Last week the class presented the books that they had been assigned to read. Each group got up and gave essentially a summary of the book while also teaching the aspects of it that they thought were the most relevant to the class or caught their interest. I was extremely excited to present the book I had read by Deborah Connolly, titled, Homeless Mothers. My group and I had all thought the book was incredibly powerful and really provided us with a very human understanding and face for homeless mothers and the reality of their lives. Various cases and people were examined throughout the book by a social worker. The mothers were all white women who for the most part were raising their children on their own. The book highlighted and examined the realities of these women’s lives prior to being homeless. There were patterns in all of their lives from living in poverty as children, to teen pregnancy, etc. However, what really shocked me was that all of them had experienced some from of physical or sexual abuse or a combination of the two at some point in their lives. Most of them continued to be faced with various forms of abuse into their present day lives as well. It was truly heartbreaking to read about all of the appalling things that these women had been through. Not a single one of them had really been provided with an example of what a”good mother” is or should be or provide for a child. I resent the idea of a cookie cutter type of mother. The notion that there is a correct way to be a mother that is sculpted through various socially constructed ideas instead of by mothers infuriates me. However, I do believe that there are certain aspects of motherhood that pertain directly to the relationship of mother and child that can create a positive child and mother experience, and I truly believe that all of these women were not provided with that relationship in their childhood’s. The lived experiences of these women put into perspective not just the reality of homeless mothers, but the reality of motherhood as something that must be cultivated and taught through example. Women are not born knowing how to be mothers. I know personally that all of the ways that I shaped my own understanding of motherhood and the type of mother that I want to be was through being able to see the mothers in my life deal with raising me. Granted, I am able to know the type of mother that I don’t want to be in some ways through some of the practices used by the mother figures in my life, but if I was only provided with a mother that treated me in ways that I would not wanted to be treated or raised, then I still would lack an understanding of what I did want from a mother and what kind of mother I want to someday be. These women had nothing to base their motherhood of off, in fact most of them were not cared for a all by their own mothers. Their mothers were either, addicts, emotionally or mentally unstable, not present, etc. It put these women in a extremely confusing emotional place with their children because for mother of them, their children were the first thing in their lives that were their own. This created dependent and in many circumstances unhealthy relationships with their children. The day after my presentation I saw Eve Ensler, (the write of the vagina monologues, writer, performer, activist, etc.) speak at my school. She spoke about the crippling effects of oppression and violence towards women on our society and on the women within it. I couldn’t help but connect the ways that she spoke about the abuse in her own life and the lives of the women that she had traveled the world meeting, to the lives of the women in the book. The whole experience really allowed me to think about the lives of these women as mothers and as victims in a very real way. I feel as if in many circumstances violence towards homeless women and mothers is explained as something that is happening in this very separate world from our own. This book and Eve Ensler really put into perspective the reality of how abuse, oppression, and homelessness can happen to anyone. It really made me think about things as both a bigger picture and on a personal level. I was extremely happy to have been able to see Eve Ensler speak, because it connected a lot of the realities of these women’s lives to the reality of the struggles of women everywhere. It made their issues seem less like as result of homelessness and addiction, but one of the severe misfortunes and abuse that tainted their early lives.
“Rising Rents Hurting California’s Affordability”
This morning’s L.A. Times reports about a new study of affordable housing in California. There’s less of it. Andrew Khouri writes that “Nearly 1 million extremely low income California households lack affordable, habitable homes, a need most pronounced in Southern California.” Rents are up 20% between 2000 and 2012, but median household income has fallen by 8%. The foreclosure crisis threw former homeowners into the rental market, driving up prices. The report said that Los Angeles County has 19 affordable units for every 100 extremely low-income household — and Orange and San Diego counties are about the same. Read about it HERE.
We All Endure, We All Live, We are All Human
The past week of book presentations had an impressive effect on not only how homeless people are perceived, but how people are perceived in general. Theses presentations have shown the different perspectives that are associated with certain groups of homeless people from Caucasian mothers to African-American males. Yet within these different categories of homelessness, all stories are connected no matter the race, age, or gender. There are similar stories of destructive childhoods, rape, substance abuse, and the economy to blame for their current predicaments. Don’t all these problems seem universal? That people other than the homeless can and have endured all these situations?
