During class on Monday March 26th, I presented my Book “B” presentation on the book “Tent City Urbanism: From Self-Organized Camps to Tiny House Villages” by Andrew Heben. This book was very unique compared to the other presentations. It introduced the tent cities and tiny houses organized by the homeless that presents a sustainable housing options and can also improve quality of life. The class and I shared an interesting discussion about this movement and its possibilities. After the presentation, I was wondering why the author did not include more information about children and their point of view living in the tents or tiny houses. He did mention that the children thought of it as “camping” and were unaware of their serious situation.
This inspired me to research more about children living in tents or tiny houses. In the article, “Everyone agrees: The Santa Ana River trail is no place to raise homeless children,” by Theresa Walker, tells the story of a mother and her children living in a shady homeless encampment located along the Santa Ana River bed. Many parents come to the river when they have no alternatives. They hide their children from Child Protective Service for fear that they might be taken away. Even though this may be an alternative, everyone in this camp believed it is no place for a child. The conditions were described as unsafe and dirty. In some instances, the mother and 11 year old daughter found syringes and needles. The daughter described it saying “I loved it here. I knew everybody, but the struggle was real.” I recognize how serious this problem is that families want to stay together, but living in this situation could be extremely unsafe for children.
https://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/16/santa-ana-river-trail-is-no-place-to-raise-children/