For my teaching project Tatiana and I decided to show the documentary Voices in the Tunnels: In Search of the Mole People. We felt that it was an accurate representation of the kind of life that several homeless people have. My aim was to educate our audience enough to have them put aside their stereotypical views and look at this issue with an open mind. We felt that this movie had the potential to prove the message that we were attempting to give out. It is a documentary which exposed the students to real conversations and real people who were adapted to an entirely different lifestyle under the busy streets of New York.
I thought that the film was very beneficial to our project because not only were they able to hear from us about the problem of homelessness but they were able to see it for themselves. We educated our audience about how too often the individual is blamed for being homeless when in reality there are so many factors that actually go into this issue such as the economy, the safety net, affordable housing and minimum wage. The main obstacle that is preventing this problem from being solved is only ourselves. Society is not giving this issue the attention that it desperately needs. It was important for me to point out that part of the reason is because many people do not believe that the homeless are worthy of being saved. This kind of mentality is due to the concept of the American Dream, the idea that if you are in the streets is because you did not work enough. Taking this course has really made me look at homelessness from a humane perspective. How many people people living on the streets and barely getting buy on a minimum wage will it take until politicians and society realizes that this is a real problem. One of my biggest realizations when watching this film was when one of the people in the tunnels said “ there’s a very thin line between where you are and where I am”. I would have never understood these words the way I do now until taking this course. I find it very important that people recognize that homelessness can happen to just about anyone, there are certain things that are hard to prevent. It is even more important to be able to recognize that not every person in the streets is a criminal and that they once had a normal life too and just because life has stripped away their home does not mean that they have also lost their humanity.

My internship this semester with the Time for Change Foundation has been a one of a kind experience. Volunteering outside of the class really put the issue of homelessness in America into perspective. Although for several days I did busy work, after a while I began to work with the children, simply observing and listening to the conversations that went on provided me with so much insight. This organization has had a very large success rate because the staff works extremely close with the women and children who walk into their shelters. Their approach is addressing the core issue which might be keeping the women from breaking the cycle of addiction in their lives in order to hopefully achieve self sufficiency.

Aside from all of the positive things that continue to be done, society fails to realize that as long as homelessness is criminalized, very little will change. Not only that but this increasing issue needs to be better closely looked at by politicians and people who hold the power to create policies and make significant changes. Coming into this class at the beginning of the semester I believed homeless people to only consist of those asking for money in the streets. I never once thought that the term homeless also included people who are constantly couch surfing, those barely getting by on minimum wage, people living out of their cars and people who find a home at an airport. Taking this course has really changed my perspective on homelessness and that there is so much that has yet to be done regarding this problem.

I have learned to look at this problem with an entirely different perspective than I would have four months ago. Being the number one country in the world one would think that homelessness would not be such a big issue in America, but the increasing numbers in the homeless population demonstrate the contrary. The mentality that majority of the american population has towards these people is what is really preventing them from getting the help and resources that they need. Several times I have asked myself if only one thing could be changed, what would it be ? And my answer every time has been that I would change the way in which homeless people are seen. I think that simply looking at them as human beings that are going through difficult times because of the flaws in our safety net, things have a possibility of changing. But as long people keep turning the other way, avoiding the issue, and stripping these people of the dignity that they have left, homelessness will continue to be no ones concern. Before this class without realizing it, I was doing exactly what many ignorant people do. I would come across a homeless person and look down and pretend like they do not exist. I am so grateful taking this course that I have become educated and no longer do I look down but instead I greet the person like any other human being because they do exist, they are human and they deserve to be treated with respect. As far as what I can do to solve the problem of homelessness for now as a college student is teach to the people around me what I have learned so that at least they can also treat someone from the streets with the same respect as they would any other human being so that hopefully when homeless people are no longer considered unworthy, America will give the issue of homelessness the attention it desperately needs.

