Throughout this course it became evident that homelessness in America has a history of being explained and analyzed in a variety of different ways. In regards to why there is homelessness in America, there has been a common image representing the stereotypes perpetuated through American society by Americans. A stereotype concerning the physical appearance of what a homeless individual should look like, followed by the explanation of qualities. Qualities that are often joined with words like lazy, alcoholic, or drug addict. A picture that never explains the reality beyond the individual showing how homelessness in America isn’t because all homeless people are lazy and can’t get a job. It is because of structural and systematic inequalities within different sectors of society that contribute to the homelessness in America. Things like a lack of affordable and sustainable housing and lack of government spending are in this conversation. Now taking this information and applying it to solving homelessness by coming up with solutions requires the call for immediate change in these structures. A time commitment and never ending battle, it can  consume individuals who dedicate their lives to this work.I believe besides this necessary change, there is a call to action for individuals who aren’t as active within the issues of homelessness being the general public. A call to action simply asking for individuals to shoot down and debunk common myths, generalizations, and stereotypes in public. The perception of homelessness in America has to change.

In light of this I took the opportunity of the Each One Teach One project to teach some of my closest friends on how they can attempt to see and understand the bigger picture. The objective of this project was to was to inform, support, debunk any ideologies that express ,or did not, the stigmas associated with homelessness. I hoped that my peers learn why those stereotypes do not embody the homeless community, and realize how homelessness is experienced by a variety of individuals with different and unique experiences. I am a firm believer in allyship and the ability for an individual who possesses a voice to speak on discrepancies or stereotypes when regarding individuals in oppressed positions. I expressed to my peers how it is vital when addressing homelessness, whether it be in a familial setting or the classroom, that it is important to intervene and perhaps educate on the image of what homelessness is and who it is as well.

To being the discussion I asked them to share an experience they’ve had with homelessness followed by three more questions generalized to be the following: what comes to mind when you think of homelessness in America, what are the causes, and how can we solve it. They answered understanding the concept of inequalities within systematic structure and related it to homelessness, such as affordable and sustainable housing, discriminatory employment practices, low amount of jobs, capitalism, medical expenses, and support system abandonment. I was surprised with their responses and elaborating on more issues such as policing in the past. I explained how the perceptions they had are the ones we need everyone to understand, leaving them with the call to action. 

This past week I had the opportunity to eat dinner with Rev. Dr. Miguel De La Torre who was on campus speaking for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s 50th anniversary of his assassination. During dinner he had some words regarding injustices and issues in the world such as immigration and religion. He described a hopelessness that I translated as a kind of hopelessness due to structures set in place that produce conditions that are only getting worse and worse as the years go by. Issues like housing are in the conversation and it made me reflect on points made in class regarding hunger and homelessness in America.

What I began to think about were constraints put on organizations who are constantly trying to fight and end hunger, poverty, homelessness, etc in their own communities. Constraints can include things like laws enforcing fines to organizations that have a history of giving meals to the community or have done the service before. Other constraints include rules and regulations, limited funding, and interference from state or federal governments while attempting to provide a service. In addition to this I started to think about organizations on a local level and how there are multiple organizations providing a variety of services in one place. Yes, this makes sense as it is difficult for one organization to provide a broad area of expertise in every place that displays a need, but organizations most times can be individual in the sense of lack of communication to other organizations. Referral and follow up programs are implemented into some organizations., but I think it may work in favor of every service if they communicate and work together against these larger constraints.

This past Thursday I went to hear Loretta Ross speak here at the University of Redlands. She spoke on white supremacy in the age of Trump. In addition to this she mentioned human rights. Among these were things like health care, shelter, education, and clean water. After mentioning 8 human rights, she added one more being access to the internet. Free access to the internet has the potential of becoming another human right that isn’t offered. This made me think of homelessness and the already present human rights which are denied to individuals in the United States. The statement Loretta Ross made holds truth. One can only access the internet if consuming in a place that provides that service along with their own free internet or consuming it themselves with paid plans. Money is the big factor and it’s what is needed to access the internet where almost everything operates. Access to employment and other resources is extremely limited without technology making it even more difficult to transition from homelessness if that is one’s situation. In addition, those who do not have a presence on social media and the internet can often be excluded and discriminated against, basically becoming invisible. They are denied a voice and discourse, and cannot become a part of established online communities.

I see what Loretta Ross said coming into play in the near future. I also recognize the potential for this to effect individuals near and in homelessness. Without systematic change in policy, it will be another entity that determines the fate of individuals experiencing homelessness.

This past class was an interesting one as we each shared our experiences with our specific organizations. There were a variety of presentations with different information and formatting that allowed for a broad picture of the many organizations we spend our time with.  Something that stuck with me throughout each presentation was the mention of how language is used throughout each different organization. Language meaning how  they address those who utilize the services and resources the organization provides, walk through their doors, have inquiries, etc. The language used by the organization’s staff and volunteers can translate into the mindset of the individual receiving service. The terms used to describe the individual may have a picture that more times than not already comes with an image. This individual may internalize the image and perceive themselves in that way, whether positive or negative.

In addition to this I began to see and understand how each and every one of the organizations is different yet unique in their own way, being their intended purpose. There are a variety of organizations all focusing on one area that might be entirely different from another. The burden of assisting those who need a variety of different services is a big one. A good number offer everything that an individual might need but if not they end up having to be a part of several different organizations to receive the services they seek. However in what was presented I saw a balance of what some do and what some have less of a focus on.

