I've been sitting on this news since Sunday when it first appeared in the Inquirer. I just didn't know if I had anything to say about homelessness that went beyond, "it's bad, we should end it."
On my walk to work every morning, especially the mornings when I come in at 5:30 to assist in the production of Morning Edition, I walk through Washington Square and see at least 3, sometimes as many as 6 or 7, homeless men and women sleeping on the benches. Here they are, within site of new luxury condo building being renovated to the west, surrounded by some of the most valuable real estate in the city and a mere hundred feet from the house where Mayor Richardson Dilworth moved his family in the 1950s, spurring the revitalization that took place in Society Hill. They sleep every night by the light of the flame at the Revolutionary War unknown soldier memorial, under an inscription that reads, "Freedom is light for which many men have died in darkness." Had they been in those very spots 220 years ago, they would have been within earshot of the first public reading of the Declaration of Indepedence, hearing that they have
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it...
But now, that government is failing them, on all levels. And to the extent that it is failing them - allowing the conditions to exist for men, women and children to have to sleep on a grassy knoll by highway exit ramp - it is failing all of us.
For the purposes of this project and because it is the level of government that is most equipped to deal with this problem, we are focusing on city government, and the next mayor. Why do I believe that if the next mayor wanted to, he or she could make it so that tomorrow every one of the people who sleep in Washington Square, or the 370 other people who are slowly dying in darkness under bridges, in alley ways and even in the recesses of City Hall itself, would have a bed and a roof.
Why does it take ten years to end homelessness? And if there is a legitimate reason for why it does, what the hell have we been doing for the last ten years? This doesn't have to be that hard. According to NTI, there were about 26,000 vacant residential structures in the city. The city borrowed $296 million for the NTI program. There are a few thousand people who qualify as homeless and sleep in various shelters or with family members - including up to a thousand children. Are you telling me that with all that money, we couldn't have found two or three thousand residential structures that could have been fixed up and used to house these people? The Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness believes "the best way to help homeless and at-risk individuals and families is to secure them housing first" and I gotta say, that makes a lot of sense to me. Why does a problem like this have to be so damn complicated?
I've not offered any solutions, just more questions. I'm not expecting miracles, just progress. And I'll continue to be baffled by how, in the richest nation that the world has ever known, in the city that was the birthplace of that nation, there could be a little old lady with a walker, across the street from INDEPENDENCE HALL, who has to depend on spare change from passersby for something to eat.
So to sum up, here's all I want to from the next mayor, "homelessness is bad, let's end it."
Comments (8)
Homelessness is a largely misunderstood problem. You need to actually work with the homeless before you can even begin to get your mind around the problem. Most of the people you see sleeping on park benches have problems that go far beyond having a right to the pursuit of happiness.
I've done very little in the way of working with the homeless, but have several friends who do a good bit of volunteer work in that area, or even do it "for a living."
It was through one of these friends that I ended up renting a room in my house to a man who was once homeless for a span of about 10 years (going to prison and getting divorced were the initial causes of the problem). At the time I offered him the room, he'd been off the street for a couple years, during which he'd rented a cheap apartment in Kensington, and was working at a pretty decent manual labor job that even offered benefits (it was in New Jersey, BTW -- about a 2 hour commute. Apparently there were no suitable jobs for him in Philly). He'd never had substance abuse problems and wasn't mentally ill. He even joined my church. He's also homeless again. He got himself fired from his job for misconduct and then moved out (back onto the street) without telling me he was going to do so. His problem, we've decided, is chronic insecurity in himself and his abilities, as well as certain other bad habits that conspire to screw up his life.
I'm offering this case as an example to show the enormity of the problem. If this man ended up back on the street after making so much progress due to bad habits, imagine the many people out there with serious addictions and mental illness.
Ending homelessness is going to take a lot of hard work by a lot of talented, patient and selfless individuals who are willing to go out and interact with these people. It's also going to take willpower on the part of the homeless and a desire to excercise their right to pursue hapiness in life.
Trust me, homelessness will not end because a mayor decides to spend several million dollars to build new homeless shelters.
Posted by Dave | September 21, 2006 10:14 PM
BTW, speaking of NTI, if you read the article that ran in the Inquirer a week or two ago, you probably noticed that Habitat for Humanity is still waiting for the houses/lots that they requested from NTI. If things continue the way they've been going, they probably won't get them, either.
NTI is probably many things, but a good, equitable way to help those who need housing it is not. At least not in my opinion.
Posted by Dave | September 21, 2006 11:01 PM
I wasn't talking about new shelters. In fact, it's pretty clear that the shelter system is part of the problem. I'm just trying to figure out why it's so hard, to put homeless person A into fixed-up vacant house B.
Once they're in a house, with an address, a shower, a bed, a toilet and all the stuff we take for granted, then you address getting them the substance abuse, mental health, social services, employment training, job interview help that they need.
As for your example, that truly is a heartwrenching story of just how easy it is for someone to slip back in that vicious cycle. So yes, you're right, it'll take some work on the part of those who are homeless themselves, but we can at least remove more of the obstacles that make it so hard for them to help themselves.
Posted by Dan | September 22, 2006 11:17 AM
I'm a big advocate of creating affordable housing through organizations like Habitat for Humanity. However, this approach only works for homeless people who are actually interested in taking on responsibility and re-integrating into society.
Unfortunately, many people choose "homelessness" like it's a lifestyle (sort of like living in the city vs. the suburbs). This is going to sound crass, but one of the best ways you can work to _not_ end homelessness is to give money to people on the street. The better off they have it on the street, the less likely they are to seek and/or accept help. Then there's also the problem of connecting them with the help they need (a problem Project HOME has been tackling). I've heard some horror stories about homeless people who have be taken off the street and place in absolutely the wrong place as far as their immediate needs were concerned.
Like I said, the problems is enormous. I think your suggestion is a good one, but keep in mind that each homeless person represents a totally unique situation and often needs to be treated as such in order to solve the problem.
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