A Summary of Homelessness in America – The History and Tragedy of an Intractable Social Problem by Stephen Eide
Today I’m writing a summary of Homelessness in America – The History and Tragedy of an Intractable Social Problem by Stephen Eide.
The librarian in the main Hawaii State Library recommended this book to me – Homelessness in America – The History and Tragedy of an Intractable Social Problem by Stephen Eide. I am interested in homelessness since I spend a lot of time reporting trash and homeless activities near Jordan’s school in Honolulu. I’m currently working on helping our school use the local baseball park, by contacting city and state officials, and coordinating community efforts to repair and upkeep the bathrooms and area between the school and the park.
This book was very interesting and I did find some interesting insights from reading it. It is a very detailed history and analysis of homelessness in America from the last 100 years or so.
Insight #1 – Modern Homelessness is Actually a Result of Social Progress
In the book, Stephen Eide discusses what homelessness used to look like back in the early 1900s. There were shanty towns where young men would live until there was seasonal work available for them. They would ride the trains to get work and when there was no work, would live in very cheap housing.
In modern times, we now have homeless women and children as well as mentally unstable individuals. Women used to stay with abusive spouses, and be abused or killed along with the children. Now women are leaving abusive relationships.
In addition, the mentally unstable used to be institionalized. Now those institutions have been dismantled due to the inhumane way they treated their inmates.
Insight #2 – “Successful” Cities Have Proportionally More Homelessess Than “Failed” Cities
Successful cities with growing industries have increasing property values. They also may have higher standards for how the city should look, with developers tearing down slums and building luxury condos where the local people can’t afford to live. Wealth people buy these condos for investment or as second or third homes.
Housing codes become stricter, banning multiple families living together in one household, and better construction standards.
Because rents are so high due to rising wages and rising standards in acceptable living situations, the lower income population cannot afford rent and are more likely to become homeless. The ones that can will move out and you are left with the ones that have nowhere to go and no social network to support them.
The “unsuccessful” cities such as Detroit have less of a homeless population in proportion to their population because rents are lower and more affordable.
Insight #3 – City Officials Permit Gentrification – Demolishing Low Income Housing Without Giving the Tenants Alternative Housing
Whether they are paid off by developers or have a lot of pressure from wealthier constituents, city official permit gentrification or the demolition of older low rent buildings to allow developers to build luxury condos in their place. As mentioned earlier, these are often bought by real estate investors and not first time home owners.
In hawaii, many of these luxury condos are barely occupied by the wealthy as they are a second home or office, an illegal vacation rental or rented out at high rents.
Meanwhile the tenants of the before affordable rental units now are left with no low rental alternatives.
Insight #4 – Homeless Abused Women Need Secured Shelters and Not Housing Vouchers or Affordable Housing
The homeless abused women demographic have different needs when it comes to housing. They want to live in a secured location that their abuser cannot find and cannot enter. They need housing and safety. If you have them a housing voucher or an affordable unit, their abuser might come and force themselves into their home and abuse them again.
Insight #5 – The Police Are Most Likely To Deal With Homelessness And Need Better Resources And Support
Stephen Eide mentions how many homeless advocates don’t like the police to be involved with homelessness as it will criminalize their behavior. However, when I’m taking Jordan to school and a homeless gentleman has decided to sleep on the pedestrian bridge, the best way to deal with it is to call the police. They will come and move people who are high, drunk or have decided to camp out in the path of school children or pedestrians.
The police are the ones who deal with the hardest cases and the chronically homeless. Who else are people going to call?
The police have no where to take someone who is being a nuisance to others except to jail. That is all they have to work with.
Social workers are also important but they will not arrive at a scene as quickly as the police. The police need better support networks and resources available to them to help deal with the homeless. Consulting with the police to find real solutions is key to helping the homeless community.
Insight #6 – Social Workers Who Deal With Homelessness Need Better Resources and Support
Social workers also need to have better resources and support. With those who are chronically abusing drugs there needs to be more rehab centers. Those who are fleeing abusive spouses need shelters.
Those who need employment and lower rent need lower rent options and job programs.
It would be great if social workers could show up as fast as the police. If I find someone camping out under the pedestrian bridge, it would be nice if I could call a social worker directly, instead of having to report it to the Department of Transportation and then when they read my e-mail, forward it to a social worker.
Even then, what is the social worker going to do with the person camping out under the bridge? Imagine how hard it must be to be a social worker called to deal with someone who is choosing to pop up a tent everywhere he wants to sleep?
Insight #7 – Mental Institutions Were Closed Down As Social Progress And The Patients Have Nowhere To Go and Need Better Support Systems
Many of the insane or mentally ill homeless persons that we see on the streets literally have nowhere to go. A lot of them have families that have given up on them, and do not have the resources to take care of them any longer. Mental institutions now only keep patients who will harm themselves or others. But what about the man who screams obsenities to no one on the street corner at the top of his voice? Where does he go?
Or how about the woman I saw the other day who was swearing to herself or no on in particular, who then went into the park bathroom and drew on the stalls with a sharpie? She’s a nuisance but is she harming herself or another person?
Those that are mentally unstable need solutions that involve their estranged families first and really the entire community at large.
Insight #8 – Acceptable Housing Standards Are Different For Different Demographics
This was a very interesting insight from the book. A drug dealer will not want to have social workers around where they live. One single young man might be happy with a tiny room in shabby conditions while another might not. A family may sacrifice a larger home to live in a better school district, while another might prefer living in a larger home and commute or pay for a private school.
Different people prefer different living situations. A single young man may prefer to live in his car or on the street instead of with his family. A man who owns a home may prefer to live with his homeless girlfriend on the streets and rent out his home for income.
In the end, what the government decides is good affordable housing may not be good and affordable housing for many people. What a rich landowner deems a suitable living condition might not be the same as an extended family that chooses to live in a crowded space together.
Conclusion
I really liked reading this book because I am cleaning up public spaces a lot as a Mom who walks in the neighborhood. I also see a lot of homeless in the streets in Honolulu.
My thoughts on homelessness have changed a lot since I’ve been cleaning up a lot of different kinds of trash near Jordan’s school over the last 5 years or so. I used to get so angry with all of the filth and waste. Then I realized one day that I didn’t have to be angry anymore. I just have to offer solutions – such as my proposal to convert the land under the pedestrian bridge into a garden maintained by the school Jordan goes to.
The school where Jordan goes has been planting Kalo next to the sidewalk where a homeless person used to sleep in the grass. I used to see him when we rode our bikes on the sidewalk to school because on the bikes we were higher up and could see into the tall grass.
I personally don’t think homelessness will ever disappear completely, since some people prefer to live that way. I told the public officials in charge of a baseball park near Jordan’s school that I’m kind of glad they aren’t enforcing the law and stopping people from living in the park, so I’ll have a place to camp if I can’t pay my mortgage. I can think of many people who would love to camp out permanently in Hawaii and just live off of the land or handouts from others.
I have seen many people throw trash on the street either intentionally or unintentionally. Many people waste food and resources, paint on public walls and private buildings and destroy property. Paint is expensive so I know a lot of grafitti is done by young people with money. Whether we are homeless or not we are all responsible for keeping our community safe and clean for ourselve and others.
I believe if we want our parks and sidewalks to be clean and without people residing on them then we need to use and maintain these public places. If we don’t then it’s not surprising that there will be homeless residents using them instead.
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