Tools and Resources
Articles
Homeless for 48 Hours: Taking the Urban Plunge
My experience on the streets of Albuquerque
By Lizzie Lyons, NMCEH Advocacy Intern
May 2005
This past weekend, I took an "Urban Plunge". What is an Urban Plunge, you ask. The National Coalition for the Homeless defines it as "when economically-privileged people dress down, empty their wallets, and spend time on the streets as ‘poor’ people". Why would someone do that, is your next question. Well, I decided to do it because I wanted to see for myself some of the reality of living on the streets. I had many questions like: are people starving on the street, are their enough beds, why don't homeless people work, how can people help, why doesn't the problem of homelessness get solved? I also wanted to do an Urban Plunge because when I graduate from college I want to work on social justice issues and right now one of my concerns is the fact that people—your neighbor, your friend, your mother or father, or your kids—are forced to live on the streets like animals. Homeless people are required to spend their day just surviving—finding food, shelter, and a place to go to the bathroom. I did the Urban Plunge because I feel that too often and too many people in our society are blind to the fact that homelessness is such a big problem and just here in New Mexico there is up to 13,000 people who experience homelessness each year and that, in the year 2005, people have to go to the bathroom in the bushes because there are no toilettes available to them.
I had a great guide for my Urban Plunge, Maurice, who was formally homeless, but is now experiencing homelessness again. He kept me safe and showed me many of the services that were offered in the Albuquerque area. Maurice was an amazing person who has survived a lot and, amazingly enough, still has faith in the compassion of people. He taught me a lot not just about homelessness but also about life, love, and people. I also met many interesting characters during my Plunge—I especially want to thank the couple that Maurice and I met who shared their story and left me with a beautiful gift made at one of the many fabulous homeless services, Art Street. I also want to thank all the people who shared with me the highlights of their homeless service programs and their work and thank them for their determined effort to make homelessness a problem of the past.
“…many times I was just overlooked...”
While I was out sitting on the streets, I received a lot of stares and backward glances. But many times I was just overlooked. The most powerful experiences came as I stood in lines to receive food. Often the people serving were timid and reserved and it made me reflect on my experiences on the other side of the line serving instead of being served. I remember that I felt scared and often didn't know how to interact with the people I was serving. Now, having the experience of being served, I realize that I just wanted someone to talk to me about random stuff. To hold a conversation with me as a human being—to ask about my day, to remark about the food, to talk about the weather, to comment on something that is happening in the city, anything. Not to come over and hand me their pamphlet. For example, during breakfast on morning, this guy came over to me and as friendly as he was he wasn't talking to me—his purpose was to hand me his pamphlet about Christianity and leave so that he could hand out more to other people. Or, at another meal, when I was sitting and eating and the servers came around and handed out some of the extra homemade bread (delicious!) but didn't stop to talk to me. As grateful as I am to those individuals who generously served and prepared the food for me I found that food was just as important as someone coming and just relaxing and talking to me taking an interest not just in my body being taken care of but also in my psyche being taken care of. Not just serving and cleaning up and putting me out.
“Finding a safe place…”
I also realized how lucky I was to have a guide because Maurice already knew some people, and more importantly he was outgoing. Many people that we talked to were very secretive. Homeless people don't want others to know too much about who they are and where their secret campsite is located so that they can maintain some safety and security. For example, I was talking to a group of people in one of the parks during breakfast. They talked about how one of the girls (who they pointed out) had been dating one of the guys that slept at their campsite, and when they had relationship troubles, she called the cops on their campsite. This was a huge deal to have someone rat you out to the cops and have your campsite busted because often it is your safe-area. Once your campsite is busted by the cops, it is on their radar and is no longer "safe". I also found out that the cops wouldn't even deal with the homeless face-to-face, they explained, the cops just parked and set the dogs on them instead of asking them to leave. This dehumanizes the situation by not even allowing these people who are experiencing homelessness to receive the decency of a person-to-person interaction. Instead the cops treat them like animals and set the dogs on them.
I found out how campsites are considered "home" and good ones are hard to find. Maurice and I started talking to a guy named Steve, a mountain looking man who was traveling with all of his belongings on his back, and was on his way out of town to sleep because he explained it was just safer than sleeping within the city limits. Steve shared with us some stories on how this area that we were standing by had been a pretty safe area for people to squat in but the police came and raided it leaving people to find a new safe place to sleep. The police cut-up the IDs of the homeless people they found h so that they couldn't receive any benefits as a punishment (a completely illegal act) and if they took them to jail they would throw away all of their belongings instead of having to go through all the paperwork of claiming them. This left the homeless with even less. He shared other awful stories about how police and people treated the homeless that they find sleeping and it made it very clear to me that fear for my, and others experiencing homeless, safety is a very real issue. Finding a safe place that no one will find me and harass me as I slept is extremely important to stay safe.
