Category

The Race to End Homelessness

Mar 14
0

End Homelessness in the Kitchen

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | 7 Comments

My first job was providing crying kids sticky peppermint ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. I earned less than six dollars an hour and I left each day smelling like waffle cones, but I can still craft the perfect double scoop when someone breaks out the Ben & Jerry’s.

Besides being something that we all need to survive, food is an industry most of us will work in at some point in our lives. From fast food to family style to fine dining, there are a plethora of eating options for any palate. Since every food service option employs some people, and many employ a lot of people, there is a fairly consistent job market in food production, cooking and serving. Realizing this, one San Antonio food pantry started working to train homeless individuals to work cooking and restaurant jobs.

It’s hard to overlook that the adage, “Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, Teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime” has come to life at the San Antonio Community Kitchen. The six-week class includes tips on food safety and, because all the food is donated, getting creative with your meal options. This concept has gained traction in many cities, even leading one food pantry in Salinas, California to close its doors in 2010 after twenty-five years of proving meals to the hungry. The pantry hadn’t ended hunger, but instead had decided it could better serve its population by teaching, not serving. Today, the facility is known as the Red Artichoke Culinary School, a program to teach individuals in poverty to cook at a level that will make them competitive or chef and sous-chef positions.

Why is this type of job training any different from the other types of employment coaching available to low-income job seekers? Unlike teaching someone how to dress for an interview or fix up their resume – which are both important skills –  culinary training offers both an employment edge and a boost in the individual’s personal health and wellness. Even if a person experiencing homelessness does receive food stamps (which max out in Maryland at $189 per month), most shelters and day centers don’t allow outside food. People who have lived in homelessness for an extended period of time do not have access to an oven or even a refrigerator, so food items are limited.  This leaves options that require no preparation and leave no leftovers, such as  snack foods or instant meals.

When a previously homeless person does get housing, the kitchen can feel like an intimidating place, and old eating habits can be hard to break. Demystifying cooking and food options can help someone out financially if it leads to their employment, but also personally if it can improve their health and comfort level in their new home.

 

Feb 28
0

Inside Out

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | 5 Comments

Growing up, my mom had a framed print on the wall that proclaimed “It takes a village to raise a child.” Since we lived in suburban Rhode Island, which can hardly be considered a village, this confused me. When I walk around Baltimore City, it may seem like even less of a village, but I know now that a “village” can exist in a suburb, a city, or even hidden in the woods. It all depends on the people that call that village their own.

Despite its urban setting, many Baltimoreans wake up and see forest surrounding their homes. The woods of this city are the home to dozens of individuals without traditional houses. Photographs by Ben Marcin reveal the wide range of these dwellings – some are simple tarps, while others boast clotheslines and home gyms. This is not a phenomenon unique to Baltimore. Many cities actually have far more developed groups that live outdoors. Tent City, a Steven Cantor documentary, shows the mini society that exists in the woods of Nashville, and the people that prefer the outdoors to the shelter system. It is not uncommon for these makeshift cities to have their own rules or guidelines, and for neighbors to work together for protection, or to build some of the more elaborate shelters that exist outside.

Are the shelter systems failing the populations they aim to serve? What would draw a person into the woods rather than sleep in a shelter bed and utilize heat, indoor plumbing, regular meal service, and daily shower accommodations ?If we really think about it, there are plenty of reasons, and the decision to stay outside is different for each individual. These include fear, not wanting a record in the social services system, freedom from rules, or not wanting to be separated from one’s partner or immediate family (as most shelters only accommodate single adults).

Have you ever had a roommate? Have you ever been annoyed by something your roommate did or said? Now multiply that by 10 roommates. Or 30. Or 200, depending on the capacity of your local shelter. Shelter life and tent living are drastically different. When you are outside, you might have a few neighbors, and not many people know where you are. Living outside allows you to choose the people with which you surround yourself, a privilege that usually disappears when someone becomes homeless. Shelter life means living with strangers.