This week I came across an article where there was a fight between a homeless man and a city worker in Salinas. It is mentioned that a city crew was attempting to clear homeless tents away from a public sidewalk after their 15 day notice had expired. The chaos happened after a city official told a homeless man “to put his possessions in a large dumpster like container”. The amount of disrespect that this homeless man received was enough to infuriate him and he sprinted toward the city worker’s truck in an attempt to kick it. This situation only brings up one of the most recent point that was brought up in our class discussions which is stripping away people’s humanity.
The way in which society goes about resolving the issue of homelessness in certain places around the world is very disturbing. Salinas city workers instead of helping these people find a better place to stay, suggest that they might as well throw all of their belongings in a dumpster. The state of Florida banns homeless people from sleeping in sidewalks having places. Throughout the last decade, society has made sure that homelessness people are looked at in any way except human. In this case, the city argues that because the homeless population has greatly increased, the encampments have become a public hazard. So many negative things are said about people in the streets that we often forget that even they still have rights, yet no one seems to advocate for them.

I came across an article where a senior high school student attempt to address the issue of homelessness in her home town by providing a simple solution. Her solution includes renovating abandoned houses in order to provide homes for the homeless. Although it seems like a great idea, it is anything but easy to do this all over the country. Unlike politicians who have the power to make changes in our society, this young teenager strongly believes that homelessness is an issue that needs to be addressed. The young girl also understands that not only do people that are homeless need to be sheltered, but they also need to be provided with services to help them get back on their feet. As Isabel says, “If you don’t have stable housing, you can’t really go to a job interview. You have no way of ensuring you can be there everyday”. This idea of housing first has come up several times on our class discussions. Not only does it make sense but it has provided results because it prioritizes providing homeless people with a place to live before addressing any other issues that they might have.
Solving this issue of homelessness does not only require money but it also greatly needs people to simply change their mentality of how they view homeless people. In order for it to be addressed, people need to start caring about the topic and view the people in the streets as humans that can be given a second chance. If people understood this, we would not be in the same place we were 10 years ago when it comes to providing a solution for this issue that only seems to grow.

The book presentations this week repeatedly pointed out the obvious issue of homelessness in our country. While each book was centered around different themes, they were all able to demonstrate that there is something which is being done wrong. The laws that are currently in place are not doing enough to keep homeless people off the streets, nor are they providing enough support for those people. The programs that are constantly referred to are not doing things right. Several groups pointed out that society is focusing on short term rehabilitation when the focus should be long term. In other words, having the missions of these programs be more permanent rather than temporary will bring significant results in the homeless population.

Very few people realize that in order to better understand homelessness, the issue needs to be looked at from a social and economic perspective rather than blaming the individual. For example the affordability of housing is a major issue that has driven several Americans to end up on the streets. This has brought up the question which is whether society should foes on fixing the housing situation or to first attempt to fix the individual. It is very difficult to keep a constant rate of progress when the programs helping these individuals are throwing them back in the streets to fend for themselves. The constant cycle of homelessness is proof of this. In conclusion, in order to improve the issue of homelessness, programs need to change their attitudes and work towards a more long term process while the government focuses on housing first and support later. This kind of approach will give the homeless, the resources and tools that they need in order to end the cycle of homelessness.

During spring break I had the opportunity to visit the city of Santa Monica. In comparison to everyone else who was there to see the beautiful sights, I noticed the amount of homeless people in the streets. I was immediately reminded of the documentary Taylor’s Campaign that was shown in class and saw for myself how accurate the film was. Not only was I able to see, but I had the chance to hear a couple conversations that the homeless were having among themselves. In one of them a male was explaining how it had been a very slow day for him only being able to make five dollars but that will have to do one way or another. I was also aware that none of them would go up to the people walking by. A few held signs quietly sitting down while others did some kind of entertainment for the tourists, and several of them just sat around the park benches.
I was surprised to see that the dolphins which were set up to replace panhandling were located at the pier. Although they were set up around the city of Santa Monica, no one stopped and took the time to read the purpose of them nor to make any kind of donation. I realized that if I had not watched the documentary, I myself would have thought that they were simply figures to make the pier look nice. Never would I have thought that they were purposely placed in order to replace panhandling. This really made me reflect on the kinds of methods that our government uses in order to attempt to solve this issue.

