People or Birds?

Hunger, People, Uncategorized

In the film Taylor’s Campaign (1998), the Santa Monica City Council is shown passing a city ordinance forbidding the passing out of food to homeless in local areas. I personally found myself in shock by this horrific and inhumane move by a government body whose purpose is to “serve the people”, not watch them starve out on the streets. A few days after watching the film I found myself sitting outside of the local Costco eating a few large hot dogs. As I have since I was a young boy, I began picking off pieces of the bun and tossing them to the seagulls, who are regular visistors at Costco benches across the country. As is the usual reaction to such actions, the manager came over and asked me to cease fire. This time, however, my mind went somewhere other than my usual rationalization that feeding the birds mean more birds would flock to the benches and negatively affect business. No, this time my mind went straight to the homeless in Santa Monica and that controversial city ordinance.

 

How demeaning must it be in the first place to have to beg for food? How dehumanizing must it be to have someone tell you that you’re not allowed to be fed in public? If a mother feeds her daughter in the park, no one will be arrested. If a dog owner gives his pet a treat while they’re on their morning walk downtown, no one will be arrested. If we are supposed to treat everyone line family, with love and respect, why are we not allowed to feed our brethren when they are starving right in front of us?

ignorant

Uncategorized

I was utterly impressed with the ignorance of individuals. The film we watched last class got me thinking of how our society is built. Where do people get certain beliefs and stereotypes of homelessness? The film got me really upset. I saw the faces of many of my peers. The film opened my eyes greatly. How does America, or more specifically Santa Monica expect to decrease the number of homeless people when they refuse to help. What really triggered my thoughts and opinions was the political side of homelessness. I was truly surprised that a homeless person can run for mayor. I think I have been brain washed about things of that sort. This got me thinking about how people make assumptions of who can have leadership roles in America. I was sad that the guy didn’t win the elections but he proved a point. Many of the stories of the homeless people were in fact of stories of people that had jobs and unfortunately lost their belongings. Santa Monica to me is so different now. The way I perceive the city. I found it ridiculous that they want to arrest those people who are helping those who are suffering from hunger and homelessness. The city should be glad that there are people that are trying to help those homeless get out of the streets and simply try to survive. If they ever pass the law of considering that a felony I would be extremely surprised and upset. People should extend their hand and help fellow citizens. We are all humans and evening thinking that homeless people should die is inhumane. What makes me or anyone else superior to others. NOTHING.

destined

Uncategorized

Taylor’s Campaign documentary is an inspiring film that tells the story of a candidate running for city council and striving to help a local community address the issues of homelessness affecting the city of Santa Monica, Ca.  Taylor is a great example of a social advocate who understands the hardships of homeless people experience while trying to survive and maintain stability in a city where no rights are honored to those that lack social services and employment.  After watching this film it has inspired me to see life differently in different perspectives and value what I have.  Taylor took us to an adventure to open up our hearts and minds of people living on the streets, and see the reality of the disadvantages homeless people face daily.

One of the moments which struck me deeply was when one of the ladies from the homeless community was crying in desperation after being kicked out their space saying, “where are we gonna go, we don’t have nowhere to go..”.  These people have made their space a sustaining habitat, where they have adjusted to the streets, and work to maintain their habits and surviving possessions.  However, public policies reinforce by the city council discourages homelessness, therefore it continues to be controversial issue that has people like Taylor fighting for social changes in the communities. In my opinion, instead of encouraging policies to deter homelessness, the cities need to address the causes of homelessness and provide necessary resources for the people in need.

Criminalizing Homelessness

Books and Films, Homelessness

The documentary “Taylor’s Campaign” reveals what it is like to be homeless in Santa Monica, CA. As a man runs for local office with the platform to help the poor, the city begins to implement new laws that strip away homeless people’s rights. The new laws create a context where the poor are treated like criminals. One of the opening scenes plays an audio clip of a radio DJ sharing his feelings of the poor, describing them as, “a waste of space” and saying they should be “put to sleep.” Such individuals who live on the street are dehumanized and treated horribly. They are considered to be a burden to the city. These new laws are meant to keep the homeless away and out of sight so that the area will maintain its status as a popular tourist location.

The privileged citizens of the city stated that they do not like seeing homelessness in the city. These same people however, do not support solutions to homelessness. I find these contradictory attitudes quite interesting. People don’t want to see homelessness but they also do not want to help. They do not give money to the homeless in fear that they will be irresponsible with their charity. People want to know what someone will do with their charity. It is a common response to give only if they know it is going to a trustworthy cause, to be spent on something that they approve of. The same people also often do not support public leaders who want to contribute to solutions (as Ron Taylor did not win the election). Voting against or creating a public dialogue about the new laws implemented would also have been an alternate approach to solving these issues. However, many cities are beginning to adopt similar criminalizing laws and strategies for dealing with homeless populations.