Respecting both privacy and personal space is crucial to the well being of all people. The prevalence of a tent community is not the markings of a city that is failing its homeless population. In Baltimore, individuals can receive services at many shelters or drop-in centers without staying nights at the program. It is important that we allow these individuals the right to choose what services they want. This practice is important to allow people the space they need to survive, and the power to chose their own village.

Feb 14
0

No Late Fees for Housing Referrals

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | 2 Comments

When I wrote about my hope that this month’s Superbowl would be an uncharacteristically peaceful and inclusive one for the homeless population in New Jersey, I had no idea that the game would actually lead to finding housing for one youth experiencing homelessness. A young man who was spotted at the Seahawks celebration dressed in San Francisco 49ers garb inspired die hard SF fans to get the boy a ticket to an upcoming game. Upon learning the youth was actually a homeless ward of the state, fans raised almost $25,000 to support him.

San Franciso, while having some of the most generous football fans in the league, is also home to a revolutionary approach to homeless services – from inside its main library.

In what seems to be an ever increasingly expensive culture, there are few free places to spend long periods of your day without being asked to purchase a coffee or get off the bus at the next stop. Combined with their climate control and their access to books and internet resources, this makes libraries a desirable destination for many experiencing homelessness. This is well known not only by those who are homelessness, but by other library patrons and staff as well. Branches, often those in urban settings, that see a consistent homeless population visiting them, have approached the situation in very different ways.

In Summer 2012, Newport Beach public libraries put an end to this trend by banning anyone who “lacks personal hygiene.” Sleeping bags and blankets – even if carried in, not used on site – are also banned. Many other districts have similar policies or bans in effect.

The San Francisco Main Library is not among them. In 2010, this branch employed Leah Esguerra, a licensed social worker in the library five days a week. Much like Michelle Walsh, who calls Penn Station in Newark her office, Esguerra meets with individuals who are struggling with homelessness in a place they already visit regularly. She strikes up conversations, makes referrals, and aims to make calling security an option only in extreme circumstances, instead of just because someone is sleeping. Her program also employs formerly homeless individuals part time to help connect with those using the library and encourage them to seek help.

Since her start in 2009, Esguerra has helped more than 60 individuals find housing, and she and her staff – individuals who were once homeless themselves – have connected hundreds of people to services.

Demand for positions like Walsh’s and Esguerra’s exist because they can meet individuals experiencing homelessness in locations that are already popular for other reasons. The Department of Social Services – in most city’s, anyway – doesn’t offer free internet access of comfortable chairs for a few hours.  The success of each of these positions suggests that homelessness is not a problem we need to ban from public spaces, but that we can use these places to meet people where they already are, and help them find a better place to stay.

Jan 31
0

The Real Winners Aren’t Playing

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | One Comment

The Super Bowl makes me a little nervous. I’m hardly a die-hard football fan (to be honest, my plans for this Sunday were based around getting myself the best chips and dip), but I know that the biggest game of the year means all eyes will be on Newark, New Jersey this weekend. When everyone is looking at your city, you want it to look its best, and that’s when it gets tempting for city officials and law enforcement to sweep the social problems of a city out of the way – at least until the camera crews leave town. That’s why I was concerned for the homeless individuals of New Jersey, who are in the middle of fighting for their lives amid freezing temperatures this week, just as the media begins to arrive in their home state.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that – so far, anyway – there has been minimal disruption of those that are experiencing homelessness in New Jersey. Based on the behavior of other cities in the past, those without housing in Newark are right to be nervous for their temporary home, but NFL and NJ Transit authorities claim there are no plans to disrupt homeless people. Mayor Luis A. Quintana has even mentioned plans to set up television sets at a local shelter so those experiencing homelessness don’t miss out on the big game this weekend.

Penn Station in New Jersey is open round the clock to ticketed passengers, and since an un-punched train ticket is valid forever, those experiencing homelessness see these as a ticket not to a train, but to shelter and a little sleep. The station guidelines state that the transit police cannot ask someone to leave unless they are breaking a rule. In Penn station, unlike in some places, simply “being homeless” does not count as breaking a rule.

