Malcom Gladwell Tackles Social Services Theory 12.31.08

I won't spoil it for you, but Malcom Gladwell's 2006 article in the New Yorker articulates the tension well:

http://gladwell.com/2006/2006_02_13_a_murray.html

This snippet cuts to the heart of the issue, but won't make sense until the article is digested:

"Power-law solutions have little appeal to the right, because they involve special treatment for people who do not deserve special treatment; and they have little appeal to the left, because their emphasis on efficiency over fairness suggests the cold number-crunching of Chicago-school cost-benefit analysis. Even the promise of millions of dollars in savings or cleaner air or better police departments cannot entirely compensate for such discomfort."

House of Charity Episode 5 Retooled 12.16.08

Truth be told, teachers that change their students' lives are few and far between, especially at the college level. Students are too good at being students by the time we hit university to run into a dynamic presence that truly breaks the mold--but we're always happy to meet the exceptions.

Fr. Steven Kuder, a Jesuit who has taught at Gonzaga for decades (not to mention being reared somewhere on the South Hill) was one for me.

His teachings strayed far and away from the proposed subject matter--and for good reason. He advocated breakfast. And sleep. He had quotes to begin each lecture, gems like "whenever I meet someone new, and they tell me their problem, I try to recognize what it is, and just how much they're willing to do to not solve it." Good stuff.

For years, he's taught an introductory religion course on both the Old and New Testament, along with a class on Christian Leadership (where, among other things, the phrase "Spiral Dynamics" first steamrolled me. The term, and the idea, are available in a book by Don Beck by the same title). One quote from the CL course before we move on: "Leadership is 10% managing the people below you, 10% the people above, and 80% managing yourself."

To help a group of privileged white kids understand the teachings of the Old Testament, he gave out a few essential rules of the desert, since that's where most of the Old Testament authors lived.

Firstly, and of paramount importance, in the desert, there's not much to go around. Sometimes there's not enough. It's a setting that may be the definition of "Privation."

This is radically different than how things are for us today. Economics studies have shown that there's really not much of an increase in felicity (happiness) when our means increase past covering the basics. These studies (and others) are available online, and are collected on another brilliant Gonzaga professor's course website.

Economist Article on the Gay Science (Economics)

http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/alfino/cfma/courses/419/economisthappiness.pdf

Chapters from relevant books are available by links on the February 20th lecture on his site (the lecture is on Money and Status)

http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/alfino/cfma/courses/419/index.cfm?semester=200720

At any rate, the articles point to the idea that at some point, the connection between how much we have and how happy we are starts to falter. But saying that quickly moves past the point that at some level there is a connection. For those living in the desert, or for those that are homeless, this is certainly the case. For those living in a culture of not having enough.

Rules of the desert are useful, then, in understanding those that are homeless, because of the similarity of circumstance. In the desert, taking care of your kin really matters. The tribe might not make it if you don't. So you stick by (and care for) your own rather than splitting your dollar up among everyone. But that's not to say that when someone lands on your doorstep you don't roll out the red carpet (think the visit to Abraham by the two angels where he had his wife prepare a feast), as a gesture. A sort of primitive golden rule, or recognizing how anyone would want to be treated if they were traveling through the inhospitable desert. Or under the boardwalk.

On the same token, there's no love lost for those that have wronged you when you're living in such conditions. Enemies need to know that you're not a group to be tangled with--or else you might not be around much longer. On the street, it's called "saving face."

But those 'sleeping out' aren't the only ones demonstrating the kind of hospitality recorded in the Old Testament. Just last weekend (specifically Saturday, 12.13.08) in the House of Charity, a family braved the frigid weather to dole out cinnamon rolls and coffee that they'd bought as they stood out front. Shortly after, a Bikers for Christ chapter came in to hand out gloves (good ones!), socks (wool!), and scripture (also good). To top all this off, a woman with her son in tow brought in around fifty blankets that she'd probably spent months collecting from around town, simply because "she remembers what it means to struggle."

This doesn't even give credit to the half-dozen or so others that emptied car-loads of blankets, or shoes, or old gloves. One lady even donated some Jello. It all helps. People like Jello.

Vancouver Mayor Putting us to Shame 12.10.08

A great article on the strides the Vancouver, B.C. mayor is making on orienting his administration towards addressing homelessness within his city:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/391412_Joel10.html

Tip of the hat to Jon Phillips for the article link!