This week in class there were two presentations by individuals who interact with the topic of homelessness. Through these presentations I was able to gain a further understanding on topics discussed or assigned in class. The aspects they presented about homelessness and their experiences along with interpretations was the tool in doing that.

Monday’s presentation added so much more context to the issues of the relationships between law enforcement officers and the homeless themselves. It provided a view into the local enforcement in San Bernardino County today, and their methodology of how they interact with the homeless. The present methods gave direction to where the book ” Down, Out, and Under Arrest…” by Forest Stuart left off, describing how therapeutic policing influenced  the lives of the homeless, specifically on Skid Row.

Prior to Wednesday’s class we had to complete Data Exercise # 2. For the exercise I examined the methods for point in time counts, in Ventura and LA counties. During this I had a lot of questions regarding how money was used, who decides what way is the right way to count, and who gets surveys or doesn’t. Through the presentation many of my questions were answered and overall I understood how things were executed prior to the homeless count in each city. I learned that money was allocated through sponsors, count methods depend on who’s running it which can be outside organizations. The biggest concept I carried away and what appears evident in success in varying methodology for counts based on the community.

I found interest in the article “Who’s Able-Bodied Anyway”  by Emily Badger. In the article Badger brings up the term “able-bodied” and the existing controversy over what the word means and who it entails to. In this discussion, Badger mentions the Trump administration by saying, “they are effectively everyone left, and they have become the focus of resurgent conservative proposals to overhaul government aid, such as one announced last month by the Trump administration that would allow states to test work requirements for medicaid.” In addition to this, Badger makes the point that “there is no standard for physical or mental ability that makes a person able”.  Towards the end of the article, Badger makes one more statement being “the food stamp program does identify a group called able-bodied adults without dependents. But Medicaid makes no mention of them.”

With everything stated above, I have concluded that people in the government and positions of power have used the term “able-bodied” to target a certain group of people who society deems as too lazy or just unwilling to work. These people, near homeless/homeless, who are labelled by the circumstance they do not inhabit, are put in a specific category just because of it. Things like this include “not disabled, not elderly, not children, not pregnant, not blind.” These people, the able-bodied, are judged and mistreated by people who may or may not acknowledge their position is the result of inequality in systems and institutions. Other factors can be conditions not recognized important by society, such as depression, anxiety, etc.

After the last presentations, the class and material covered from the books stayed fresh in my mind. With this I returned home from Redlands for the weekend and ran into an old coach and grabbed something to eat. We began to talk about college and my courses and everything along with that. I began to explain to him how we were assigned books and did the presentations on those books. Conversation followed and he began to express certain points and questions based on his perception and experiences with homelessness. I was able to inform him directly about Skid Row, being that it was what was in my book, and the history of it involving policies, ordinances, mega missions, etc.  I was effectively able to break down and explain the reason that his perception of homelessness on Skid Row was the way it was, and answered his questions. In result he was more understanding of the people in a way, and as I progressed in explaining things he seemed to understand the view from the bottom up and vice versa.

Through the presentations that my peers shared I was also able to explain different stories and point of views, expressed in the books they were assigned. I talked about the mothers, newspaper vendors, etc. In this conversation my coach was intrigued and even asked for book titles. Never did I see myself being able to simply explain and put learned text into words with everyday people , and engage in discourse. I am excited for the rest of the semester and what knowledge is to be gained, understood, and shared.

In Monday’s class we were paired into groups and given the tasks of budgeting the scenario of a single parent household with two children working minimum wage.  The information we gathered before class contributed to what methods and strategies we implied to live off of minimum wage.  Once the groups came up with the  ways they were going to live off minimum wage and scenarios, what we came up with was presented to the class.  Throughout each presentation I noticed a pattern. Each situation the single parent was involved in, to make it, they had a helping hand, resources, or a position that just happened to work itself out in their favor without having to output finances for those services. A pattern of good circumstances or viable resources that allowed for the single parent to meet the needs or have help they other wise wouldn’t. This then made me think of two things. The first being that the amount of free resources that this single parent living on minimum wage has, will determine the level of discomfort in their already uncomfortable situation. The basis of surviving and making it in this situation can heavily rely on the loopholes, strategies, ways one finds to benefit financially, which don’t require money in exchange. It’s ridiculous but very real, how much money one has to spend if they are doing it entirely on their own. No resources, no help from grandma, no help from the school providing daycare, and no money from the other parent, trying to make it.

I believe it was last Monday when we briefly got the chance to list some of the 15 functions Herbert J. Gans describes in “The Positive Functions of Poverty”.  He explains how the poor perform these 15 distinct functions for American society . He states the idea that poverty is good in it’s existence because it provides employment for a number of people and other things such as explaining that the poor are used intentionally for medical purposes, trials and tests with new medicines in particular. These were examples shared in class. In his third point he described how certain groups or things they poor do flourish because of the poor themselves. On this list are heroin, cheap liquor, prostitutes and  what i found interesting, Pentecostal Ministers.

I thought to myself what that could mean. I began to reflect on my personal views and conceptions of the Pentecostal church along with my past experiences and I came to several thoughts or inquiries. In my mind, the reason that Pentecostal ministers were intentionally placed on a list of groups that benefit and prosper from the poor would be because of the concept of repentance and forgiveness. Also if the Pentecostal mister conveys the concept that their God is one who will bless, it adds to what they can preach at whoever whenever. I believe ministers use this in their preaching and messages directed towards people who are not in the best of circumstances and Hod is seen as the only answer, as they preach, in getting ones life together.  They speak of a repentance and how one can be forgiven for the situation they are in, which they may interpret as the result of a ungodly life in sin.