Newark does more for its homeless population than ensuring they can see every touchdown. Michele Walsh, NJ Transit’s community intervention specialist, works to get shelter and services for those that live in Penn Station. She tries to engage those that spend their days and nights in the station, and helps them with everything from emergency shelter to obtaining birth certificates and state IDs. Her position, created by the Mental Health Association of Essex County and then-Mayor Corey Booker to engage those that live at Penn Station, can be slow going, she admits, but she reports that more than seventy five percent of the individuals she approaches work with her in some way.

Newark holds the distinction of being the first outdoor cold-weather Superbowl, but this won’t be the only memorable aspect of this year’s game. This city has the opportunity to show the world not how clean it can make its streets for television and visitors, but how humanly it can treat its people – especially those without housing.

 

Jan 17
0

A New Beginning for The End?

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | No Comments

Do you believe in a time without homelessness? I’m not asking if you think it’s a good idea, or if you’d pledge money for homeless services — but do you actually believe you will one day wake up in a city where your neighbors also wake up inside their own homes? For most people, the answer is probably no. I’ll admit, it seems like a bit of a utopian daydream, but when Baltimore launched “The Journey Home” its 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness in 2008, it seemed like the city was on the brink of unprecedented changes.

On a cold day six years later, the Office of Emergency Management services reports that they saw the region’s shelters filled to capacity, and personally transported more than fifty individuals inside to escape the dangerous temperatures. While people experiencing homelessness tried to survive the freezing cold, city leadership was in hot water. The end of 2013 brought in the results of a HUD audit of Baltimore’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, and the report raised some serious questions — about $9 million dollars worth.

The fact that the city can hardly shelter all the individuals experiencing homelessness on a cold night in January gives the impression that the city has not made much progress towards the lofty goals it set forth six years ago to permanently house these people. The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proves that the city has not made positive progress in this direction, via its November 2013 audit. The report finds that Baltimore City “did not properly obligate and expend grant funds, and it generally did not monitor activities for compliance with Recovery Act requirements.” It seems Baltimore City did not track all the sub groups to which it allocated pieces of the $9 million dollar federal grant. When approached, these organizations were unable to produce client files. Some programs were billed twice for the same clients, and some groups had overdrawn their allotted funds.

It seems the city has spent more energy to rid itself of people experiencing homelessness than of the social issue itself. The audit recommended the city provide documentation on all its spending related to this grant, and repay any dollars that were improperly spent. In short, Baltimore could be looking at a debt to HUD, and not enough money to implement its plans to end homelessness. When I learned this, I had trouble connecting this present with a future without homelessness. An already hard to believe situation seemed a complete impossibility.

While in the middle of this melancholy mood, I read some truly amazing news about a change happening in India. This week marks the end- the END!- of polio in India. What does shutting down a physical disease thousands of miles away have to do with ending a social and economic issue here in Baltimore? Because just five years ago, half of the world’s new polio cases were in India. At that time, I am sure most people would say there would never be an end to the disease:

My favorite part of this video is when Dr. Varghese explains his wish for the future — that the beds on the polio ward in his hospital be empty. Similarly, I hope that one day the bed’s in this city’s homeless shelter will not be filled to capacity on every cold night. Of course, wishing and dreaming about a rosy future won’t make it a reality. HUD has asked some serious questions of Baltimore about their spending. As of late 2013, the Journey Home has a new leader and a new Board of Directors, filled with Baltimore leaders from nonprofits, religious agencies, and city departments. Will these dedicated individuals have the drive and the creativity to put an end to homelessness in Baltimore?

Mayor Rawlings-Blake described Baltimore as “re-invigorated” to end homelessness in 2014. I hope — and I want to really believe — that she is right.