There seems to be this reoccurring thought that questions why homeless people are seen as less than the rest of society, less than a human being. They have done nothing to warrant this type of stigma against them. The other day I witnessed a professionally dressed man belittle and scold a mother living in her car with her young daughter, and I couldn’t help but think about how that reaction will affect this young child’s life. The stories that were from each book all focused on one’s upbringing and how events can lead to homelessness. In this case, I saw how society is visibly rejecting the homeless just by one professionally dressed man treating another human inhumanely. Will the child see herself as less of a person and think that she deserves negative treatment that comes her way because she lacks a house? Will she resent her mother for putting her in this situation? Or perhaps the she will understand and that there will be a more positive outcome for her? These books have taught me that the events in childhood can truly affect a person’s perception of society and themselves. Nowadays I ask myself what everyone around me has endured, what has made them the person they are today. Because all of us go through similar situations and, therefore, that is what ultimately will connect all of us together in the end. Our life experiences are what make us who we are – human.
“How I See Homeless People Now”
In the article “ Anderson Cooper: How I See Homeless People Now”, he describes how his perception of homeless individuals has changed because of his encounters with dozens of people living on the streets of Nashville while working on a projects for 60 Minutes. Cooper expresses his surprise at the candidness and honesty shown by these homeless individuals when asked personal questions about their situations. He was stunned by the fact that the majority of these homeless persons seemed more than happy to share their tragic stories, with most of them just being glad to have someone take an interest in what they had to say. These series of interviews quickly proved to be eye-opening to Cooper and his team because of the diversity of stories, with many of the homeless coming from a variety of different backgrounds.
Cooper admits that prior to this project, he was guilty of walking past homeless people and simply pretending that they are not there, something that most people in society do because facing these people has the tendency to make others uncomfortable. He discusses the fact that to the majority of the population, these homeless individuals are invisible and ignored, and that is the way that they feel. This was a lesson learned by Anderson Cooper that he considers a huge source of personal growth. In his interview for 60 Minutes, he explains that there is a man who camps and panhandles in front of his residence and has been there for some time. Before this story, Anderson felt annoyed and uncomfortable with the man being there and never spoke to him at all. However, after completing this project Anderson has since spoken to this man almost daily, at least greeting him kindly as they pass one another. He has also taken an interest in this homeless man and learning about his past and the road that has lead him into homelessness.
This story relates to the course material that we have been covering because it reinforces the key theme shown throughout all the books, that homeless people have a story to tell and these stories are worth hearing. Individuals who take the time to listen to the stories of the homeless grow in understanding and compassion for those living on the streets. Whether these individuals are addicts, suffer from mental illness, have come from backgrounds of abuse, have suffered from a physical injury, or any of the other reasons that they have ended up in the situation of living on the streets, they deserve to be heard and taken seriously. In Morrell’s text Voices From the Street and many other course readings, the stories of homeless individuals and their daily struggles are heartbreakingly portrayed and they definitely change the perspective of outsiders. As Anderson Cooper concluded, homeless people are just like any other individuals that you may meet, they have hobbies, interests, fears, and struggles, the same as everyone else, but they just happen to live without a home and therefore are constantly disregarded and invisible. The opinions of people who discount the homeless as unimportant would undoubtedly be changed if they took the time to listen to the voices of those who are on the outskirts of society.
What can we do?
Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking more and more about the harsh realities of life on the streets and what it really looks like to be a homeless person in today’s society. We’ve read books and seen movies and collected data about how hard it is to live even on minimum wage, and how it seems like at times there is no way out for those living below the poverty line. Our in class discussions have been centered around what we’ve witnessed at our internship sites and our own personal stories of economic pressure. And it all feels very hopeless. There seems to be a disturbing lack of focus on what we can really do to help these people. I want to start figuring out ways to change these realities and begin to focus on what we can do within our societies to make a change.
Reading my assigned book “Sidewalk” by Mitchell Duneier was an eye opener, to say the least, and it provided me with a whole new perspective on those who sell goods on the streets. While I was reading the book I couldn’t help but think of how just simply having a job to do, a task to complete, and a sense of independence positively affected the men who were interviewed. This got me thinking: we should be focusing on how to improve these peoples lives, not just analyzing the factors and events that got them there. Understanding their situations is an incredibly important aspect of improving homelessness, but we cannot simply leave it there. There needs to be follow through, and helping others achieve some sort of economic independence could be the deciding factor between hope and hopelessness for someone.