Washington State Budget Cutting 12.7.08

Two Google Groups messages that we all should take a look at:

1. GAU- General Assistance to the Unemployed

One of the tools that our governor can use to balance the budget is to cut vital human services. GAU is the socially-stigmatized way that individuals who are disabled (for a myriad) of reasons temporarily are able to receive financial assistance until they can get back on their feet, and a service that will be lost come January 1st unless we do something about it:

http://groups.google.com/group/wsch_news/browse_thread/thread/54aaf6f7b1888a6e?hl=en


2. Homeless Person's Memorial Day Candlelight Vigil December 19th (Tacoma) although a Spokane Vigil would be more than excellent:

http://groups.google.com/group/wsch_news/browse_thread/thread/992949aa939db0cc?hl=en

"Life on the streets can quickly lead to death on the streets; shelter can literally mean the difference between life and death. The average age of death for homeless persons is about 50, non- homeless Americans can expect to live to age 78. People experiencing homelessness are three to four times more likely to die prematurely than their housed counterparts, according the
National Health Care for the Homeless Council."

Spokane's very own Blog Bible 12.2.08

Hey Sports Fans-

The local Spokane Blog Bible is just getting collated and ready for production, and 7,000 made the cut! There are 14 different local Spokane blogs presented in a neat little stocking stuffer that everyone should pick up this holiday season. Keep your eyes peeled for this little item at local retailers this holiday season.

House of Charity Episode 4 12.1.08

One of the hardest things to understand when beginning work at the HoC was the concept that, for those living on street, the cycle of the moon can affect mood.

I'm not kidding. The term lunatic having it's root in the latin lunaticus, according to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunatic) sharing it's stem with luna, the latin word for moon is based on folklore, and debunked often by scientific studies.

Here's a website doing just that (and it's for kids! There are links to dozen's of studies available here):

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/moon.html

However, the studies are society-wide, and have not been done specifically for homeless individuals, who, as a rule, spend more time outside and in the elements than do those of us living indoors. Similar to the persons inspiring the folk-lore, considering we've moved into increasing levels of comfort and separation from the elements as we've 'progressed' as a society. The homeless are in a different circumstance.

But the lunar cycle is just one of the ways in which the HoC finds it's rhythm. There's a daily ebb and flow, a similar experience throughout the week, as well as the month.

It's the yearly cycle that's most drastic. Since the brief snowfall last week, there have been more returning faces that we haven't seen since early spring than I can shake a stick at. Which means one thing--sleeping outside in Spokane is officially becoming less of a chronic condition (i.e. one that makes life difficult) and moving more into the fatal range (i.e. can be life-ending) without the proper equipment.

It also changes shelter life considerably. There are fewer open beds. Travel is difficult, since most use their legs to get them from point A to B, not to mention adequate footwear coming more and more at a premium. Making an appointment may mean getting wet feet that are hard to dry, and the extra travel time may make it hard to get back in time for lunch. Wet boots take quite a bit of time--and room--to dry. Since the outdoors are now less hospitable than the indoors, and more and more people are packing into the shared space, it's hard to get a moment to yourself (something that anyone, homeless or otherwise, needs). Tempers flare, and may result in someone being unwelcome in the shelter--a difficult position considering the outdoor temperature becoming harder and harder to bear.

In short, there is little about winter that isn't stressful on shelter living.

The Number (7294) 11.26.08

In 2004, the City of Spokane counted 7,294 individuals that received services, according to the Ten Year Plan to Address Homelessness in Spokane. To the best of my understanding (and I'm really excited to be wrong about this one) this number hasn't decreased.

This report is available at:

http://www.spokanehomeless.com/sub.aspx?id=382

Spokane vs. Seattle Tent Cities (Nickelsville) 11.25.08

Nickel's Ville--A Model Tent City

http://www.nickelsvilleseattle.org/
(photo taken from homepage)

The Seattle struggle against homelessness has taken a rather personal turn against Greg Nickel's, Seattle's Mayor, who is apparently not an advocate of the homeless in his city.