 

Jan 03
0

Eat Healthy, Stop Smoking, End Homelessness

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | 7 Comments

By the time this post appears, you may have already broken your new year’s resolution. (It’s okay, I didn’t have eight glasses of water today). Maybe you struggled because your resolution wasn’t a good fit. Most planning experts recommend goals that are SMART — meaning ones that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. This is what makes the difference between “be healthier” and “go to the gym four times a week and replace one salty snack with fruit,” and it has an impressive effect on how long individuals can work towards their goals and how successful they might be. In the spirit of the New Year, I took some time this week to read up on the lofty goals of cities across America as they seek to end homelessness. Besides being a season for new beginnings, January also marks the sixth birthday of Baltimore’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness — so as the new year unfolds, I’ll be asking whether we’re on track to meet that target. Below are some of the most exciting goals and plans that could help end homelessness in 2014:

  • Cincinnati: In Ohio, three new shelters will be added this year, priced at more than $30 million. For the first time, Cincinnati can foresee a time when it will have enough beds for all of the homeless citizens in the city.
  • Fort Lauderdale: A small scale but comprehensive program has started in this Florida city, which received funding for twenty-two units of affordable housing for highly vulnerable homeless individuals. In the state with the most crimes against people experiencing homelessness in the country, this small program is much needed to protect and house homeless Flordians.
  • Utah: The state of Utah has adopted an aggressive Housing First approach to moving the chronically homeless off the streets. This plan is estimated to save taxpayers in the state thousands per participant while delivering innumerable health benefits to those who can move into housing. This puts Utah on track for eliminating homelessness by 2015.
  • Pennsylvania: While it is important to pay attention the exciting new policy ideas surrounding homelessness, there is always more to learn. In order to improve the available knowledge surrounding this issue, the state of Pennsylvania has proposed a comprehensive study on the best ways to end homelessness. With this new information, New Years Day a year from now could look drastically different in the Race to End Homelessness.

Clearly, some strong goal setting techniques are starting to deliver the desired results of decreased homelessness across the U.S. Unfortunately, these successes aren’t nationally met with the praise and support necessary to continue the positive outcomes. Proposed budget cuts in 2014 have the potential to curtail the nation’s progress toward ending homelessness. These cuts are the policy equivalent of rewarding weight loss with a celebratory Big Mac. Even if we can’t all make it to the gym or can’t quite quit smoking, I hope the Race to End Homelessness is one resolution that will last past New Year’s Day in 2015.

Dec 20
0

Charge Your Phone, Change Your Life

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | 2 Comments

Kids these days. Gone are the times when people talked with each other, interacted in person. Today, young people spend hours glued to screens — phones, computers, tablets, perpetually connected to the internet, apps, and games.

Do I sound like your parents yet?

As parents and grandparents complain how things have changed, they might not realize just how different times really are. As an increasing number of families have fallen on hard times, poverty and homelessness is affecting a greater number of youth. Last week’s New York Times investigative piece, “Invisible Child,” which followed a New York City family led by a fearless 11-year-old named Dasani, showcases the extreme grips of family poverty — a reality that is becoming increasingly common. As the article points out, 22,000 children are homeless in New York City, including Dasani and her seven siblings, who all live with their parents in one room of a city shelter. The conditions are deplorable — the food expired, the bathrooms moldy, the roaches and bedbugs happier tenants than the human residents.

Baltimore doesn’t face this problem on the same scale as New York, but not because Baltimore has won The Race to End Homelessness. There are virtually no family shelters inside the city, so large groups must move to the county to stay together. Even so, Baltimore City saw an increase in youth and student homelessness — to around 1,700 students in 2012, although many of these youth have separated from their parents and family units.

One study reports homeless youth who end up couch surfing or dancing between different family members don’t really consider themselves “homeless,” although by standard definitions they are still unstable. Many times, they can hardly be considered “youth” either — one study demonstrates that children experiencing homelessness, tend to act as little adults, helping their parents pay bills and, find the next place to sleep. Most important, these young people feel it is crucially important to stay strong for their parents, so as not to worry them.

With no money for necessities, how can homeless youth be following the same supposedly unhealthy trends as their housed peers when it comes to technology use? Eighty percent of homeless youth reported using a social media site regularly. More than sixty percent of the youth surveyed own a cell phone, but the internet is also accessible at libraries and youth centers. While the average American youth might claim to be “addicted” to his or her phone, homeless youth in one study rank having a smart phone as equally important to having food.

