The thing I love about sociology is with every class I take, I finish the course with a greater understanding towards the people around me. What I once may have been more judgmental about, I learn to see from a different perspective. This semester has made me more aware of the homeless community, by understanding how many people go unseen and how many people have fallen into this social crisis due to structural conditions. I wanted more people to learn about the hardships that come from homelessness, and that not every cause is because of a self-inflicted mistake.

For my teaching project, I wanted to teach a group of people who have more than likely not been exposed to the homeless issue. When I was in high school, I was taught that homeless people were addicts and any money I would give them would simply feed that addiction- so ignore them. Many high schoolers only hear this one sided, judgmental viewpoint, so I wanted to expose them to more. I contacted my former AP Human Geography teacher who is now at Yucaipa High School and taught her two APHG classes, which is the closest thing to sociology at the high school level. Rather than simply telling these kids a bunch of info and have them learn material, my main goal was for them to leave with a greater sense of empathy than they had entered the room with. Knowledge is important, of course, but self development and tolerance are major forces I think need to be developed in every individual.

How I constructed my presentation to the class was broken up into 5 sections, which were the 5 questions we had been exploring throughout the semester. For the first question, “What is life like for the hungry, the homeless, and the near-homeless in the U.S”, I talked to them about how with homelessness comes a lot of shame, and many accusations that they do not try to get a job. I shared difficulties with getting a job, plus perspectives from Voices from the Street and Taylor’s Campaign, as well as a recent story of a homeless Disneyland employee found dead in her car. For the second question, “How many homeless and near-homeless are there?”, the answer I gave was we have no idea, and discussed how inaccurate counts are and how shifting definitions can effect these counts. For the third question, “What are the major and minor causes of homelessness and hunger?”, we talked about personal susceptibility vs structural conditions. I focused on the cost of housing being too high. “What are individuals, small organizations, and governments doing to help?” was the fourth questions, where I mainly shared 2 local organizations (Youth Hope and Redlands Family Services) and 2 nonlocal organizations (Solid Ground and Homeless Solutions) on what they are doing to help. Finally, the fifth question, “What does it take to solve these problems?” was where I shared how I think more affordable housing is the biggest thing we can do for a solution, and encouraged them to volunteer to help. I used this to transition into sharing about my time at The Midnight Mission.

This was a very successful project, and the students were very polite and made it a comfortable space. They all stayed engaged and asked questions and based on their facial expressions throughout the presentation, I think they were changed to better understanding. I hope they gained more compassion and empathy towards a community pushed aside by society.

Over the course of this semester, my views on the homeless community have been significantly widened and I have become a more empathetic person. Growing up in San Bernardino, homeless encounters were a normal thing and I brushed them off without a second thought. Now, I think to myself “this person has a story you don’t know about” with every homeless individual I see. The last time I was walking the streets of Skid Row in LA was about 2 months ago, and I had a new perspective towards the people on the street. I had so much respect for them and took in the diversity around me, while also being saddened because I now know about their displacement and how difficult it is. Being immersed in a social problems makes it go to your heart more, so teaching/showing people these situations can make an impact. I didn’t have someone telling me about homeless life and homeless people in high school, other than they were lazy and would only use any money I gave them to feed an addiction. Kids are impressionable, and need to be told more than one perspective. So for my teaching project, I went to Yucaipa High School and overviewed the 5 main questions we answered over the semester with 2 AP Human Geography classes. I told them alternative reasons to homelessness outside substance abuse, what organizations are doing to help, and that it could happen to anyone. The lesson I hope they took home was do not be quick to judge and do not slander those who need some help. The homeless community faces enough shame, but with every child we can teach to be more tolerant and accepting, the better we can treat one another.

This week, we discussed different homeless organizations and what they were doing to help, and what made them unique from other organizations. I remember one of us shared on the Coalition for the Homeless, which is an advocacy group. They focused on the right to have a home and specifically the right to vote, which is not a main concern we see in many organizations. One unique thing I found about them is they have a mobile soup kitchen that travels to 35 different sites. I feel this is very beneficial to help combat homelessness on a wider scale. I shared about Solid Ground, an organization in Seattle who’s primary fight is against racism. They believe institutional racism leads to homelessness (more commonly for people of color) and they bring awareness to that issue. They also offer varieties of shelter, donate food and refer banks to get food, and prioritize credit counseling. Believing that racism is the root of homelessness is an idea I had not previously heard, so I appreciate that different perspective. Lastly, an organization in Austria was discussed, but this one did not seem ideal. Austrians could get free food, but foreigners could not. The races were also divided when dining. The homeless were not appreciative of the food they were getting, and demanded something more appetizing. I fully support helping those in need, but I also believe you need to be appreciative of what you are getting. If someone is willing to help you, offer thanks instead of rudeness. It makes me wonder how homeless generally behave in other countries.