Internship at a church
One of the best ways for a student to learn is to experience the subject they are focusing on in person. But it is even more rewarding to, in addition, have individuals highly experienced in the situation to pass on information about what one has just seen.
Today was the first day that I got to start my internship and help at one of the churches located in San Bernardino. My task today was to work in the soup kitchen and help provide a free lunch for the individuals that should up between the hours of twelve to one. It was a good day to show up, because one of the regulars that usually is there was out because of an emergency, so I took her place and worked side by side with a really nice, older, Spanish-speaking lady in the kitchen. We had a number of tasks to complete and I was actually surprised and the amount of food that was donated and those we worked with. A salad, pasta, and chicken with a nice spice on it was served along side some doughnuts and lemonade. It felt quite nice to accomplish all that in a short amount of time and to have most of it gone in that hour. I ask about how many people are served during a normal lunch, which happens five days a week, and at the beginning of the month there is usually 60-70 people, but at the end of the month it shoots up to 110-120. I thought it might be due to money running out at the end of the month, and I was partly correct, but found out the real reason later on. There were a number of really nice people that I met at this time, some being the workers and some being there for the food. But as I was getting close to being done with finishing up, I met this man who talked with me for a good forty-five minutes about the shelter, the surrounding area, and a few other things. He was the IT for the church, and filled me in on the hunger and homeless in the area.
First of all he told me that none of the people in the area are ever too hungry. There is an abundance of food in the area. With about six other churches on the same street that also have free lunches, people are never in any real danger of going hungry. He said there was so much food, that some of it even goes bad. There is always some bread that is molding and the other week there was a shipment of bananas donated that were not used.
Second, he told me that the main reason that there are so many homeless people is not because of financial situations, but because of drug use. A large portion of the people coming use drugs such as crack or meth and that is the reason that there are more people later in the month. This is because money is immediately spent on drugs and as soon as their cash runs out, they come back to the church. The reason they cannot get a consistent job is because of criminal records. He made a good point, that someone may get arrested for drug use, go to jail, and then have a record for seven years, not allowing that person to get a job and get back on their feet.
The whole system needs to be looked at, because it seems to be a giant cycle keeping these people from moving on from their past, and getting stuck without anywhere to go. I plan on researching this topic further, because what he said really did change my perspective on a lot of things dealing with this topic.
The Blessing Center
This past Saturday, I volunteered at my internship site, the Blessing Center, for the first time. It was an incredibly eye opening experience and I learned a lot just from the few short hours that I spent there helping to pack food boxes for the long line of people outside the doors.
I wanted to do a little background research on my organization and I stumbled across this article from August, 2011:
http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20110831-redlands-blessing-center-uses-food-to-fight-hopelessness.ece
It’s amazing to witness firsthand how far this nonprofit has come in only three years. Now, they are able to provide for even more people, have a functional medical facility, and a discounted/free clothing section that allows those who are lacking proper garments to collect the articles of clothing that they need.
While volunteering, the most significant moment that I experienced was when one of the primary leaders of the organization stopped by my section of the food box assembly line to inspect the items I was sorting through. I was in charge of stocking each box with two to three bread items. I noticed while packing the containers that some of the bags of rolls had gotten rather squashed. He noticed this and explained that even if the rolls were fresh, I was to discard any food item that looked unappetizing. He elucidated that just because someone is accepting charity, it does not mean that they should have to compromise their standards for what they consume. It is already such a belittling and tough experience to have to accept a free food box, so they shouldn’t have their dignity further compromised by being given smashed or damaged food items. I was so happy to hear that this is the Blessing Center’s perspective and that they care so much about ensuring that each person who passes through the center’s doors receives the respect and care that every human being deserves, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The Blessing Center is truly an amazing place and I look forward to my next few weeks working there.