How can this be? Is technological dependence just another detrimental effect of homelessness — along with the higher rates of mental illness, chronic physical health issues, and behavior problems? It may surprise older generations to learn that technological resources have some ability to curtail the strain of living unhoused. Youth on the street or separated from siblings in the foster system reported that the increased ease of contacting loved ones improved those relationships. Close ties to family in turn puts a child at an increased likelihood of making smart health decisions and staying emotionally strong.

It seems as though social networks are actually connecting homeless youth to what they need most — their support network. Certainly, there is more that both Baltimore and New York can do to support this group that has been forced to grow up too quickly, but while they wait, this population has impressively used their own devices to connect with resources and important people. Perhaps this generation of internet savvy, technologically addicted individuals will be able to network their way to a more promising future.

 

Dec 06
0

Don’t Ask Me, I Don’t Know

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | 3 Comments

Maybe you believe in miracles. Maybe you believe in Santa Claus. I believe in Baltimore. At ChangeEngine, we’ve been wondering what will save Baltimore. When I moved here a year and a half ago, it was because I was given the opportunity to be in a place that needed changing — and wasn’t ashamed to admit it. When I interviewed with the AmeriCorps program that I eventually was accepted into and moved here to join, my program leader — a Baltimore transplant herself — described Baltimore as a city evolving. “People talk about the murals here because the art is cool,” she said to me, “but the theme I see over and over again in the art here is Believe, and I think that people here really, actually, believe in their city. And that’s not true everywhere.”

I didn’t move here because I thought the city was broken. Individuals far more talented than myself have been charged with saving a city and buckled under the pressure. I moved here because I liked that Baltimore wasn’t afraid to admit that there is room to improve. Eighteen months later, I’m proud to wake up in a city with a new festival every other weekend, great places to eat and endless neighborhoods to explore. But I’m not proud to go to sleep in a city that leaves more than 4,000 individuals without a stable place to stay — and I know we can do better. But how?

There are some proven, crucial steps that this city can take to provide increased affordable housing to all Baltimoreans. The city needs to provide enough living-wage jobs so that individuals can afford to pay rent. There need to be enough safe, affordable housing units so that individuals and families are healthy and strong enough to get up each morning and go to such jobs, and there needs to be reliable transportation to get them between the two.

Is that the answer? Barely. All I’ve given you is a pathetically simplified look at what basic necessities individuals need to survive. You knew that. I didn’t say anything revolutionary. And while I really believe that these three pieces will fit together to create a much healthier, thriving city, I’m not sure about any further ideas. Do we need new technology? Streamlined nonprofits? Should everyone give more to charity? At the risk of losing everyone who has ever read any post in The Race to End Homelessness, I’d like to admit that I’m no expert. I’ve never experienced homelessness. To me, the answer to homelessness — the way for a city to win the Race — is to provide basic human needs for everyone that calls Baltimore home. But this isn’t enough. So where can we get new plans?

To really find the new ideas, the creative ideas — the ones that might actually change and save the city we all share, we need to turn to those experiencing homelessness — and listen. In many ways, a mid-Atlantic city with 4,000 people homeless is a travesty. Some are keen to dismiss them from the population. New York City adopted a program to fly, ship, or bus its homeless anywhere they chose, just as long as they get out of the city. This is a mistake; not just a moral and social infraction, but a mistake that weakens the personal infrastructure of the city.  I’d like to point to the homeless population as the truest population of Baltimore.  This is not a warm city; this is not a city that is low on crime or particularly inexpensive. This is not a great place to be outside, yet this city is home.

Individuals without housing in this city have a rich history of organizing, advocating, and working toward social change. Imagine what such talented minds could come up with if they were warm, safe, and financially secure. If Baltimore hopes to save itself, the truest Baltimorians have ideas, plans, and hopes everyone needs to hear. The city just needs to believe in those that call this place home.

