Reading the book “Down and Out, On the Road” by Kenneth Kusmer has shown me how far back homelessness goes in America. This book covers the entire period from the colonial era to the late twentieth century. You learn through this book that homelessness has been present in America for over two hundred years! To begin with the fact that a lot of these homeless people are immigrants however, there is a lot of diversity and global immigration. All of these homeless people can include disabled, mentally ill, orphans, and even freed blacks. It is hard to think back to the day when just steamboats were being invented and there was still homelessness going on. Through Kusmer’s text, you get a better understanding of how people become homeless and how charities and public authorities deal with this problem of being homeless. You even learn about all the diverse ways that homeless people deal with in class, ethnic, and racial groups. It was interesting to learn during the Industrial Revolution it was a major turning point for everyone in human history. During this time, three main types of transportation were produced which indluded waterways with steamboats, roads, and railroads. However, they were more likely to travel on foot due to the lack of safety on trains, the cost of steamboats, and hostility. It is depressing to think that at such a big time when advancements in technology are first being made but so many people never had the opportunity to use these advancements in their everyday life due to their homelessness. This time was when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transport, and technology changed.

Although Christopher Jencks’ book, The Homeless, is twenty years old, his ideas still remain constant today. Jencks outlines factors such as personal susceptibility such as alcoholism, tragedy, disability, and mental illness. However, he focuses more on the structural conditions, which include; job market changes, housing loss, hospital closure, lowered social support, and drug epidemics. His main point is to explain how and to what degree have these structural conditions caused a rise in homelessness.

Job market changes are still linked to homelessness today. Minimum wages are low to the point where people cannot afford to live off them. We saw in our Data Exercise #1 that it is almost impossible to live off minimum wage, in conclusion people are becoming homeless. Housing loss also remains as a cause for homelessness. This was very apparent in between 2008 and 2009 when many houses went into foreclosure because people could not afford their houses with their minimum wage jobs and the rise of the housing market. Hospital closure is still apparent today and is linked to the cause of homelessness. Mentally ill people who are at hospitals are often put in a taxi and taken to skid row because there is no one who claims to be responsible for them. We saw evidence of this in a video shown in class of mentally ill hospital patients getting taken to skid row in Los Angeles. Lowered social support is also a consistent cause of homelessness. Public assistance such as health care and welfare is not always implemented with the poor and homeless in mind. When these support programs are lowered the people under the poverty line suffer. In addition, drugs have displayed contributions to homelessness. Especially in 1984 when the crack epidemic broke out, which is what Jencks discusses in his book as a major cause to homelessness. Today, we still see a link between drugs and homelessness.

While Jencks’ book discusses social structures as being the driving force of homelessness twenty years ago, we still see these as major causes today.

http://moodle.redlands.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=135210

http://nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/employment.html

http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeGFIL4BD_M

For this weeks reading we read Reeve Vanneman’s online summary of Christopher Jencks’, The Homeless. Many aspects of the summary stuck out to me, specifically chapter 7 titled, Social Skills and Family Ties. It brought up the notion that those who live alone and have little to no ties to a family are at a higher risk of homelessness. This interested me because recently we have been talking about the hopelessness of homelessness. Regardless of the reasoning behind why one becomes homeless there is this crippling hopelessness attached to it that seems to span across each experience that we have read about. To me, this aspect of homelessness is the part that seems to be the most damaging. Wether it be through the stories of the homeless mothers, teens, addicts, etc., each person described this inevitable emotional aspect of homelessness. This emotional frame of the homeless experience is what essentially acted as the “human” and “relatable” aspect of homelessness for me. The idea of being hopeless when you have nothing really is what in my opinion, makes homeless seem so all encompassing. I do think that if you don’t have a family or someone to at the very least share that burden with, the hopelessness of homelessness can become never ending in a way that permits and perpetuates its existence in a persons life.  I was also interested in the notion posed in chapter ten that suggests that homeless shelters do not necessarily help issues of homelessness and could perhaps be sustaining it. I have never personally lived in a shelter and I know the risks and potential issues that can come with living in them solely through the perspectives and experiences that we have read about. Yet, I cannot really believe that providing a means of shelter for people could be damaging. I feel like to suggest that homeless shelters perpetuate homelessness is in a way implies that one believes that homelessness is not an issue of circumstance, but of choice. While the article also acknowledges the idea of intentional homelessness, I do not believe that the reasons behind choosing to leave a home or family necessarily means that those people were given a choice. I also would argue that homeless shelters are by no means, “nice”. The reality is, is that you still don’t have a space where you are entitled to your own time, privacy, expressions, etc. You are living in cramped conditions with people who you do not necessarily know, and are being forced to abide by rules that permit little to no spontaneity, fun, pleasure, etc. To suggest that homeless shelters are providing with people who chose to be homeless with a “nice” alternative form of living is in my opinion pretty ignorant.  I also simply cannot get behind this notion that Americans seem to be so obsessed with that is essentially “There is a person out in the world getting something for free that I am not getting for free and that is wrong”.

