The answer to homelessness

It's been said (I foget by who maybe by my friend Arupa who lives around the corner and has been a long time homeless rights advocate) that the answer to homelessness is simple.

Homes.

Homes.  People just need homes.  They don't need to be huge.  They don't need to be fancy.  They don't need to be expensive.  Thoreau talked about living in a railroad box.  I've thought about living in a 200 ft mobile trailer pulled by my bike.  Or it could just be something that a group of the best architects in the country gathered around a table for a week came up with as an answer to the massive rebuilding effort made necessary by Hurricane Katrina.  It could be something like this.  Quick, efficient, beautiful and costs the same as a FEMA trailer.  Amazing.  Absolutely amazing.

If there's anything good that came out of Katrina, this might be it.  This is what humanity can do.  This is what we can do, as a society, when we get our priorities straight and put our vast resources to work.  Home.  Say it out loud.  It's such a good word.  Home.  Poets will tell you there's a lot of warmth and comfort in that long 'o' sound.

It doesn't have to be complicated.  It's just a safe space.  Your own little corner of the world.  Everyone should have one.

Comments

[Morgan]

Amen!

Just wanted to let you know I appreciate both your post as well as interest concerning homelessness and related matters. Thank you.

While I have been lucky to have a place to Winter last year as well as this year and thus am not homeless when so temporarily situated, it is only until Spring.

For my part, I would certainly love to have an abode like pictured in your blog or something akin to it.

At least I can dream anyway.

As it stands now, even though it would help to have a little bit more space, the room I am wintering within is quite small yet livable and includes a small fridge, microwave oven, bathroom with a shower, etc. and it is far better than being out or, couch surfing or, wherever in a seemingly endless cycle.

By the way, if you were not already aware of it and are interested, the upcoming 9th Annual Homelessness Marathon (2006) 14-hour national radio broadcast is being hosted in Atlanta, Georgia beginning on the evening of February 15th at 7:00 PM [eastern standard time], continuing until the next morning (Thursday, February 16th) at 9:00 AM [EST]:
http://www.homelessnessmarathon.org/

In fact I recently helped set up a blog for them with which the event will blogged as well: i.e.,

Annual Homelessness Marathon blog:
http://homelessnessmarathon.blogspot.com/

Anyone wanting to learn more about the Homelessness Marathon should make certain to read the 2006 press release:
http://www.homelessnessmarathon.org/pressRelease2006.html

Blog on!

[Static Brain]

There wasn't as big of a homelessness problem in and before the 1950's. Then one day the government decided that they didn't want to be paying for the treatment of the mentally ill anymore. A lot of, but not all of the homelessness problem is the result of federal and state government funding being cut for mental hospitals and mentally ill group homes.

Sad, but true. This fact was brought to my attention by a university professor in a class on morals and ethics in psychology.

Question: Is it ethical for society to dump the mentally ill on the streets?

[Hulkhogan82]

I definately think that small houses would be a much better alternative to FEMA trailers. But the problem with homelessness is a little deeper than not having a place to live. You have to look the social factors like drug abuse and alcoholism. Many people who are homeless today most likely did have a home of some sort and lost it due to thier personal vices. We can't fix homelessness until we do something about what really enables it.

[barb]

But you can't begin to address those other problems until people have a safe, secure, place to stay. Imagine sleeping outside in the rain and snow and having to get up at 4 am to go to the day labor place to get in line to try to get a job. You've had no breakfast and no shower and very little sleep the night before. You don't have the energy to do all those things. To get the job, to go to the government offices to do the paperwork you need to get whatever help they might have, to go to the mental health clinic to get counseling, to go to rehab to give up the one comfort you might have in life (a cold beer). It starts with housing. It starts with having a safe place to sleep.

[cris]

Re Homelessness

I'm amazed that so many people still think homelessness is mainly a problem of drug addicts, the mentally ill, and the personal "vices" of the homeless.

Homelessness is the result of a lack of affordable housing. And by extension, unliveable wages. When SRO's in NYC started converting into condos in the 80's the numbers of homeless people exploded.
In Florida, where I live now, housing may have been cheap (in the past) in comparison to say, San Francisco or LA or NYC, Boston-- BUT the types of jobs that are plentiful are extremely low wage, often labor intensive, dead ends. I say this as someone with a college degree.I can't count the number of times I've had to live on rice, and nothing else for many days so that I could pay my electric bill or rent. This is as a FULL time worker. I know I'm not alone in this opinion, because I've had the opportunity to talk to a lot of fellow workers, from all over the US and the world. Wages in Florida are low, jobs are poor quality, often withour health benefits or benefits that are too expensive to maintain, given the low wages. I suspect these conditions are widespread throughout the South.
I use no drugs, no alcohol. I do not gamble. I worked hard until the physical labor in non air conditioned work environments finally made my body give out. The solutions to homelessness are very obvious and very simple. There is a reason this administration doesn't have the will to do what it takes to end homelessness now. The way for working folk to fight back against corporate domination of our government and every aspect of our lives is by the organization of working class people and poor people. Hence, the attacks against labor unions and unionized workplaces. (Public schools, automakers, airlines...) Another way to keep us disorganized is by keeping poor people and working class people constantly moving around from place to place, seeking cheaper housing, seeking better job opportunities, and just trying to survive. Housing and income insecure people are destabilized, harder to organize, and less likely to fight back.