Nov 21
0

Holiday Canned Goods

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | 2 Comments

I started at my job this summer, so I’m excited for the holiday season in a new place . Some of my more festive coworkers have already organized both Secret Santa and a holiday potluck. I was a big believer in workplace holiday spirit, until I heard about the tradition of an Ohio WalMart. The Cleveland store asks staff to donate not to a potluck or a dinner — but canned foods to other employees in need this season. To many people, a practice like this one might seem shocking, but let’s not pretend we haven’t all heard the horror stories about the working conditions of the country’s largest retailer.  Working a minimum wage job hardly leaves an employee enough money for a lavish holiday celebration, especially if they are supporting a family.

One study reports that more than twenty-eight percent of individuals experiencing homelessness do work — but a paycheck isn’t always a ticket out of the shelter. This number might seem small, until we consider that many factors that lead to homelessness also prevent an individual from working —  disabilities, mental illness, domestic violence. Many who can work, do work, but as WalMart demonstrates, the income doesn’t always cover every expense, especially around the holiday season.

While every WalMart employee has their own budget and their own expenses, it is worth noting that the donation boxes are placed in staff locker rooms, not the corporate lounge. The company is asking its employees who are slightly more financially stable to steady their coworkers. This is heartwarming in a community-building, lean-on-me kind of way, but it is far from a sustainable way to put food on the table.

Except that maybe it is.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that the middle class give and donate more frequently and more generously as related to their income than more wealthy individuals. States with lower household incomes — Utah and Mississippi — gave more than twice as much of their annual income away than more wealthy northern states. This might not make much financial sense, but — as WalMart and many other groups that target lower income individuals realize — those who understand poverty are the most likely to offer help to get through it.

If only that generosity and knowledge could trickle up. Maybe the best way to make this a happy holiday is for the canned goods — or even fresh food — to come from those with the means to provide lasting, sustainable services to hardworking individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness.

 

 

Nov 07
0

This Is Not a Photo Shoot

By | Homelessness, The Race to End Homelessness | No Comments

Before I had the great banner that overlooks each post in The Race to End Homelessness, finding a picture to accompany what I’d written each week was always a struggle for me. Sure, if you Google “homelessness,” there are plenty of images that showcase poverty, but most were unusable for my purposes. Besides most of those images being copyrighted pretty heavily, I have a real issue with using people experiencing homelessness as objects of poverty. Most photos of this nature are taken without the consent of the subject in the picture, simply because the individual is experiencing homelessness. That’s why I found it particularly disturbing that a homeless man lay dead in Houston, Texas for nearly a full day — while passersby took pictures off him.

The man frequented the busy Houston area where he died, which was near multiples businesses and a college. Police estimate he was seen by several hundred people, but wasn’t moved until a policeman found the body.

A general journalist’s rule is that if someone is photographed at a public place, the photo can be used without his or her explicit permission. Laws exist to limit use of one’s image, but as anyone who has picked up a tabloid knows, cameras can follow you anytime you are in public. So what happens when “public” for one person is “home” for another person — someone who lives his or her life outdoors or in a shelter? As showcased by camera-happy Houstonites, rights to privacy disappear, and yet despite that exposure no-one called for medical attention as a man lay dying.

Houston’s police chief made the point that in an era where one’s camera and mobile phone are literally the same device, any one of the amateur photographers could have called for help- and potentially saved this man’s life. This apathy is likely not only a result of the man’s homeless status. The Bystander Effect suggests that a group of people are far less effective than an individual at reacting to an emergency situation, because each person thinks someone else will know what to do and will take care of things. As demonstrated by the loss of this Houston man, know to locals as “Big Guy,” we unfortunately cannot count on the masses to make an emergency call just because they notice the situation and have a phone.

We hear the horror stories all the time — someone’s car breaks down and no one stops to help, or someone screams in a full apartment building but no neighbors call the police. How can we break away from the bystander effect? Diffusing responsibility is dangerous — and not just for people experiencing homelessness. Acting as an individual is important. If you were hurt on the street, you’d probably prefer six people called for an ambulance than zero. People who live their lives or in the public sphere don’t have much leverage to prevent being photographed, pointed at, or harassed. At the very least, we can all keep an eye out or one another — and provide some help when we can.