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.