“…using every contact available to stay off the streets…”
Luckily, Maurice, my guide, knew a man in town who was working on renovating a building into a community center for homeless men who are dealing with issues of alcoholism. We were able to work and help lay flooring and paint in order to have permission to sleep on their couches. This is really fortunate that Maurice had contacts so that we had a dry place to stay (especially because it down-poured on one of the nights of the plunge). He explained that couch-hopping is a part of being homeless and using every contact available to stay off the streets is part of being resourceful as a homeless person because "no one wants to be on the streets if they don't have to". There was also the issue of "camping" that Maurice explained to me was not something that he was eager to do if he didn't have to because of his history as a veteran. Camping, he explained, reminded him of the hard times he experienced in the military—another thing that many may not always realize—the psychological impact of homelessness on veterans.
Another very important issue, along with food and shelter, are toilettes. I learned during my 48 hours that you never turn down the opportunity to use a toilette because you don’t know if or when you will find another one. Day shelters help by being open during the day so that people can use the toilettes, and the was a movement, that Maurice was involved in, to get port-a-potties in the park where they serve breakfast—but still many have only the bushes or the hard pavement to take care of their business. This is often something that people don't realize is such a problem—but it is! And it is something that can be easily fixed if money can be provided for more public restrooms that are available for the use of the homeless population.
“…some of the answers to my questions…”
During my 48-hour plunge I learned first-hand some of the answers to my questions and I learned a lot of important and sometimes disappointing things about the services that are out there to "help" people who are experiencing homelessness. First, the answers:
No, people are not starving on the streets, thanks to all the hard workers and volunteers plus all the generous donations to the shelters in the Albuquerque area. However, there are some major problems that if you were not homeless you might not see. For example, sometimes there is only one place you can find food and you will need to walk for miles-and-miles to be able to eat (because Albuquerque is very spread out). This is just an inconvenience for many, but for those who are elderly or disabled these walks are a burden that is often not worth the effort and many have to go without food.
No, there are not enough beds—not even close. There are approximately 400 beds in the shelters in Albuquerque to serve the more than 3,000 people who are homeless. This is such a small amount that many homeless-service agencies are forced to put limits on how long people can stay in the shelters. In some shelters residents can only stay a week and in others up to a month. This circulation of people is important because it gives people a rest from the streets but circulation in shelters does not help people get or maintain a job because as soon as the week or the month is over then they are back on the streets where their only concern can be food and shelter. There is however some great organizations that were trying to change this—like the AOC (Albuquerque Opportunity Center) that will let its residents get extensions to stay longer than a month if they show proof of that they are working.
We stopped by Joy Junction, the only family shelter in Albuquerque, and found out that they generously offered "classroom" style shelter on cold and rainy days because there is such a need. We were told that they only had a certain amount of beds and once they were all filled they would offer to allow people to spend the night at the shelter but they would have to sit in a chair around a table and sleep with their heads on the table. This, as horrible as it is (for all you who remember falling asleep in school and waking up with a massive neck-ache) is better than being out in the cold.
“…much of the work that is available to the homeless is day labor…”
A very important fact, that many people don't realize is that almost 1/3 of homeless people work. The problem is that they still can't afford an apartments or other housing. Also, much of the work that is available to the homeless is day labor and this is the worst kind of work—not because it is hard work, which it is, but because it is insecure work. For example, day laborers work all-day and then at the end of a long day the boss drives off and doesn't pay them—this happens 1/3 of the time! Would you take a job where you had one-out-of-three chances of not getting paid…No! Well, many homeless people feel the same way. Also, if they work day labor they face extra charges, like payment for a ride to work or are forced to buy work gloves, which brings their wages below minimum wage. Fortunately, the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness won a huge win with the Day Laborer Bill, which helps to hold employers responsible for paying their day labor workers for their work and making sure that they are receiving minimum wage.
The last two questions are the hardest: how do people help and why isn't the problem being solved. You can help by volunteering at any number of the shelters and the food programs but the best thing that you can do is call your senator and representative and make sure that services are being adequately funded. Why people are homeless is because there are not enough houses. We need to make sure that there are affordable low-income houses for people to live. This will significantly cut down on the thousands-and-thousands of dollars that are pouring into the homeless programs every year. If people have a house they don't need a shelter and they can possibly cook their own food and won't be so dependent on soup kitchens. There are other important parts to this—we can't just provide houses—we need to increase services that educate people on how to keep apartments, how to deal with landlords, and other services like education and job training to get people a good and steady jobs.
