Shelter
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Cheer for the Red Tent Campaign at the Vancouver Olympics
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The Argument for Shrinking Homeless Shelters
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Homeless Men and Dogs Heal Together
Parasites vs. Homeless People
Published January 28, 2010 @ 01:30PM PT
As a social worker, I get head lice a lot. Usually I catch lice working on the streets because it's not uncommon for me to hug homeless friends hello (plus I have long hair). But I can afford the treatment and getting rid of them is no big deal for me.
For my homeless friends who live on the streets or sleep in shelters, lice, scabies and bedbugs are hard to avoid and harder to get rid of.
When a kid gets lice, his whole class is advised to get treated. But on the streets it's not possible to organize a similar insect shakedown. Many homeless people just don't have the cash to spend at a drugstore for treatment, plus access to a shower and the time to treat their hair and wash their bedding. So the lice colony wins out pretty easily. It's the same in prison in many cases, where the insects infest prisoners and their belongings and can't be gotten rid of, so the cycle continues.
It's pretty easy for people sleeping in abandoned houses and buildings to pick up the trifecta -- lice, scabies and bedbugs. It's not like they have linen service, after all. Even though only five or six people at a time can sleep in a space, over the course of a month, 50 people might stay there. As long as the mattresses are the same, they are all at risk.
Do you have any experience with bugs? Do you know of any services that do a great job offering treatment or preventing infestation in the first place? If you are currently or formerly homeless, join thousands of others online at the World Homeless Forum to discuss your experiences.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Wishing He Could Turn Back the Hands of Time
Published January 22, 2010 @ 12:06PM PT
Before winter hit in St. Paul, Minnesota, I met Darryl. He's been without a home since October, and he's recently run into a new round of problems as his son needs assistance as well and he goes through a divorce from his wife.
He's tried to return to live with his family a few times, but it has never worked out. Complicated issues keep him from staying with them full-time while he finds his way back to his feet.
Asked for three wishes, he paused and eventually asked for only one thing: to turn back the hands of time. To have a fresh start and a second chance at his life.
Now in the middle of the Minnesota winter, I can only hope he found his second chance before the winter became too harsh.
Darryl from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.
Shelters Enter the 21st Century
Published January 14, 2010 @ 02:00PM PT
Behold the next generation of homeless shelter: The Bridge Homeless Assistance Center in Dallas has been helping that city's 6,000-person homeless population -- and racking up architecture awards -- since it opened in May 2008.
Most recently, The Bridge was awarded the American Architecture Award, which it can add to the trophy case that already holds the American Institute of Architects National Housing Award and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Award. Design features that optimize daylight and reuse water and a roof partially covered by vegetation helped it get LEED silver certification, making it just the fourth "green" shelter in the country. Glass window panels inside The Bridge are inscribed with poetry written by the homeless and the architects made a conscious decision to have classrooms visible from the street. It was financed by a city bond program.
More important than how it looks is what the center does. The Bridge, open 24/7, is a hub for the services of dozens of local organizations. Among its goals are providing emergency care for 700 homeless people, emergency housing for 350 and permanent housing for 125 every four months. It removes the barriers of some other shelters by offering health care, laundry, recreational activities, storage, a kennel, stable mailing addresses, veterans benefits assistance and more.
The Bridge's architects, Overland Partners, will unveil the largest homeless services center in the nation, Haven for Hope in San Antonio, in March. The $90 million Haven for Hope will be another one-stop center, with dimensions that are hard to wrap your head around: 440,000-sq.-ft. on 37 acres, with room for 998 beds and a courtyard that can sleep 500 more.
Photo credit: Overland Partners
Housing the Homeless, Pissing Off the Government
Published January 13, 2010 @ 10:06AM PT
San Luis Obispo County, California has an estimated 3,500 homeless people. Its shelters have 125 beds. This is simple math. So why would a senior citizen named Dan de Vaul be sent to jail for housing 30 homeless people in a farmhouse and some trailers on his ranch? Well, that's not so simple.
The strange saga, chronicled in the New York Times, pits de Vaul against local authorities. He says he's doing good work; they say he charges people $300 a month plus hours of manual labor to live on his 72-acre property, which has safety multiple code violations -- including a dozen wooden sheds with bunk beds that officials have condemned.
"I believe he truly does care for the people he takes in. And there's only one thing he cares more about. And that's fighting with the county," San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors chairman Bruce Gibson told the Times. De Vaul was sentenced in November to 90 days in jail, a ruling that is currently being appealed.
Though courts have previously intervened against private landowners who house the homeless, there are people who live on de Vaul's property who wouldn't feel at home anywhere else. One man wasn't suited for a shelter, so a clinical social worker referred him to the ranch. Another, a schizophrenic Vietnam vet, has finally found a place to park his trailer without being bothered. What do you think: safe haven or tragedy waiting to happen?
