfortunately, we do not know enough about this story to make conclusions about homelessness.  We do not know, for example, if Pony is even homeless.  If he is, though, did he choose that path or is he really struggling to get back on his feet?  Was there alcohol or drugs involved?  Who were the people who committed the violent act?  Despite the vagueness of the facts of this incident, we can be reminded of the reality that living homeless is often very dangerous to one’s physical health (mental and emotional, too).  For these reasons, we must tackle homelessness for the sake of the safety of our country’s residents, even if we believe that homeless cannot be completely solved.

I truly enjoyed the discussions in class today. I felt like everyone was deeply pondering the social problems we are faced with in society and was attempting to come up with a real potential solution, if there are any. In an ideal world everyone would live their lives happily and never be faced with the problems that society is currently being faced with. Unfortunately, I do not think that most of the urban problems can be solved. More specifically, I do not think that we can end homelessness.

As my small group and I discussed the different causes or situations that lead to homelessness we realized that there is no easy way to generalize the cause of ‘homelessness.’ There are an infinite number of ways that a family or individual can end up homeless due to unfortunate circumstances such as poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse, alcoholism, job loss, etc. Therefore, my group and I concluded that there is no way to prevent the endless number of unique circumstances that lead to homelessness. The best that society and the government can do is to minimize the amount of homeless by attempting to understand the situations that resulted in homelessness. By determining the major causes of homelessness, the government can focus on specific issues related to the causes and attempt to prevent people from becoming homeless. However, this would not end homelessness, it would minimize it.

Also, an interesting aspect of shelters that I have learned through research is that many are geared towards certain causes, and therefore only focus on one aspect that led to that individual or family’s homelessness and ignore their other problems. To shed some personal light on the issue, growing up my mom, brother, and I lived in three different shelters. Two of which were domestic violence shelters. The shelters were very well maintained, provided counseling, and plenty of clothing donations. Although during these rough times I was age seven through twelve, so my understanding of the actual situation was skewed. Obviously, my mom did not confide in me about the situation we were in, but even that young you know something is wrong when you move about ten times in five years. From what I remember the shelters were nice and fun, I was never scared or intimidated. The shelters even provided counseling for my mom and helped her get a job. However, once we got on our feet and had our own apartment, after all the shelter had given us in a short period of time, quickly we were down on our luck again. It was a horrible cycle for five years of my life until the true problem was confronted, my mom’s drug addiction. I don’t want to get into my whole past or ramble on about my life experiences during this time, I just want to make the simple point that even though the domestic violence shelter, which was brand new and run by a giving church, did everything they could possibly do to help us get back on our feet we still failed because of the other factors and causes in my mom’s life at the time. Therefore, without focusing on ALL of the causes of homelessness that are affecting an individual’s life it will be hard to prevent their return to the cycle of homelessness.

Does anyone else have any ideas to end homelessness? Proposals to end the many causes of homelessness? Thoughts?