It was a scary experience but thanks to my guide—Maurice—I always felt safe. I interacted with many new and interesting people during my time and heard a lot of different stories. The most important thing I learned is that homelessness affects your average person—these people were someone's neighbor, employee, son, or daughter who had some bad twists of fate or more-often-then-not were just not cared for in a way that prevented them from ending up on the streets. Some people were dealing with issues of mental illness and some with drug problems—but are problems that can be dealt with, with a little love and care. They are people who just need a little more help and love. If we would just love them, really care for the person and not to disempower them, but to let them grow under a caring touch many problems could be fixed. Unfortunately, there is too much need and too few workers who don't have the time to really care for and help the homeless population.
“Answers, Disappointments, Anger, and Love”
I witnessed a lot of bad tactics during my time on the street. For example, I witnessed the very long sermons before meals where the preacher would condemn people to Hell that homeless people have to bear in order to be fed. As I stood there I was surrounded by people who were hungry after a long cold night—because I was—and who probably would have responded more to someone who showed compassion and "walked like Jesus" instead of standing their preaching and condemning people to Hell. Also, I was angered by all the people who were out there "serving" the homeless because it really seemed like they were doing it to feel good about themselves. For example, I stood in a prayer circle before on of the meals were served at one of the kitchens and the woman thanked all the people who had prepared the food and who had come out to serve but not a word was mentioned about the hundreds of people waiting outside—no word of "may this food nourish their bodies as they face a long night out in the cold", no word of "bless these poor people and give them strength"—nothing. The last thing that really angered me is that often there are simple things that should be better coordinated between organizations. If people really wanted to help the homeless, then make sure there is always a shelter that is open for them to go to if they need to go to the bathroom. Small things like I found out that one shelter kicked everyone out in the morning at 7:00am but breakfast wasn't served anywhere until 8:00am. An hour doesn't seem like that long of a time unless you are actually the person standing out there in freezing weather with no place to go.
During my time on the street I fell in love with all the people who are out there surviving. Everyday they fight to find food and a safe place to sleep. I write this as I sit comfortably as a student in college with three meals a day and a dorm to sleep in every night. I think it is the duty of all people to make sure that those who are less fortunate, who have hit a hard time, who just need a little extra attention and love, get it.
In 48-hours you cannot really understand what it is like to be homeless because at the end of the 48-hours you know that you will be able to leave, take a shower and sleep in your own bed. But what little that can be experienced in those 48 hours is invaluable and life changing. I learned a lot from my experience and I know that my knowledge and first hand experiences will drive me to do what I can to stop the inhumane position of those unfortunate people who by bad luck and bad circumstances have found themselves on the streets all over our country. I believe you can change the world with love, compassion and a vision of hope. And this Plunge showed me that there is a need for people who will do just that.
What Kind of a Society Allows Its Youth to be Homeless? Ours
By Hank Hughes, Executive Director
NM Coalition to End Homelessness
When you see them walking around your town you wouldn't necessarily thinkthey are homeless, and perhaps that is one reason homeless youth receive solittle attention from decision makers. Homeless youth may dress in oldclothes and have a lot of piercings but so do a lot of other young people.Homeless youth have not been on the streets long enough to have acquiredthat weather-beaten look that marks the older street person. And yet, youthhomelessness is a huge problem in New Mexico, as it is generally in theUnited States. A recent one day count of the homeless in New Mexico found90 homeless youth in five communities. Only the youth who were seeking helpat a service provider were counted, so the actual number of homeless youthin New Mexico is many times higher. A federal study of the homeless foundthat 55% of adult homeless people first became homeless before they were 18,so solving the homeless problem in general means finding a solution to youthhomelessness.
Unfortunately, funding for programs for homeless youth is tenuous at best.Southwestern Advocates 4 Kids, a transitional housing program for youth inSilver City closed its doors this year, and the First Contact OutreachProgram for homeless youth in Santa Fe was forced to give up its space dueto lack of funding and is now operating out of a used Volvo.
At Santa Fe's First Contact Street Outreach Program, one homeless girl toldme that she likes the freedom of her current life and is escaping fromstructure. A young man told me he ran away from home to escape his abusivefather. Another young man tells me he likes the no obligation part of theoutreach program. Nearby a large young man sleeps on the coach cuddling ateddy bear, a reminder that these homeless youth are still children in someways.
However, these same people who don't want structure also said they just gotjobs and are looking for housing before the cold weather comes. So theyare looking for places to fit in and make a life, albeit on their own terms.One young man said that sometimes he is overcome by fear that his life willnever go anywhere.
Youth homelessness is hard to think about because it is a clear indictmentof our society. It is hard to blame a teenager for their homelessness, andso the existence of a homeless youth problem says clearly that there issomething wrong with our society. Child abuse is one big part of theproblem. According to Tamar Spatz, the young woman who ran the outreachprogram when I visited, it is our housing style that separates one familyfrom another that allows abuse to be more prevalent.