Photo credit: Josh Haner/The New York Times
They're Not Camping; They're Homeless
Published January 08, 2010 @ 01:11PM PT
Homeless people who choose to live in tents present a complex set of issues: they refuse to enter shelters for a variety of reasons, they face unique health risks and they're rarely seen by the public.
One of them, profiled in the Washington Post today, is Gala Crum, 21 and pregnant, who moved out of her adoptive parents' house last April and has been living in a $259 tent in Prince William County, Virginia with her boyfriend. She works part-time in the mess hall of a Marine base. The couple checked into a motel for a night recently when the area got two feet of snow. Usually, they rely on a propane heater that they turn off at night so their clothes won't catch fire while they're asleep.
Of the 12,000 homeless people counted in last year's Washington DC-area tally, almost 1,300 were "unsheltered" -- meaning sleeping on benches, in cars or in tents. Our blogger SlumJack Homeless explains why someone might choose living outdoors rather than entering a shelter. Another reason: pets.
Beyond personal preference, experts say that tent-dwellers often have mental health issues or struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. The executive director of a local shelter told the Post, "Living in the woods is a lot harder than living anywhere else. You get a lot older a lot faster. It damages your teeth, your skin. It affects your blood pressure. You get respiratory illnesses. We thought our outreach challenge would be mental health issues when we encountered people in tents. It was health issues."
Crum's tent is within walking distance of both a men's and a women's shelter, but she says, "No, we can make it out here."
Don't Let Vegas Homeless Tunnels Become a Zoo
Published January 05, 2010 @ 01:49PM PT
By now you might have seen the story about the 300 homeless (mostly men, mostly addicted) that live in the flood tunnels under Las Vegas. Countless news outlets, including NPR, the Miami Herald and the Huffington Post, picked up the story from the Associated Press yesterday. Many also ran the AP's slideshow and video. The story is captivating.
But it's hardly new. A book that documented the community, Beneath the Neon, was released in 2007. In the last year, the fact that there are homeless people living in Las Vegas' tunnels has also been reported by the Los Angeles Times, ABC News, CNN, Britain's The Sun, Nightline, the New York Times and more. Before that, the book Tunnel Kids, from 2001, chronicled the lives of teenagers living in tunnels between Arizona and Mexico. 1995's The Mole People covered the people who live in New York City's abandoned Subway tunnels. Wherever people are homeless, and tunnels provide a modicum of comfort and security, it can be reasonably expected that people will inhabit them.
I was reminded of a particularly harsh journalism professor I had. "News is, by definition, new," she told us. And the AP's story, for all its macabre allure, is nothing new. Best case, by repeatedly profiling the people who live underground in Las Vegas, the media is inspiring people to act on their behalf. (Getting in touch with HELP of Southern Nevada is the best way to start.) Worst case, the tunnels are being made into zoos and we're all willing spectators. What do you think?
Code Blue Outreach Can't Remove All Barriers to Shelter
Published January 04, 2010 @ 01:48PM PT
Tonight, the mercury in NYC will fall below 30 degrees. Such freezing temperatures are deadly for people who sleep outdoors, particularly when there's already snow on the ground. So it's only appropriate that the city has issued its most serious weather alert. But although NYC's severe weather alert - also known as "Code Blue" - tries to save lives, does it do enough to remove barriers to shelter?
So what happens when the city declares "Code Blue?" First, outreach workers are on the streets 24 hours a day attempting to reach clients who are particularly vulnerable to the elements. The number of outreach vans is doubled - from 5 to 10 - so workers can reach those who are at-risk and encourage them to come inside for a warm meal and shelter. Hospitals emergency rooms accommodate clients, as needed, in Emergency Department waiting rooms. There are also additional housing options for homeless. Drop-in centers are kept open for 24 hours and individuals can access any shelter. Normal intake procedures are also forgone to get people indoors more quickly.
But despite the city's best efforts, Cold Blue policies cannot remove every single barrier to shelter. Regardless of how dangerous the elements become, some individuals will choose to stay on the streets over entering a shelter. Homeless shelters do not allow animals, for example, so going indoors means being separated from any furry companions. Or leaving other personal belongings outside - like a bike or cart. Or maybe the idea of being in close quarters overnight with strangers is simply unappealing.
This begs the question - is the city doing enough to encourage those who would normally avoid shelter to seek refuge indoors? Although the amount of street outreach is increased, this doesn't necessarily make shelters universally accessible for all homeless individuals. The best way to determine what it is that preventing unsheltered individuals from going indoors is to (...wait for it...) talk to them. If New York, or any city, wants to get serious about bringing people indoors and saving lives in the winter, they should talk to people. Why do you choose to stay outside? What keeps you from utilizing shelters?
In the meantime, if you see someone who has chosen streets over shelter this winter, don't judge. Understand that the barriers to shelter are real and significant. But do take action to make sure they are safe. And always call 911 if someone looks like they are in distress.
Image: Tom Simpson