What kind of behavioral experiences have you guys had with homeless you have encountered? Do you feel it is justified to not be very pleasant when you are in a situation such as homelessness, such as those in the Austrian shelter?

This week we got to hear from the CEO of “Homeless Solutions” in New Jersey. He gave us some background on the company, such as that it directly serves around 600 people annually, through housing and other services offered. Indirectly, they help hundreds more. 85 beds are located in the main shelter, and they also have other housing offered for elderly, low income, and a building that houses 10 families. Even though government funding for shelters is significantly decreasing over the years, 47% of this organization is funded in that way.

The basis of this organization is great. I would rather have it than not; however, I must be critical. There were a few things mentioned about the organization that I did not necessarily agree with. The first thing that I found a bit unordinary was that families were charged a fee to stay in the housing. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but so many other shelters are free during program duration that I find it a bit unfair. Families are also required to be full time workers- which again, is not a bad requirement, but what about families who can only get part time work? He also mentioned that they have curfews- which makes me think of the stories of homeless we have heard who avoid shelters because they do not want someone having control over them. I’m sure we all hated curfews as teenagers; as an adult, I would feel belittled.

The housing program does offer many great services and I think it’s wonderful that they focus on building credit scores. They also offer scholarships if the money would sufficiently help someone steer off the road of homelessness. There is a lot of good in this non-profit, and I think there is much they can improve upon to help even more. I find it to be quite strict, which is a pro because people need structure and discipline, but also a con because people who don’t meet the standards may desperately need help, or will reject the help to keep autonomy. Giving a hand UP instead of a hand OUT is a great method of assistance, but even people who do not meet all requirements deserve a hand up.

We have lately been discussing how shelter options are one of the most difficult aspects of homelessness. Aside from living on the streets, many homeless people create their own encampments and provide a place to come back to at the end of the day. Last month, an encampment along the Santa Ana River in Orange County was cleared out, evicting and re-displacing between 700-1,500 people (as we know, these counts are vast and inaccurate). Many of the homeless were placed in motels and given 30 days to figure something out. This week, a court hearing was held and it was ruled that the motel stays can be extended providing that adequate housing arrangements would not be available at the end of their stay.

This provides a problem because many of these people do not want to go to shelters. We have learned that shelters can mistreat those living there, with dirty conditions and abuse and control. One woman from the Santa Ana River encampment said “I don’t want to go to a shelter… At least at the riverbed there was freedom. I feel like I’m being punished for something”. Her time at the motel is almost up, and she is to be referred to an emergency shelter; yet she would rather be outside than in a place where someone could control her.

The Judge granted the motel stay extension, but provided his congratulations to those who cleared the encampment. He wants another encampment cleared within the next few weeks, this one at the Santa Ana Civic Center. I think this upcoming eviction is just going to add to the issue, but I hope they will be able to come up with a better solution for these people they are about to kick out.

Citation: https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/03/17/81751/it-stops-now-judge-demands-oc-find-solution-for-70/

This week we looked at how the poor have been controlled over the decades. The 18th and 19th centuries have been a war against the poor, despite things being implemented in order to help them. When people began to fight for a minimum wage and the 8 hour work day, that is when labor started to become more just. It is surprising to think that it was not even that long ago, not even 100 years, when people were working for next to nothing in horrible conditions. The Social Security implementation did help some poor, by keeping the number of impoverished elderly down. Nowadays, it’s mainly the younger crowd who are without money.  What stood out to me was the distinction between the “worthy” and “unworthy” poor. This sense of control has been going on pre 700, back in England. Those who were able-bodied and did not have a noticeable problem were seen as “unworthy” poor, because if you could work there should be no excuse for you to not be. You did not deserve help. Those who were “worthy” of assistance were people like mothers, widows, and handicap. These people were seen as less and that they could not support themselves, so they were deserving of help. You can still see how these ideas from hundreds of years ago are still in the minds of people today. Many look down on the poor and say “I work, so you can to. I’m not giving the money I earned to someone who did not work for it”. Not everyone’s poverty situation is something that can be seen on the surface, and we all need help from time to time. Rather than controlling the poor, we should work on ways to help them learn how to control their lives again, which is what many of these shelters we are looking into are striving to do.

When discussing what we currently know about homelessness, many of us expressed our concern of not knowing how many homeless people there actually are. An inaccurate count is universal because: not all homeless people will be found on the streets, some cities do not count cars or those in shelters, we don’t know how many people are couch surfing / temporarily living with friends or family… it’s impossible to fully know.

We discussed what we think could be done to help alleviate homelessness (there is no 100% cure) and making more housing available was the common main concern. “Affordable” housing is actually not affordable at all, so low-income housing is the better route to take. It is unknown if shelters are a big help, because they act as temporary fixes. They may help some people get off the street for one night or a short period of time, but what about in the long-run? The argument could also be posed that shelters further catalyze homelessness because if people think they have somewhere they can go for free, they may be homeless by choice. I do not think this is a popular thought process, because shelters can be terrible places. In the book “Reckoning with Homelessness”, shelters were described as dirty and violent places, where you can get robbed and beat up even though your peers know you have nothing. Employees of the shelters have been accused of physical and emotional violence. Developing homes that people can actually live in on a minimum wage paycheck is a viable solution.