Thankfully, many are. In order to better facilitate a Spokane tent city, which faces very different obstacles, here are some tips from Nickelsville organizers:

Nickelsville, in contrast to a Spokane tent city (which would most likely remain in a fixed location because of a recent city ordinance with several stipulations toward it's site) moves often. So, there was a site committee to determine the next locations. Spokane's will need a site committee as well in order to determine/facilitate the location.

I'll try and get the requirements for a Spokane tent city up soon.

Nickelsville started with a donation of tents, that would seem quite necessary for a Spokane tent city, although local sponsors may be harder to come by. The structure of such an establishment would need to come from within (as at Nickelsville) in order to provide a self-sustaining community, and media attention should be directed at those within the community, rather than those that brought it into existence.

Most of the materials needed for an undertaking of this magnitude would need to be donated, so there would be a need for a donations committee, to handle supplies of the various sorts and sizes necessary for the operation.

Gonzaga University Continued Rumblings 11.14.08

Recently at Gonzaga University the conversation about a university-sponsored tent city has continued, and social justice advocates in the Gonzaga Justice Club have shown their mettle in a camp out to raise awareness:

Accepting the Challenge (GU student campout)
http://media.www.gonzagabulletin.com/media/storage/paper375/news/2008/11/14/News/Accepting.The.Challenge-3543237.shtml

Gonzaga Panel on Homelessness
http://media.www.gonzagabulletin.com/media/storage/paper375/news/2008/11/14/News/Panel.On.Homelessness.Promotes.Awareness-3543260.shtml

A Letter 11.7.08

This was written by one of the people I know who is homeless. It's an open letter, and is grappling with the same issues that those of us committed to the cause try to understand--but from his own perspective. For him, homelessness is not as much an abstract injustice as a daily reality. He's about my age:

Homeless. When you hear that do you think alcoholic, bum, a person who holds a sign that gave up on life, or a social disease? That is the stigma that a homeless person deals with every day.

For example, I had to carry my 'Gear' on the day I chose to go job hunting. I saw this gas station that had 'Now Hiring' on the door. So I walk in for an application, and the person working said 'It's not for this store!' I thought to myself, 'then why do they have it one their door then?' I still see that person when I buy food with my EBT card.

I can remember when I was a kid, my grandfather and I were in the park eating sandwiches. This homeless person started to walk toward us. My grandfather said, 'Don't look at him or talk to him.' I didn't know at the time, but the stigma was there.

There are some positive sides of being homeless. The friendships, for me I like the free meal sites, and the nice people who give us change. There's this couple I know that have been together longer than the average married couple. They live under a bridge.

The free meal sites, man I can't believe that the homeless population isn't getting more obese 'cause there are a lot of kind people who donate food and the churches that serve the food.

When I panhandle I am very thankful to the people who help 'kickdown' some change and maybe a dollar or two. There are some people who see that stigma and don't acknowledge us but I'm not talking about them. I'm happy for the people who say, "I've been there." You people kick ass.

But my hand is getting tired, so I'll leave you with this. What do you think about us homeless, do you see the stigma like so many others or have you 'been there'?

-CT

Recently, the Gonzaga Bulletin has begun rumblings towards exciting things related to our homeless, like a university-sponsored tent city.

At least the rumblings have started:

Streetwise-
http://media.www.gonzagabulletin.com/media/storage/paper375/news/2008/10/24/Features/StreetWise-3504988.shtml

'Lip service to the city's unsolved problem-
http://media.www.gonzagabulletin.com/media/storage/paper375/news/2008/10/24/Features/lip-Service.To.The.Citys.Unsolved.Problem-3505001.shtml

Grasping the 'Homeless Blues'-
http://media.www.gonzagabulletin.com/media/storage/paper375/news/2008/10/24/Features/Grasping.The.homeless.Blues-3505007.shtml

At House of Charity, all are welcome-
http://media.www.gonzagabulletin.com/media/storage/paper375/news/2008/10/24/Features/At.House.Of.Charity.All.Are.Welcome-3511192-page2.shtml

Granted, the language used by the two editors looking to 'experience homelessness' is offensive, if not just in poor taste. Anyone who would make a joke about the 'homeless diet' even in jest probably needs their head examined, or refer to people persevering through circumstance hard to even comprehend as 'derelicts', well, at least the articles were written.

They do begin the talk of Gonzaga's involvement in a Spokane tent city--which is more than encouraging.

House of Charity Episode 3

One of the nicknames of the House of Charity is the House of Chaos, and with good reason.