On a personal note, I had an experience this weekend that made me really think about what my life would have been like if I was homeless. I very recently burned my leg. It is a third degree burn that covers about a third of my calf.  I remember debating whether or not I wanted to go to urgent care. Just being able to have the option to go and wait in a room for an unspecified amount of time with people who were both seriously injured or sick, or to just wait until Monday morning when I could go see a doctor on my campus and be given the proper care and instruction that I needed to get better was a privilege that I would not have had if I were homeless. I was also work on campus and have a pleasant and understanding relationship with my bosses and was able to go directly to them and talk about what had happened and be comfortable and capable of missing work for a few days until I could get it checked out. I didn’t have to worry about how missing a couple days of work was going to effect the way I was able to eat or effect my quality of life. I was able to take the time to let my body recuperate and heal without the stress of strain of having to worry about all of the ways that it could affect my life. Overall I am hoping that perhaps in class we can talk about times in our lives where being homeless could have really effected our physical wellbeing. While I am aware of the many ways in which homeless does constantly affect a persons physical wellbeing, it was interesting to really be confronted with an issue that had I not been financially stable or had medical attention provided to me in the way that it was, my quality of life could have been drastically altered by something as simple as a burn.

I have heard the argument that homeless people are lazy, that they should just get a job and stop wasting their time and then begging for money. Clearly this is an irrational argument given the current rates of unemployment, the many types of people who are homeless and reasons why they are homeless. What many people are unaware of is that one of the types of homeless people are those with mental illnesses.  Jencks states in his book The Homeless “Clinicians who examine the homeless today usually conclude that about a third have ‘severe’ mental disorders. Since the homeless were often hospitalized in the 1950s…, well over a third of today’s homeless might have been locked up at that time. Recreating the mental-health system of the 1950s would therefore cut today’s homeless population dramatically.” Reviewer Reeve Vanneman asks readers where they stand on this issue.  After researching and hearing about Mental Health programs in the 1950s, I do not agree with the methods that were in place at the time. Many people were admitted into hospitals that did’nt need to be and were also given wrong diagnoses, and medications that increased their problems. I am a strong supporter of progressive interactive therapy programs for people who suffer from a variety of mental illnesses.   My father is a Psychiatric RN and works with homeless people that are admitted in the hospital all the time. He has told me that 70% of the homeless people in Marin County, CA have some form of mental illness. What I want to know is if homelessness causes mental illness or intensifies it.  Homeless people are under constant stress for survival, safety, access to food, bathrooms, and a place where they can sleep.   I believe that traumatic experiences such as fighting in war, poverty, gangs membership,  physical and sexual assault, drug and alcohol abuse,  which all cause post traumatic stress also increase mental illness. At my Dad’s hospital, on the crisis unit and both in and out patient, he  does therapeutic work  that is interactive, participatory and activity based. He integrates, meditation, yoga, movement, art and music therapy in group sessions.   The Odyssey Program for the Homeless and Mentally Ill, help them get housing,  first they find a  shelter then  help them move into low income housing apartments. They also help the clients get  to appointments, access to meals and groceries.   The Bucklew Nonprofit partners with Marin General Hospital as well. They guarantee to find them a job and provide training.  The Ritter House for the homeless has their own psychiatrist at the Ritter center and makes sure that their clients are getting there needs met.  Social Services are always the first to be cut from County, State and Federal funding.  All these programs need more funding for their services and to have more paid positions within the organization to provide services.

The last few classes have focused on various methods for counting the homeless. In order to receive federal funding, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires counties to count their homeless populations every two years. Each county comes up with their own funds and methodology to complete the homeless counts. Some counties make the task a community effort to get the most accurate results while others put less effort into the surveys. Because there is not a nation-wide method or funding for these surveys the accuracy of these results are not always reflective of actual homeless populations.

There are problems with such a flexible system for reports.With most methodologies used, it is unlikely that the survey truly reflects the entire homeless population. HUD’s restrictive definitions of what ‘homeless’ is also plays into inaccurate representations. Despite these issues, it is important to count the number of homeless people. These HUD requirements make it so that these counties are unable to ignore the homeless in their areas. The resulting statistics for each county makes it apparent that something needs to be done to assist the homeless. These statistics make the phenomenon of homelessness seem extremely overwhelming. It seems hard to understand where to start as we have found out there are many reasons and structural failures as the why people end up homeless. On the flip side I feel like such reports and statistics can be a wake up call and a motivating factor. Individuals, such as ourselves, can be inspired to volunteer and communities may decide they need better programs.

