Homelessness in the News

Lots of items to talk about of late: an update on our buddy, Mark Horvath, creator of invisiblepeople.tv, an interesting school project in Chicago, the latest studies from HUD and the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, and tent city.

I had a chance to meet Mark Horvath about a month ago, when he visited Seattle to talk about his work documenting the stories of homeless people. Since then, he has begun his road trip across America. I’ve been trying to keep up via my Facebook page, and just started following him on Twitter (I NEVER thought I’d sign up for Twitter, but this project prompted me to enlist…growth is change, change is growth. Right, Dad?). Anyway, Mark’s stories about stories are amazing. The LA Times wrote about his road trip a few days ago.

I came across this project while reading an article in the Chicago Tribune. It is, like Mark’s work, an attempt at ‘making the invisible visible, the inhuman human’.

The latest report from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty lists the top 10 worst cities in terms of criminalizing homelessness. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I gave a great big sigh o’ relief when I saw that my beloved Seattle wasn’t on there (now if we could just get officials to use our tax dollars to keep people out of jail instead of building more places to put them…see my last item for more info). In case you’re wondering, Los Angeles received the dubious honor of being Numero Uno on this list, which doesn’t surprise me. I was a little put off by the report’s use of the term “meanest” city or cities. I’ve actually been to 4 of the top 10 cities on the list, and I doth protest…a little. “Dumbest”, maybe, in terms of a severe lack of understanding of the underlying issues that make someone homeless (heads up, LA…you can’t get rid of homelessness by getting rid of homeless people). But I think “mean” is a little harsh.

But I’m not going to argue with a bunch of lawyers.

According to the latest Homeless Assessment Report to Congress from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, “there were early signs that the economic crisis may be affecting trends in homelessness nationally.” Ummm, “may be”? Other discoveries of an earth-shattering nature:

-The number of people in families accessing shelters in 2008 increased by 9%, “suggesting that family homelessness may be on the rise”…again, “may be”?? [Why is this thing written like someone's trying to cover their a**?]

-Homelessness in suburban and rural areas increased substantially for both individuals (34% from 07 to 08) and families (56% from 07 to 08). These are areas that traditionally don’t have a lot of social services easily accessible locally.

The Washington State Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of the Northshore United Church of Christ (and, by proxy, the residents of Tent City 4), saying that the City of Woodinville had violated the church’s Constitutional rights by refusing to consider a permit application by the church to host Tent City on its grounds back in 2006. The bureaucratic details of the case make me slightly wary of the City’s reasons for not considering the application, but suffice it to say I think it’s a good precedent set by the high court.

On a less enthusiastic “Tent City” note, the University of Washington recently decided to postpone its decision on hosting Tent City 3 at its Seattle campus. Despite all evidence to the contrary, some residents and students still equate ‘hosting Tent City’ with an ‘increase in criminal activity’ in a particular neighborhood. The truth is, while Tent Cities may not be the best long-term solution to homelessness, residents of these encampments live by a strict code of conduct and set of criteria for who can live there. According to the King County Sheriff’s office, there has never been “a problem with increased crime in a neighborhood where Tent City” is being hosted. I hope the UW can figure out the logistics of hosting TC3 soon…

The “No New Jail / I-100” movement will host a rally at Seattle City Hall (corner of 4th & James) this Wednesday, July 22nd, at 11 AM. If you work downtown, get out of the office for a while and come show city officials that ‘we prefer classrooms to jail cells, and investing in people instead of prisons.’

Patrick Kelley