After visiting the Dignity Health center in Highland this weekend I became so much more aware of the importance of social class in determining the treatment of people. This particular health center is dedicated to providing compassionate, high quality and affordable services to everyone that walks through their doors. They have a strong belief that everyone deserves medical care regardless of skin color, background or circumstances. During my visit at this center everything that they stand for was made very obvious in the kind of service that they provided to their patients.
As I was sitting in the waiting room, I was very impressed by the kind of service that the employees provided. Taking this sociology class has really made me observe the way in which certain organizations work. It is reasonable to say that everyone works along a budget and watching this place, it was obvious to see who would be able to afford the medical treatment that they were receiving today and who would not. Regardless of this, every single person who walked in was attended exactly the same. There were no differences made between wealthy and poor.
I was very intrigued after my visit and as I observed the website I realized that they were very aware of their core values which included, dignity, collaboration, justice, stewardship and excellence. Aside from providing excellent doctors to assist the immediate needs of the people, they made sure to promote respect for all of the people. Seldom do I notice such things, but as I struggled to put prejudices aside I realized that if more people acted in the same way and believed that every life matters, we would be living in a much better world.

We have been constantly going over the importance of homeless counts and the ways in which they are conducted. Each state across the country has their own way of gathering the necessary information, some proving to be more effective than others. These counts are done in institutions such as emergency shelters and also unsheltered places which include the streets and parks. The overall purpose of these counts is to help communities so that they can be provided with enough resources to hopefully someday end homelessness. It is reasonable to say that it is absolutely impossible to come down to an exact number of homeless people yet homeless counts are an attempt to gather accurate information in order to provide the necessary resources.

Aside from homeless counts it is also beneficial to have an understanding of the things that lead to homelessness. This class has allowed me to gain a better understanding that loss is a major factor to this problem such as the loss of family, loss of jobs and loss of home. It is very easy to point the finger or simply place the blame on addiction when in reality there are so many other factors involved. Too often people become homeless because there are issues that are out of that individual’s control forcing them into homelessness. Even when a person loses everything, it can become difficult to get out of homelessness. On the other side, there are situations where people who actually want to help and make a difference run into several barriers that are out of their control which prevent them from giving homeless people the help that they desperately need. There are an immense number of things that one can learn yet simply being conscious of your place in society can be beneficial. For example do not just give people the resources that they need, but give them the tools that will help them in the long run. Sometimes it is down to one person’s attitude, instead of an entire group of people that can really make a difference.

Last week’s book presentations demonstrated the difficult life that homeless people live in the streets. The way in which they are constantly degraded by citizens, police officers and people in homeless shelters. Initially I had a strong belief that every organization was there to help and support people who willingly showed up to their agency. After hearing what my classmates had to say, I realized that sometimes asking for help is not enough. That people in these agencies believe that only they know what is best.

 
This weekend, news articles from the Bay Area made me realize that above all of the challenges that homeless people face, there are still good people in the world. An article from Mission Local: Local News For A Global Neighborhood wrote that several homeless people were provided with access to port-o-potty’s and several received a meal and pairs of socks. The article also pointed out the GoFundMe campaign that a celebrity launched in order to buy tents for the city’s homeless. Mission Local also points out to their readers that the current policies on homelessness have not fixed San Francisco’s problem. This only comes to demonstrate that there is something that is not being done right.

Super Bowl Party in SF Mission Feeds Homeless

This week we had the opportunity to watch the film “Taylor’s Campaign”. The film made me realize that it is one thing to see and analyze statistics about homeless people and an entirely different thing to watch how their civil rights and dignity are slowly stripped away from them by the people in society. This documentary not only tells the story of homeless people in Santa Monica but a story shared by many all over the world.
It was very interesting to see the way in which people from different social classes treated the homeless. Officers in law enforcement found power behind their title and used it to their advantage in order to become more intimidating. Council members of city hall who had the potential to change the lives of homeless people made it clear that they were none of their concern. I was especially shocked of the way in which the residents of the city of Santa Monica perceived homeless people. A young man in the film used language that is used in cases of genocide, words that should not be used to refer to homeless people. The young man in the film stated, “They’re a waste… Simply taking up space. Homeless people should be put to sleep”. I was absolutely astonished by this statement. The fact that some people can be so ignorant to the hardships of others. The film definitely educated me and helped me be more understanding of homeless people because homelessness does not just happen from one day to another, there is a series of events that lead up to homelessness.