We Have the Power To Help
Listening to all the presentations given in class, really opened my eyes. Many of them touched on similar conflicts and struggles of homelessness which showed how prevalent these issues are in our society. In everything that we have learned so far in class including documentary clips, texts and book presentations my views of homelessness have changed. My enitre life I have grown up in the suburbs where I do not see the effects of homelessness and poverty. Realizing the truths behind homelessness had made me think about what I can do to help.
After graduation I am planning on becoming an Elementary School teacher. As a teacher, I will be faced with many obstacles involving the life of my students at home. Some might come from families who are in poverty and are under priveledged. As a teacher it is my responsibility that I give them as much care and help in the classroom as I can. While reading Homeless Mothers by Deborah Connolly, I saw the effects that povery can have on children whose parents are under priveledged. Some do not get the care or event he love that every child deserves.
I recently read an article in the LA Times about a LA Unified School District giving back to the homeless. This article brought me hope that our schools are giving back. The students in these schools were very passionate about helping in any way that they could and one student said “”Just looking at them you can tell there is so much need and they’re in so much pain,” from this you can see how this student is becoming an advocate for helping the homeless. The article mentions how many of the students vowed to return to the shelters and to encourage friends to raise money for the area”, showing how these students really do want to make a difference. As a future teacher, this makes me very proud of students today realizing the struggles in the world and realizing that they have the power to help.
To buy Homeless Mothers by Deborah Connolly visit this site: http://www.amazon.com/Homeless-Mothers-Face-Women-Poverty/dp/0816632820/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392069254&sr=8-1&keywords=homeless+mothers+deborah+connolly
To read the LA Times article click on this link: http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-student-volunteer-homeless-20140209,0,2391622.story#axzz2sxOq6XPM
Homeless Count
When reading about the different ways homeless people are counted, I have found that there is a lot of room for error. Starting with the street count, I believe there is no way to get an accurate count at any moment in time because there are so many people who would not be found. It is a good idea, because without a number count of people who aren’t in shelters there is a huge lack of information, but I still feel there would be forgotten people. One big area of forgotten people would be the homeless staying in their cars. The people staying in their cars would not get counted in the shelter and institutional count or the street count. As far as the surveys, random digit dials could be extremely ineffective. There is no way of being accurate unless every household was contacted, which would be nearly impossible. I do think the process of completing homeless surveys by homeless people would be very effective. Because homeless people feel more comfortable with other homeless people, it makes sense to have them interviewing each other. The real question is how would there be a way of making it more accurate? How is the ASR supposed to calculate all homeless people when there is no real way of talking to them all or surveying them all?
http://www.appliedsurveyresearch.org/homeless/
The good out there
After listening to all the presentations this past week, it occurred to me that there is some good out there among all the darkness we have seen so far in this class. The fact that stuck out to me the most was about the Sisters of the Road diner. Before this class, before knowing about this soup kitchen, it has been my career goal to open up a place where people who cannot afford things can come get food when and for what ever reason. Seeing that the customers are also the workers and there are multiple ways to exchange services or goods for food made me realize that there is a gem of good fortune out there for people who need it.
Another aspect from the presentations that stuck out to me was the sidewalk distribution of books by the homeless. This was really interesting due to the fact that people would trust the homeless, more than a bookstore, for advice on books. As such, it reminded me of the fact that that is how our world used to work as buying things used to be based small scale entreprenuership. People used to buy goods and services from other people, no questions asked. And now, because of the capitalist culture we have, this is lost as the exchange of goods or services just relies on money, not a trade.
Most of these presentations got me wondering about all the programs and resources that are out there that homeless or less fortune people could use at their disposal, yet they have no clue that they exist. Yet, the question then becomes why does are society make it difficult on the people who need the most help to find the real help that they need?
On another note, I receive emails from a site called “The Daily Good” and while some of the articles I don’t agree with, they sent out one today that kind of touches on some problems out society is facing. It basically outlines that poverty remains consistent and present due to the violence it produces. The violence is what leads people to not only live in fear, but to do nothing about it. if any of you have time it is worth looking at!
http://www.good.is/posts/if-we-want-to-overcome-extreme-poverty-we-must-change-this?utm_source=tdg&utm_medium=email&utm_content=If%2BWe%2BWant%2Bto%2BOvercome%2BExtreme%2BPoverty%2C%2BWe%2BMust%2BChange%2BThis&utm_campaign=cta`