Although my original plans for my teaching project unfortunately fell through, I was able to utilize one of my other classes as the subject of my project. As a double major in SOAN and Political Science, I try to take as many classes that can overlap in content as I can. The class I presented to is certainly one of those courses: SOAN-221, Rethinking Politics with Professor Coles. The class has been focused on processes and institutions of power as well as containing themes of governance and human rights. And in the class, we always come back ideas of hegemony discussed mainly by Antonio Gramsci. For our end of the year presentations, we were given the opportunity to expand on some current political issues, and evaluate how it connects to matters of hegemony, power, and governance. The title of my presentation was “Undercounting America’s Homeless Population.” This was one of my favorite topics from our Hunger and Homelessness class this semester, and it seemed like the perfect representation of a marginalized population, daily affected by social and political institutions of power and governance out of their control. The presentation was in a rotating poster format, where 1/3 of the class would present and the other 2/3 of the class would walk around the classroom, observing and asking questions of the presenters. The only problem I identified with this was the lack of time each presenter had. I definitely felt rushed to explain all of my main points while also leaving time for people to inquire as to the more interesting or quizzical parts of my presentation. Nevertheless, I felt incredibly comfortable and confident sharing all of my knowledge about homeless counts. My classmates were very intrigued by the topic and were shocked to hear that this is such a large issue across the country. They were also very understanding of how all of the different aspects of the problem interconnect and create incredibly negative results for homeless individuals. They asked questions about the role of government, both federal and local in intentionally or unintentionally undercounting the homeless. They also commented on how they had never heard of this phenomenon before, and how they hoped people would become more aware of it. It was very rewarding to know that people moved on from my poster with some new, valuable information. This was my intention with the project, to make people more aware of a problem that is sometime hidden from view. I think I was able to present this in a way that was not overwhelming, but was also was informational enough to stick with people beyond the one class period. This project also showed me how much I have learned about homelessness this semester, especially with regard to homeless counts.

While working on my teaching project in preparation for presenting it to my Rethinking Politics class this week, I realized how much I really have learned about homelessness in America this semester. My presentation is about undercounting homeless populations, which is certainly an area we have covered a lot in class, but I have been able to find new and interesting information as well. After putting more work into this topic, I really do think its one of the largest problems facing the homeless population. If they are being undercounted, then they are more likely to have fewer services provided to them. And if cities are being given smaller pools of funds from HUD because of their slim counts, then they are not able to make as many city or county wide changes to work towards eliminating homelessness. From my research for the project, more than anything I have found that the history of homeless counts have been inconsistent and tumultuous, and that no matter how successful a count may seem, there are still negative social and political implications.  This was especially apparent when we Skyped with Point-in-Time experts, who were able to identify that despite the best of intentions, there are still modes of manipulation that find their way into the mix. I’m hoping this is a political and social issue many of my classmates in the other class are not aware of, so that they will have a lot to learn!

This weekend I was in the Dana Point/Laguna Niguel area with my family celebrating Easter, and I got to thinking about the article we read and discussed earlier this week on the homeless populations being pushed out of Orange County. As I was driving around, I saw endless gated neighborhoods, high end grocery stores, and public parks- clearly all at the disposal of pretty wealthy families. Especially since the article mentioned Laguna Niguel, our discussions on NIMBY really began to make sense. Trying to put myself in their shoes, I thought about how beautiful the neighborhoods were and how different they would look with homeless encampments in a few locations. But then I began to think about all we have learned this semester: about how these homeless individuals are rarely dangerous, how people can be so misunderstanding of their position, and how there are so few resources offered. Perhaps the people of Laguna Niguel are afraid of homeless camps being near their children’s schools, but it sure seems like more progress could be made on the issue if people would use all their effort usually put towards complaining towards finding affordable housing in their communities instead. I think that people tend to forget that the homeless individuals they observe and come into contact with are fellow community members rather than strangers they have nothing in common with.

I recently found an article in the New York Times that discussed food insecurity among students of all ages, both k-12 and college level. It is titled, “Have you Ever Experienced Food Insecurity,” and it is actually an opinion piece as well as it is a poll for students to comment on and express their experiences with food insecurity. According to the article and “Feeding America,” there are approximately 13 million students across the country that are being raised in food insecure homes. We don’t talk about this large portion of the population perhaps because it is embarrassing or shameful, but this is clearly a group of the American public who deserves more attention and fewer negative stigmas. Part of the process of removing stigmas is for schools to provide free school lunches to all, as districts in New York have begun to do. Another interesting component to the piece was its discussion of spring break for college students, and what this time off from school means for students who are food insecure. It is a widespread assumption that students leave the university for spring break, but this is not always the case. For students who can not afford to leave campus for vacation and are expecting their dining halls to remain open, they are often left disappointed and hungry. There are no solutions to this problem provided in the article, but perhaps the change could be as simple as university catering services remaining open during university breaks, just with fewer staff.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/learning/have-you-ever-experienced-food-insecurity.html

Since we have spent a lot of time this semester discussing how affordable and attainable housing is really the answer to our country’s issues of widespread homelessness, it was really refreshing to learn about some of the realistic steps being taken to achieving this. I read the book Housing First for my presentation, and learned so much about this movement that seems to have real potential to make a difference. I didn’t know much about the program before reading the book, which I think is part of the problem. More states, counties, cities, and individuals should be aware of how effective Housing First can be. Not only can it be successful in reducing the amount of people living homeless on the streets and in shelters, but it can significantly increase peoples’ independence, confidence, and potential. This is something I believe should be afforded to homeless individuals who have been victims to the streets, and to “treatment first” programs that discourage them from rebuilding social bonds, and disallow them from having a say in their road towards self reliance. Beyond getting the word out and writing books such as this one, I am lost for an answer as to how to get more cities on board with this movement. Perhaps a lot of it comes from the disparities separating places. As can be seen in the differences of programs in Seattle, Salt Lake, and New York, there is a lot of variation that comes from both the program itself, and the place in which it is installed. Nevertheless, it seems like it is worth the experiment, as it succeeds in empowering populations who were never given that chance before.