I've never really appreciated that nickname myself. When it's brought up, I joke that it ought to have been called the 'House of Love.' Either works, really.

One of the staff members that worked at the House before I did keyed me in on this one--one of the most important aspects of our job working at the shelter is to let people know what to expect. We need to be consistent, to provide clear and fair boundaries, and to explain why things are the way they are, so as to help the people we serve to know that the system is designed for them, not against them, that everything that is done at the House of Charity is designed, through experience, to be the most effective and efficient way of serving the people that visit us. A House of Stability.

Because there's really no telling what might happen when someone leaves our building.

When someone leaves our sanctuary, there is no guarantee except their reputation and their strength of arm (or appearance of it at least) that someone won't attack them--for their backpack, their wallet, maybe even their coat. Maybe worse. It's a far too common occurrence for the homeless population in Spokane to 'get rolled', or have their belongings 'lifted', including their I.D.'s, clothing, sometimes their savings.

This is too much of a reality to ignore, in two parts. It makes the stability portion key--when someone has been victimized, there's got to be something to fall back on. A lot of times that's us. The second part is tricky.

The second part is what we might call 'street justice', or 'saving face', or 'cred'. I'm sure all have been used. It's partly a way to feel like you're able to protect yourself from other people on the street--because they know that you're not someone to they want to upset. Lots of times after someone has been rolled, we hear about how they're going to get them back, or get even, or, a quote I heard last night, "you take from me I'll take from you."

It's like Jr. High. If you're known as the person people can push around, they will. But it's not just some small-scale getting pushed around on the playground at this point. Sometimes, what might be taken is your savings. Or your ticket home.

So people take good care of their reputations, which means for those of us working in this environment it pays dividends to not be calling people out among their peers, since, sometimes their reputation among them is the only reputation they have.

House of Charity Episode 2

Same story, came from digitalagape.blogspot.com:

I'm not sure what I'd do if I had all the convinction of a Southern Baptist preacher as I was explaining my point of view to someone, and they didn't buy it.

Of course, I could be speaking out of my authority. I could be a classically-trained physicist attempting to shed light on Church doctrine, or a Michigan factory worker explaining what life is like in contemporary Buenos Aires.

Speaking outside of experience, more so than my authority.

Authority seems like a much bigger issue. Who we listen to, who's point of view we find valuable, this seems to say quite a bit about ourselves. For example, there's the bit that religious types like to invoke, about Divine authority, showing the importance of God in their lives, there are the people in my life that can tell me what to do and how to do it (to some degree parents, friends, and employers) although whether or not I choose to heed their advice, naturally, could go either way.

Then there's the bit that I've been given based on my position in life--as a high school or college senior (especially in college as a chemistry major), as an athlete, as one of the 'smart kids', or, near as I can tell, as a white male on track for fiscal success. There are people, most of the time younger people on the same path as my own, looking for pointers as they navigate the pitfalls.

This last bit is the difficult part to understand, and appreciate. Especially when a large part of my current position (that of an Americorps Volunteer at the House of Charity) involves making decisions that can radically affect other people's lives--once in awhile giving advice that, if inaccurate, could send someone on a long walk to nowhere on a cold night.

It's a strange position to find oneself in, when a fifty year old man that has spent nearly a quarter century as a Teamster is trusting me for advice on how to care for his rash (the Plan of Action there is to recommend he see a doctor). Or the lady that believes me when I tell her that the House of Charity is a safe place for her to rest for awhile, only to be woke up by a full-scale assault in progress. To be given so much trust by so many strangers who have seen more, done more, and lived more interesting lives than I may ever.

Somehow, because I'm a staff person at the House of Charity, my words count for the people that stay there. The incredible opportunity to dispense advice, or to give words of encouragement, or to simply have people laugh at my jokes, all reflect the odd position of being an authority figure among those that are, sometimes literally, twice or three times my age.

House of Charity Episode 1

This post was originally laid-down on my personal blog, digitalagape.blogspot.com, but I feel like it's more appropos here:

Mostly, though, the House of Charity is an exercise in what fantastic beauty is squeezed out when you put enough people together in such a small space.

I'm serious.