 

Who needs Pity?

About being poor, Homelessness, Uncategorized

Lately, I have been thinking about the concept of pity and the amount that is actually given to homeless people. This interest in pitying the homeless was sparked while reading the first section of Kenan Heise’s The Book of the Poor: Who They Are, What They Say, and How to End Their Poverty. It was at the very beginning, following the experience of Thomas Jefferson, where a number of homeless people were trying to avoid the pity by trying to present themselves as other than what they were: homeless.

These homeless people had a sense of pride that they were striving to hold on to. I think that people come across a homeless person and their mindset falls into the stereotype that they are out on the streets to beg, because they lack the drive to support themselves. The more privilege’s perspective is to pity them, ignore them, or throw some change their way. I tried to think back to a time where I felt like I was being pitied and vice versa. What I found was that myself, nor the person receiving my pity, didn’t want it.

So what is the point in pity? Pity is nothing more than an emotion that fails to benefit the giver and the receiver. No matter the class or situation, no one strives for looks of pity from strangers, yet alone loved ones.  The point that I am trying to make is that homeless people aren’t so beneath us that they need the pity in order to survive. We need to remember that the blame for their state of living has two sides: it is either due to choices that the homeless themselves have made or the choices made by the surrounding privileged society.

Mothers, Women, Poverty

Uncategorized

Recently for another class I have been reading the book Half The Sky, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The book basically highlights the heartbreaking experiences of women on a global scale. It addresses sex trafficking, poverty, abuse, and cultural and religious practices that are harmful, degrading, and dehumanizing towards women. It follows specific women and tells their stories of overcoming obstacles that in nearly each story seem to big and too horrible to be real. In so many ways it connected to the book that I was assigned for our group projects in this class called, Homeless Mothers, by Deborah Connolly. This book specifically addressed the issues that white women in poverty in the United States face as mothers. It covers addiction, abuse, poverty, childhood trauma of nearly every form, and all of the ways in which those aspects of these women’s lived experiences have effected their roles and obligations as mothers. I saw so many parallels between the women describes in both books. Of course differences existed due to cultural, societal, religious etc. differences, however there were themes present in these women’s lives and emotions that connected quite frequently. One of the most apparent similarity was the ways that these women care for their children. At times their legitimate parenting tactics are not always agreeable, yet, they all express this extreme desire to provide a “clean slate” and opportunities for their children that they didn’t have. Regardless of how they felt on an individual level about motherhood, these women for the most part seemed committed to making sure that their children did not have to live as they had. While the women in Half The Sky were debatably more motivated and in some cases seemingly more invested in overcoming their situations, I was overall incredibly inspired and impressed by the overall resilience of women who are faced with such appalling life circumstances. I was also shocked at how often financial insecurity played a role in the cause for these women falling into these situations. My perceptions of motherhood have changed significantly after reading both books and I encourage everyone to at least read one of them. It is truly unbelievable what women are capable of overcoming even when they have nothing. I am excited to continue reading and learning about poverty and homelessness because it seems to be so closely related and responsible for so many of the ways in which people struggle and suffer today.

Homelessness and the Weather

About being poor, Homelessness, Poverty

For the past week or so I’ve been hearing fellow students and faculty talk about the casual subject of Southern California’s strange weather this winter and the fact that it doesn’t feel very wintery. Several people were talking about how they wished it would rain so they could wear their warmer clothes, or simply desired the presence of snow on the mountains for aesthetic or recreational value. At any other moment of my life, I would have viewed these desires as innocent and natural. However, given that we’ve been reading articles and pieces about homelessness and life on the streets, it dawned on me that those of us with a roof over our heads, the money to purchase warm clothes or hot foods, or a car to transport ourselves with, we have the privilege to want these things (however, the desire to have rain and colder weather does not exclude on the other hand cold weather for the sake of the environment and the prevention of drought).

This warmer weather is likely viewed as a blessing for those who have to wonder every day where they will find a place to sleep at night or a place to rest during the day. Unlike the rest of the US that is suffering from extreme cold weather, rain, flooding, hail, the West coast, while experiencing unusual warm weather, has been luckier for the homeless who may otherwise seek shelter by getting into prison for the winter.

