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WRITER'S VIEWS ON U DISTRICT HOMELESS FLAWED Brooke Zimmers (Speech Comm. Faculty, SCC) At first I was intrigued by the premise of Brian Kerin's "A tip for the Homeless: Students are poor!" (Ebbtide, Jan. 6, 2003). He wonders why the U District is a haven for the homeless when it is inhabited by struggling students who barely have money themselves. Since I worked with homeless teens in the U-district for several years and lived there when I went to school, I wanted to answer some of his questions and dispel some of his misleading assumptions: 1. Why don't the homeless move to a more lucrative area where the "suits" surely have more to give? Because the suits have more power to influence police and less compassion toward anything not "suited." However, the obvious reason is that the UW and U District support programs like transitional housing and a drop-in center that attract homeless people to the services. 2. "There might be terrible stories of abuse and neglect, but on the other hand, they might just be stubborn kids who wouldn't adapt to their parents' rules - then these kids should just go back home and stop polluting my town..." Research suggests that 75 percent to 80 percent of homeless teens are sexually abused in the home. My caseload back in the mid '90s was 100-percent sexually abused. To top it off, most people don't know the number of homeless teens who are "throwaways," literally not wanted by their parents - not because they won't abide by rules, but because the parents themselves are drug users, molesters, etc. 3. The greatest disservice Mr. Kerin's assumptions fuel is the notion that "every one of these people could get themselves off the street if they wanted to." This is the biggest myth about homelessness, that "they" could help themselves or get off the street it if they wanted. Ever try to get an ID without a birth certificate or a parent's signature? Ever try to get a job without an ID or address or proper clothes or a car? Ever try to maintain a job without proper sleep? Nutrition? Training? The U District youth center and other services provided in the area help youth get the necessary things to pursue getting off of the street. Unfortunately, until those needs are met and the homeless person has the will (stability, mental health, food, etc.), they will be attracted to the area and you will see them begging for a cigarette. 4. If Mr. Kerin or anyone out there reading this has assumptions, misconceptions, frustrations and/or judgments about homelessness, I suggest you dig deep for some compassion, take yourself to a drop-in center or local street-corner and start asking some hard questions. Be prepared to hear some hard answers. Then reach down to find what's left of your compassion and do it all over again. Lastly I just wanted to say how surprised I was to flip the pages of the same Ebbtide issue to find Mr. Kerin's picture and subsequent story outlining his "nonconformist" attitude and reasons for wearing dreadlocks. He said, "If someone rejects me because of my hair, then I'm not interested in knowing that type of person." Hmmm, he just got done saying, "To live in the best neighborhood in Seattle, you have to train yourself to utterly ignore other human beings." Need I point out the irony? A TIP FOR BRIAN: THE HOMELESS DESERVE COMPASSION! Wanda Moats (SCC student) An opinion doesn't require facts. Nonetheless, I like to gather a few facts before I allow my opinion to gel. "Average rents have increased 36 percent in King County since 1997, from $649 to $880." - National Low Income Housing Coalition As a student with a low income, Mr. Kerin might appreciate what a precarious position this is. Any small unexpected economic wave can and does knock people from having shelter to being on the street. Rare indeed is the sympathetic landlord who will take a payment plan. The accepted standard ratio of housing payment to income is 30 percent. This is a figure which is used in any application for credit or when buying a house. In order to afford the lowest average-priced apartment, a person making $7 per hour would have to work 71 hours per week. The National Low Income Housing Coalition conclusion is: "A minimum-wage worker would have to work 148 hours per week to afford an average priced, two-bedroom apartment in Seattle and work 97 hours per week to afford one in King County." Perhaps this is the reason why so many students live communally with one or more roommates. It is also true that students may typically pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing. As long as nothing goes wrong this may work. Has anyone ever lost a roommate because some economic cataclysm put them in the position where the rent was no longer affordable? "Between 1988 and 2001, the rich literally got richer in Washington State and the poor got poorer. Real income declined by 9.4 percent for the poorest 20 percent of families, while it increased by 36 percent for the richest 20 percent of families." - Northwest Policy Center, University of Washington The fact that many of us have been able to eke out a slightly more favorable situation largely means that we have been fortunate. We really don't want to look at how close to the edge we really are. The dot-com workers and former Enron employees thought they were on top of the world, above basic survival struggles. Some of those former five-figure wage earners are actually out there with the uneducated and hopeless too. I support the anger of Mr. Kerin and anyone else who feels outraged by the homeless situation. However, I suggest that you not take it out on the homeless. Take a sociology or policy-making class so you may understand how fighting and disdain for the underclass keep us looking away from those who are setting policies that maintain these conditions. I am not saying there is no individual responsibility, but it is important to know that sometimes the hurdles are not all the result of an individual action. It can be challenging at times, but try to remember the homeless as human beings. You might be surprised at how much respect they give, even when under the influence of some mind-or body-warming substance. As for the disease that comes when being asked for money, I suggest consistently looking that human being in the eye and saying, "Sorry, but no." Say it with heart, with a concept that my mother imparted to me: "There but for the grace of God go I." If you can't manage that try, "There but for the grace of ____ go I." © 2003 Shoreline Community College™ |