I give a lot of tours where I work, and visiting the upstairs large dorm is always a highlight. 'Picture 84 men sleeping in the same space. It's a wonder there aren't more difficulties than there are.' I'm serious when I say it. Not that the area is packed, it's actually much more hospitable than any other grouping of 84 beds that I've ever seen, and much more sanitary. The staff at the House of Charity work extremely hard on that end. It's looking out and seeing the sleeping quarters of nearly ninety men all in one room that's humbling.

There's something to be said about space and how much people need it to themselves. During daytime services, the shelter I work at sees nearly 300 people come in the door, give or take. There's honestly no telling who will walk in next, be it a broke-down truck driver with a tobacco-stained mustache, or some kid younger than myself who's attempting to skip more class than he attends (high school, and as long as he's over 18, he's welcome at the HoC). Where I work transcends boundaries, all those physical, social, cultural norms that spring up when there's enough room and time for folks to get peace and quiet.

About the only cultural practice that seems to be salient through the House of Charity is the night-time rituals of slowing down that are so rarely seen in the college life. We open in the evenings, from 6 to 8pm, and men start going upstairs to bed at 7. Some play dice, some watch a bit of a movie on a portable DVD player, some read. Mostly, though, the men and women are slowing down from (often) a much longer work-day than I'm putting in, and are able to get some time to themselves. Some eat a bit--asking me to warm up a burrito they bought at the local Quik-Mart, or some fast food that they picked up on their way in.

Some have drank too much, and might totter, or talk too loudly, or otherwise disturb the peace. Most of the time these folks are hushed quickly by staff, or by other patrons. Sometimes they require coaxing, or a ride to DETOX, where they can sleep off whatever bender they find themselves on.

Once in a while when people have drank too much they're carried in by their sober friends. Mostly these guys just recognize what they'd like to have happen if the shoe were on the other foot, and sling their fallen comrade's limp arm over their shoulder, and set them where they won't tip.

It's in actions like these, where people who might literally have nothing in the world to their name save medical bills, and still take the time to help out those around them, that I'm impressed with my species, and with the earnest dignity of those so many look down upon, if they see them at all.

What it is. 10.31.08

On any given day in Spokane, Washington, the commonly accepted number of homeless lands somewhere around 7,000.

This means that there are more homeless than there are total Gonzaga students--and most likely more when staff, faculty, and service crews are tallied.

The number of Seattle homeless is only about 8,000, according to shelter staff.

This leads to questions. Why Spokane? What is is that is so special about our city that lends itself so to a large homeless population? Anyone can notice the homeless, if we take the time. The visible minority panhandle under the bridge, near Dick's Hamburgers, or can be seen walking along the low-income service corridor portion of downtown (2nd and 3rd Ave) to various appointments, social services, or hanging out around and in the public library, the park, under the train bridges, or in the parking lot across from the Satellite.

This project of mine (the author) is simple--humanize the dehumanized in Spokane. Not that this is a clear, straightforward process, because those that dehumanize people in Spokane because they lack shelter, adequate support for a debilitating condition, or have clothing priorities (like warmth!) that outweigh keeping up on the latest fashion trends, well they aren't the sort of people that would become activists or advocates, or read this blog.

There's a lot of ground to cover before this project can be realized (hence the need for this online forum). Let's get started. Once we realize that it's to everyone's benefit for people to be able to live healthy, happy lives, the motivations for working to keep people in homes, off the street, and having options for employment, recreation, and enjoyment of life are obvious.

It's also difficult, given the individualistic model for success we have in our country, to understand our role in this process. Simply put, because our culture values financial success, and gives praise to the successful, then those that are poor are automatically looked down upon. This is not to say that we shouldn't give credit to the rich! But congratulating someone on their wealth oftentimes mistakes the process by which they came across their financial success. The dangerous assumption, though, is to consider a financially successful person to be a good person. Some of the values that one could reasonably associate with financial success--a strong work ethic, a 'me first' mentality toward the future, aggressiveness, domination of others, a good ability to plan, to name a few--are certainly valued in our social landscape.

These aren't necessarily the values promoted by any religion, religious philosophy, folk tradition. That being said, perhaps there's room for error.

Without alienating those of us (myself included) who have been given much, it's important to recognize that this is the case--and that those that have not been given enough are not necessarily to blame for this circumstance.

These circumstances are the ones that need changing. Circumstances that can be dehumanizing, like living on the street, are to everyone's detriment.