Coming from a background of studying International Relations, I know what this feeling of despair and being overloaded with negativity means. At the beginning of the semester in my international security class we watched a movie about how a US citizen helped with intense planning of a series of terrorist attacks in India, the movie showed us everything leading up to it, how people were used, real footage of people being shot, real footage of dead bodies, mangled bodies, the destruction, the blood on the walls. Its a terrible thing that we have to see so we know exactly what we are studying in the class. The same goes for hunger and homelessness. We have to see all these things, read about how hard daily life is for someone in the street, how even with these services, daily life is still hard. One of the most striking things from the course that i’ve read is from the very first page of Tell Them Who I Am by Liewbow, “one wonders why more homeless people do not kill themselves.” Its something that really makes you sit back and look, here we are looking at just how little they have to live for, how hard they have to work to get by day-to-day, it really makes you wonder why taking your life isn’t an option when you’re down and out. I guess for them its the same answer to why we don’t give up trying to help with the overall problem of homelessness, its hope. Hope, just like so many other people keeps them alive, hope for a home, hope for a meal, hope for even just a simpler day with fewer worries. We keep the hope that we can make a difference, no matter how small it is, even if its to one person we can make an impact to them, even if it is for a moment. I guess just for me when I’m reading all these things and looking at these daunting numbers of homeless people even in my city, I just have to sit back, take a deep sigh, and really keep hope. It’s the same with politics, my motherland of Mexico is ravaged by drug trade, slayings, corruption, and death, and sometimes I feel like things will never change, that we will forever be the country of drug cartels, that it will never be the beautiful place it once was, but I just keep hoping that it can change. Just like I can keep hope that we can change things, even if its something small, we can all make a difference, no matter how small or big, its something. So don’t lose hope and keep on trucking.

After our last class session and the overwhelming feeling some spoke about, I thought a little more and wanted to blog about some thoughts.  Learning the somewhat intricate nature of homelessness, it’s causes, the personas involved, and what we are actively doing about it.  It is proving to be difficult to know what to do after becoming aware of such a problem in our society that has no easy or discernible answer or solution.  Just being aware of this problem within humanity is a step and being able to recognize all the factors at play helps to better position oneself in a helping and useful way, I also feel that this is not enough.

Volunteering does seem like a great outlet but equally important, is knowing the organization in which I engage with, making sure that my own values and knowledge align  with the organization that is attempting to help the persons I wish to help.  After learning about the restaurant that employs homeless persons for and also feeds them, I felt that model was one of true, genuine, and meaningful change that was very grass roots.  It may take creating programs or businesses that are like minded to that one in order to more properly address this issue.  I can think of a few ways in which I would create a business that has a model or aspect specifically dealing with this issue, and may be a great avenue for further investigation and creation.

One thing is for sure in my mind, cutting government aid and spending on social improvement programs, low income housing, and outreach will not help this problem and it will surely not go away.  Problems arise rather quickly where as solutions take long periods of time to actually start working, and making a statistical change, or decrease in the numbers of homeless persons.

The group presentations were interesting. Each book had its own particular way of conveying some part of the homeless experience. I really enjoyed reading ” helping kids move from homelessness to hope Almost Home”, by Kevin Ryan and Tina Kelley. It was very interesting to see the lives of six different homeless youth. The other presentation that got my attention was homeless mothers. We have so many different concepts and stereotypes of ‘good’ mothers that we tend not to appreciate those who are in worse conditions and yet manage to sacrifice what seems to be seen negatively by the rest of society. Like giving away your child because you are afraid to harm them. It takes a lot for a person to understand that their children are or may be in harm even if it means by the mother themselves. Although it is sad, it seriously is one of the best solutions. I also liked the topic from the side of the social workers stance. It is hard not to get attached with people whom you see day to day or know there story. I have always wanted to help those who are less privileged even with the little that I have. Time and time again these social workers have to confront being the person who denies the help to others because you cannot please everyone. It is hard for them as well. I feel that they go through a mental break down as well because its hard to deny help. I want to read that book, I will get a better insight and with the help of what the group presented I feel that I will be able to really understand the book.

This past week has been very eye opening. From the readings and the specialist to the data exercises. I was not aware of the counts that are done for homeless people. That in itself was intriguing. Although it is nice to know that each county counts there homeless people there are lots of flaws in the counts I believe. Like the specialist said each county either puts time and dedication or they simply go out and make assumptions of how many homeless people are out in the streets or what not. Another issue is also the definition of the term homeless and how broad it truly is and what is defined as being homeless to the county. I think people living in cars, friends houses, in shelters, and those in the street should all be counted for. As to how you measure the amount would be very difficult. I like the outreach method where other citizens of the community volunteer and giving them certain routs in order to obtain the best possible number. The one method I think is favorable and most county’s should do is have some homeless citizens themselves help out with the count. Being a homeless person and living on and off the streets can give you a better insight on the amount of homeless there are. Like mentioned in class in Redlands itself there doesn’t seem to be very much homeless out in the street, perhaps they are in shelters or are hidden in abandon buildings. Homelessness varies and not all county’s in my opinion are putting much effort, which they should because its an issue that is always brought up but there isn’t a lot of people in the county’s putting much effort into solving hunger and homelessness.