I really enjoyed listening to everyone’s presentations this week on the work they are doing at their internships. In a way, it was discouraging to hear about all of the great experiences people are having, and all that they are learning from being so hands on. Since I am doing my internship here from campus, I haven’t been able to interact with the individuals the organization is serving as much as I would like. That being said, I am still learning a lot from the research I am conducting as a part of the internship, and hopefully it is all valuable information to carry with me into future volunteer and internships in the future. I really appreciated hearing about the language each of our organizations uses when addressing and talking about their clients, families, etc.. As we have learned, there can be so much shame, negative social stigma, and stereotype that can revolve around homelessness rhetoric. It is encouraging that there are individuals working in the field who are so conscious of the language they are using. It confirms their mission to serve and empower the homeless populations.

It was so nice to be able to sit all together last week and reflect on what we have learned so far this semester. It was neat to hear that everyone has learned and valued different things in the course, and is using that knowledge to apply it to what we are observing outside of the classroom. Keeping these conversations in mind as I left for spring break, I was curious to see how I would encounter homelessness while away from Redlands. I travelled back to my home in Oregon for the week, and was really affected by the images of hunger and homelessness I came across on my various trips into the city of Portland. More than ever, I was very conscious of the individuals I observed who were very visible homeless. They got me thinking about the services being provided to them, or lack thereof. While walking through the city, I came across a variety of different job search centers, soup kitchens, and shelters.. But on the weekend, when I was seeing all of this, everything was closed. We have obviously learned that shelters do most of their work at night, but it really struck me that the multitude of people out on the streets did not have any access to services on Saturdays or Sundays. I don’t know how effective  opening these places seven days a week would be, but sure seems unfair to only address issues of homelessness during the work week.

I was really struck this week with the multitude of interactions we were able to have with people so knowledgable in the field of homelessness. It was encouraging to come into contact with individuals who have devoted their time and effort to helping and encouraging this marginalized group we have been learning about. After hearing from the San Bernardino County HOPE team, I was left thinking about the potential for these types of programs in other places across the country. After class I talked briefly to my dad, who works for the City of Portland, about the programs in Oregon put in place to address issues of homelessness. They don’t seem to be anywhere as successful or dedicated as the work of HOPE. Now I am  curious about other city and county’s work that may be comparable! I also really enjoyed hearing more information about point-in-time counts, and how they are executed differently all over the place, and more particularly, how they are viewed by the public. One would think that everyone should be in favor of keeping count of their city’s homeless populations, at-least to keep officials accountable for addressing such issues, but as we heard our guest speakers talk about, this is not always the case. I learned  there is so much more to the process of these counts than meets the eye. We can’t forget  about the role economics, politics, and society all play. Later in the week I also had an incredibly informative meeting with two individuals who are very  active in the nonprofit scene here in Redlands. We talked about homelessness, social services, and the idea of community. During this meeting, I could really tell that this class has already taught me so much. I was able to have a thoughtful and informed conversation about these topics with true experts.

As we talked some about homeless counts this week in class, I started thinking more about the differences between long term and short term homelessness, and what defines these variations among the homeless populations. I came across an article in the New York Times about a family that has been living in shelters in New York for three years now because their landlord kicked them out to “renovate” their apartment complex. Three years later, and they are still living on the streets and shelters. Inspectors keep on checking in on the renovation process and continue to find that nothing is being done. Being that New York is such an increasingly expensive city to live in, the family this article focuses on does not have the financial means to find somewhere more permanent to live while waiting on their landlord to welcome them back into their home. This story exposes trends of gentrification, unfair bureaucracy, and power that affect homeless populations all across the country, not just in New York. It also shows the distinctions between long term and short term homelessness; both situations are difficult to find yourself in, but no matter if you have been homeless for one year or five, there are always remnants of optimism and positivity that it will soon end. This family continues to believe that despite the power their landlord and their city holds over them, something positive is to come.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/nyregion/while-the-landlord-renovates-life-in-a-homeless-shelter.html

This article in the New York Times from yesterday grabbed my attention because currently in my capstone class we are reading a book about gentrification in the cities of New Orleans, San Fransisco, Detroit, and New York. Although the book, How to Kill a City does not explicitly talk in detail about the homeless populations in these cities, it certainly discusses the thousands of residents in these cities being displaced due to gentrification. The city of New Orleans was particularly interesting to me because its gentrification is a direct result of how the city chose to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. As a result, whole neighborhoods have been forced to relocate themselves in different cities and states. They can no longer keep up with the increasing housing costs, the growing charter school populations, or the trendy neighborhoods that increase the costs of all sorts of necessary goods. For those who have chosen to stay in New Orleans despite all of this, one can assume they are certainly living precariously.

This article concerns the still failing infrastructure in New Orleans, and how the city does not have the funds to fix everything itself. Although President Trump has identified this as a crisis, it does not appear that he plans to allocate many federal funds to the rebuilding of this city that is falling apart. Because of this, the city is being forced to use its own money to restructure itself. The article points out that this means money will be taken away from other sectors, including housing for homeless veterans. But on the other hand, if these infrastructure problems are not addressed, more and more neighborhoods will crumble when there is any sort of rain or extreme weather, perhaps leaving more individuals and families without homes. It seems like there is no easy answer as to how to fix this cycle.

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/02/03/us/ap-us-trump-infrastructure-new-orleans.html