Government agencies are not adequately equipped to respond when abusehappens. Even when abused teenagers call for help, they get littleattention from overworked social workers who are busy rescuing youngerchildren from more dire situations. And so the teenagers often run away asa last resort.
It is unfortunate that in its current emphasis on ending chronichomelessness; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development isshifting money away from homeless youth and homeless families to programsthat assist the single adults who have been homeless a long time. Not thatthe adults don't need and deserve help; however, if we never deal with theroot causes of homelessness, causes that usually occur in youth, then wewill never solve the problem.
New Mexico has some wonderful programs that help homeless youth, but theycan only assist a small fraction of the total number who need help. Some ofthese programs provide transitional housing with supportive services, andthey give homeless youth a place to live and a good deal of guidance ingetting a positive start in life.
So what's the answer? Well certainly we need to invest more funding in thetransitional housing programs that can help homeless youth get a start inlife. We also may need to look at how our society is set up, and thinkabout planning for neighborhoods where community spaces like churches andyouth programs are within walking distance, and where neighbors are encouraged to interact with each other, so people in abusive families will not feel isolated.The Housing Trust Fund: A Cost-Effective
Solution to Ending Homelessness in New Mexico
By Andrea Gross
Throughout the course of a year, there are over 17,000 people experiencing homelessness in New Mexico who would greatly benefit from an affordable housing trust fund. The homeless population is diverse, comprised of children, women, families, veterans, immigrants, and the mentally and physically disabled. Due to the precarious nature of homelessness, those experiencing homelessness often utilize emergency services such as hospitals, shelters, and jails more than people who are housed. This can make the cost of homelessness quite high.
The New England Journal of Medicine found that a homeless person is hospitalized an average of four days longer than a non-homeless person. This was an extra cost of $2,414 per hospitalization. Similarly, the homeless are frequently incarcerated, often for misdemeanor crimes such as loitering, which further increases the cost incurred by the state, county and municipalities. The good news is that there is a cost-effective measure that reduces the use of emergency services by the homeless, and offers a long-term solution to ending homelessness through the development of permanent supportive housing. However, in order to finance the development of housing for the homeless, there needs to be annual recurring money for the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund.
Supportive housing is independent, affordable housing linked to support services. In October 2006, the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness conducted a study to compare the nightly cost of supportive housing with that of local hospitals, jails, and shelters. The cost per bed, per night at Santa Fe facilities was as follows: $716 at UNM Hospital, $550 at St. Vincent’s Hospital, $82 at the Santa Fe County Detention Center, $77 at the state penitentiary, $33 for supportive housing, and $30 for emergency shelter. It is clear that supportive housing is the most affordable option, and although shelter costs are comparable, they do not provide the stable environment that comes with being housed. Because of this, emergency services are still frequently used by those staying in the shelters.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania also found that once the chronically homeless are placed into supportive housing, there is a significant reduction in the costs of emergency services. Enhanced case management and housing services creates a more stable and autonomous environment which leads to a decrease in hospitalization and incarceration. The researchers also report that the retention rate for such housing is upwards of 70 percent. This in turn, lessens the burden on hospitals, jails, prisons, and shelters.
In addition to cost effectiveness, there are other benefits to developing supportive housing such as neighborhood revitalization, beautification, economic development, and housing for community members living on the streets. Unfortunately, communities often protest, “Not in my back yard” (NIMBY), when they find out about affordable and supportive housing developments in their neighborhood. This stems from fear and a lack of knowledge about homelessness, the mentally disabled, and the quality of the housing development’s design. Supportive housing is an asset to the community, not a liability.
For example, the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, with the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico, and Care 66 are partnering on a low-income tax-credit project to develop the Chuska Apartments in Gallup, New Mexico. These apartments won the New Mexico design competition award for tax-credit projects and will include 30 energy efficient apartments for low-income families along with a community center and garden. Additionally, the Supportive Housing Coalition has completed several beautiful supportive housing developments in Albuquerque.
With all of the benefits, how can we afford not to build permanent supportive housing in New Mexico? It is quite simple; the solution to ending homelessness is housing for all New Mexicans. However, in order to be successful in this endeavor, there needs to be a source of dedicated funding for supportive housing projects. As it stands, the Housing Trust Fund in New Mexico is only dispersed through loans for builders and developers typically for homeownership rather than supportive housing. According to Governor Richardson’s budget, he is proposing $10 million in non-recurring money for the Housing Trust Fund. We need to expand the role of the Housing Trust Fund to include recurring funding distributed through grants for the development of supportive housing for our most impoverished citizens. If we do not do this, it will cost us not only financially, but morally as well.