As Kenan Heise explains in his book, The Book of the Poor, the combination of winter and poverty can be incredibly detrimental to the health of individuals living in poverty, if not potentially kill those who don’t have shelter or warmer clothing. These needs put pressure upon shelters and food banks that are already pressed for more supplies to give.

“Painfully Invisible”

About being poor, Books and Films, Homelessness, Poverty, Reflections on our Reading

In the film watched in class, Taylor’s Campaign, a man who has suffered from homelessness himself is running for city council on a fifty dollar budget. The aim of his film is to show his feelings towards the mistreatment of the homeless population of Santa Monica.  In this film, there were many themes seen that relate directly to the other readings that we have done so far in this course. However, it was also very eye-opening in many ways because it focused on a small group of homeless individuals and allowed an inside look into their daily lives and the stuggles that they face.

While some of the residents of Santa Monica who were interviewed expressed extreme negative opinions towards the homeless population, saying that they are a waste of life, shouldn’t be allowed to live in their nice neighborhoods, and all-around lazy individuals who are looking for a hand-out, this is not what the footage revealed. On the contrary, these homeless individuals worked hard daily, collecting cans and doing what they could to make the money necessary to buy essential items. This example illustrates how the mainstream society passes judgement on the homeless population without knowing their stuggles or understanding how many times, it is outside forces that have pushed them into the homeless situation. One homeless woman expressed that she wanted out of the situation she was in but that it seemed impossible. Time and time again through this film  well as other readings, the homeless population expressed that they are not looking for a handout, as many people belive.

In many ways, the themes seen in this film directly correlate to the book Voices From the Street: Truths about Homelessness from Sisters of the Road (Morrell 2007). In this text, Morrell writes “when you become invisible to mainstream society, the myth is that you stop being human, that you’re somehow made up of different stuff. But you’re not. Your humanity doesn’t go away because society doesn’t see it” (Morrell 105). This shows how mainstream society treats the homeless as if they are outcasts to which they cannot relate. It is not surprising that many homeless persons feel a strong sense of not belonging when they are ignored or clearly looked at with disgust by those not in their situation and unwilling to try to understand their plight. This is recalled by Morrell when she discusses the homeless and poverty-striken population, stating “they feel painfully invisible to others in the larger society” (Morrell 35).

Shelter Staff or Prison Guards

Books and Films

After reading, Tell Them Who I Am, I got a new insight to the way homeless people feel about shelter life.  The book goes into detail about the different struggles within shelter life and explains different reasons why people may be homeless.  What really got to me was the section about the staff at shelters.  The book talks about how women are constantly afraid to be exited from the program because the staff makes sure they are on perfect behavior.  The residents can be exited for a variety of reasons, but the staff’s opinion of the person has a big influence.  It is hard to think that someone can live their life homeless, with no money and no place to go during the day when the shelter is closed, and being happy and chipper all the time.  It makes sense that someone may be grumpy when they get home from a long day in either the heat or the cold.  If a person is in a bad mood, however, they will risk the chance of being kicked onto the street with sometimes no remorse.  It makes sense that there are rules, but for the shelter to be “jail-like,” doesn’t seem right.  They have not committed a crime.  They are without a home and need a place to stay for the night.

http://www.amazon.com/Tell-Them-Who-Am-Homeless/dp/014024137X

“Taylor’s Campaign” Reaction

Homelessness

After watching the film “Taylor’s Campaign”, I had a better understanding of just how unfair homeless people are treated, especially in the city of Santa Monica. This film was released in 1998 and it was filmed during 1994 when Taylor was running for Santa Monica City Council. When the residents of Santa Monica found out that a homeless man was running for City Council with a fifty dollar budget, they laughed. Although Taylor had several ideas to better the city, people did not take him seriously because he was homeless. Taylor wanted to help the high number of homeless people in the Santa Monica area and he focused his campaign around this.

 Unfortunately the citizens of Santa Monica felt that the homeless people were a burden and they did not like seeing them in the parks, streets, or anywhere for that matter. My reaction to this was if you have a problem with them on the streets then help them to get into a shelter. Maybe another shelter should be built for these people to go to. The police continually asked the homeless to move somewhere else because they were disturbing the houses and businesses around them and they had to move. Soon enough, these homeless people are not going to have another place to move, then what, where are they supposed to go?

There are also some citizens who want to help the homeless by giving them free food. A group of residents collected food and passed it out in one of the parks, this eventually attracted more homeless people. The city eventually shut down this group and any others giving out large amounts of food to the homeless in areas other than food pantries and such. Still to this day, you will be arrested in Santa Monica if you are caught doing this.

It is sad to see these homeless people suffering and even people who want to help them like Taylor and these food giving groups, can’t.