This week we focused on homeless counts. On Wednesday, we got to listen to two guest speakers discuss Point-In-Time Counts, including the issues with these counts. Misrepresentation is common with counts, because if not properly administered (or cared for enough), the numbers representing people without homes could be much smaller than reality, which then make the issue look like less of a problem. Counts also cost an insane amount of money, and the cost varies greatly. Point-In-Time counts are not funded and depend on private funding or sponsors. These counts were described as “inherently political”, which makes sense, because based on the political atmosphere of a community, certain information can be shared or withheld to fit a certain agenda.

For our second data exercise, I looked at the homeless counts from 2 SoCal cities that I am very familiar with. I live in Highland (a neighboring city to Redlands), and out of the 1,866 homeless people accounted for in 2017 in all of San Bernardino County, only 35 of these people were in Highland. I find this number low, and I think it’s due to Highland and San Bernardino’s border and homeless people crossing it so often. It would be hard to determine which city these people belong to. If you visited West Highland, you would see why 35 is a low number. San Bernardino is literally right next door, and had 491 reported homeless. The other city I picked was Anaheim, where most of the homeless were found near the Anaheim/Fullerton border. This is generally a poorer part of town. 80% of sheltered homeless in Anaheim are women, and 71% of unsheltered are men. 906 people were accounted for in total, and I mainly focused on the Disneyland area since that’s what I know best. There are actually many homeless people living right around Disneyland, but people certainly do not think about that. Disneyland is associated with happiness and wealth (I mean, have you seen those ticket prices?) but this just further proves that homelessness is all around, in rich areas and not. We just let it go unnoticed, and inaccurate homeless counts do not help us see the real issue.

CITATIONS: Highland Homeless Count Info– http://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/sbchp/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/2017-SBC-Prelimi nary-Point-In-Time-Count-Report.pdf

Anaheim Homeless Count Info– https://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/14920

When the words “Los Angeles” come up, many people instantly think of glamorous Hollywood and wealthy movie stars. They picture a beautiful land of opportunity. What many people fail to realize is Los Angeles is one of the most homeless places in America.

This week we read an article from the LA Times called LA’s Homelessness Surged 75% in Six Years. Thousands of more people have been put on the streets in these past years, because the economic climate is unfavorable. LA has a housing shortage problem, homeless programs are not effective enough, and minimum wage jobs are too low to pay rent. The cities of Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, and Long Beach have a reported collective “total of 58,000” homeless (but as we discussed, these counts can be inaccurate so that number could be much higher than we think). “3 out of 4 homeless people live in cars, tents,” and other places not meant for human habitation. The chart in this article showed that LA is at the bottom when it comes to sheltering their homeless, having approximately only 25% of them with shelter.

I am a lover of Los Angeles, and Koreatown is my hangout spot when I go into the city. There is a small shopping center I go to and across the street are high-end apartments. “People in Koreatown step outside their fancy condos to find tents, rotting food and human feces at their doorsteps.” There are homeless people in all corners of LA, including the nice areas- but many more in the not so nice areas. I have also been on Skid Row- a depressing sight to see. There are hundreds of people with no place to sleep or clean themselves, and attempts to help the latter issue have been removed in the past. “In 1992, an activist put out portable toilets in Skid Row” but the mayor at the time removed them. They were removed again in 2006 when they were “being used for prostitution”.

Los Angeles may be famous for its movie industry wealth, but poverty is all around.

Citation: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-homeless-how-we-got-here-20180201-story.html

This week my group and I presented on the book Voices in America. The whole book was a compilation of interviews gathered from the homeless community of Portland, Oregon. Sisters of the Road, a nonprofit organization, thought it would be beneficial to share their stories and remind the public that the homeless are humans, just like us. They need help, just like us.

One story I remember well was of a woman discussing how she gets ticketed for doing things required by the human body. She gets ticketed for sleeping- she sleeps in the wrong place, but is not directed to a place where she can sleep. She gets ticketed for urinating in public- despite trying to do it secretly in an alleyway, where there are no other options, she must be very alert while going to the bathroom to not get caught by authorities. One man was cited for possession of shopping carts, and he owned them legally. He had receipts to prove he had not stolen them, but was cited anyway.

Hearing stories like these help you realize how looked down on the homeless are. People automatically assume they are up to no good or are breaking laws when in reality, they are just trying to survive. One man talked about how all he wants is to be clean, because it makes him feel better about himself and allows him the blend in with society more. We all get dirty, but not all of us are privileged with a shower.

Homelessness can happen to anyone- devastation knows no class and can effect us all.