Brutal Cold + Brutal Reality For Homeless Families/Youth

Keynote speeches can be good or bad, stimulating or numbing. At the Beyond Housing conference put on by the venerable Institute of Children, Poverty and Homelessness in NYC last week, I could have danced on the table during Ralph da Costa Nunez’s opening salvo.

Ever the contrarian, this respected guru of all things to help homeless families took a major shot at the homelessness “cure” de jour, Housing First aka Rapid Rehousing. Nunez spared no words. It doesn’t work as a one-size-fits-all (underfunded) approach to ending homelessness. My dear friend and sister-blogger Pat LaMarche captured the sense of his proclamation.

Now, let me add my 2¢ worth: whatever well-intentioned approaches communities have to assist families and youth moving from the streets to sheets (and all the other essentials of home), far more communities have nothing. Read that again.

Maybe it’s the ivory tower syndrome:

• I’m doing good in my job helping homeless families and youth, so everyone else is probably doing the same. (Hello, organizations in big cities that have resources.) 
• I don’t see any homeless families/youth, so they’re all OK or we don’t have any here. 
• I’ve heard this isn’t a problem, so it’s not.

Or worse:

• I get HUD funding so I can’t say anything bad about this absurd policy that excludes million of homeless families/youth.
• I will agree with this policy of Housing First because I want it to work (and I get HUD funding so I can’t bite the hand that feeds me). 
• It would be too much work to change things to better serve homeless families/youth. 
• They should try harder to solve the problem on their own. I’ve got too much to do as it is.

Having spent many grueling years running shelters for individuals, families and youth over 18, I feel I’ve got skin in the game. (My bio) Having spent the past 9 years traversing the country listening to and chronicling families and youth in homeless situations (3-min YouTube vid), I feel obligated to bring their story to the table. Having spent 30+ years advocating ending homelessness (How’s that working? Not!), I can’t stay quiet when these rare discussions hit the media wave.

I wrote a book, Crossing the Line: Taking Steps to End Homelessness, because I was dismayed about the lack of understanding of homelessness among policymakers and the public. Here’s a 1-page excerpt from my missive that list some causes of family/youth homelessness. (You can order the e-book or real book at my HEAR US website.)

20+ years ago I astoundingly found myself fighting against so-called advocates in Illinois who said we didn’t need a state law to remove barriers commonly experienced by homeless students trying to get into school. Yes we did. We got it, and now it’s federal law. And millions of kids have had access to 6-hours a day of educational stability, meals (albeit not the greatest), and a shot at escaping poverty through education.

So I’m not backing down when it comes to demanding that our affordable-housing-destroying government steps up mightily to right the wrongs of the past 30 years of what doesn’t pass for viable housing policies. Here’s a 3-minute video critiquing  “Rapid Rehousing,” produced by Nunez’s organization, ICPH.

Housing First, the touted “solution” to homelessness, has been primarily directed at those derogatorily dubbed “chronic” homeless persons, and grossly inadequate funding has caused organizations to fight brutally. You should be a little suspicious when HUD and HUD-funded agencies fight to keep a narrow definition of homelessness that excludes most families, youth and non-chronic adults.

Ralph suggests Housing Second and Third. And funding these approaches. That would take us beyond our one-size-fits-all mentality to addressing this growing national scandal. Why we have to fight about this baffles me.

I’d suggest those who think we’re doing enough to help homeless families and youth to leave the comfort of their cozy work/home environments and spend a day or 2 (preferably with kids in tow) looking for a place to stay. Yeah, Housing First is a good slogan but a lousy blanket. 

 (Originally posted by me on my AlterNet blog)

Holiday Homelessness Reports: Poppycock!

Sure as Santa replaces Halloween costumes on store shelves, pseudo-heart-wrenching reports about homelessness pummel us between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tis' the season of befuddling accounts “documenting” our nation’s "progress" fighting homelessness.

With decades of paltry federal homelessness-abating efforts failing to stem the tide of individuals and families finding themselves roofless, HUD’s recent claim that homelessness is decreasing might cause a raised eyebrow or two. But no, mainstream media dashes off a drivel-filled dab pronouncing: Mission accomplished. Tomorrow, the US Conference of Mayors releases their annual hunger and homelessness report. With decades of perusing these documents, I could save them the money and write it myself:

Hunger and homelessness is decreasing for some, increasing for others. Federal investments in programs to address these crises are decreasing. Economic conditions continue to worsen. More people are suffering.

One might be inclined to ask, with the dramatic loss of affordable housing, record un- and under-employment, brutal sequester-related cuts to social safety net programs, decades of ravaging federal support for anything to do with keeping people from the worst of poverty…how do the numbers of homeless people decline? This, after all, is the era of epitome Scrooge-like behavior on the part of government, ebbing corporate generosity, and, oh yeah, those pesky paychecks can't keep pace with the cost of living either.

How do HUD officials pass off their Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress with straight faces? Why doesn’t the headline “Homelessness Down, but Poverty Up” get attention for the absurdity factor?

Little consideration gets paid to how the majority of the 99% struggle to pay for essentials, like housing, health care and food. The recent NYT article describing struggles of working stiffs unable to pay the rent points out some indisputable facts: “Today, millions of poor Americans are caught in a similar trap, with the collapse of the housing boom helping stoke a severe shortage of affordable apartments. Demand for rental units has surged, with credit standards tight and many families unable to scrape together enough for a down payment for buying a home. At the same time, supply has declined, with homebuilders and landlords often targeting the upper end of the market.”

What about those dire circumstances would allow homelessness to recede?

A recent report by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies confirms the impact of the shortage of affordable housing on the legions of income-challenged households. As Bryce Covert on Moyers & Co. points out, “There is very little affordable housing available. These low-income renters who make $15,000 or less would have to find housing that costs less than $375 a month, yet the median monthly cost for housing that was built in the last four years is more than $1,000. Less than a third of those units rents for under $800, and a mere 5 percent go for less than $400. There were just 6.9 million housing units that these renters could afford in 2011, but there are 11.8 of these renters, and to top it off, 2.6 million of the affordable units are occupied by higher-income people.”

She adds, “The availability of low-cost housing has been declining for decades — in 1970, there was an actual surplus of 300,000 low-cost rental units, but by 2011, there was a shortfall of 5.3 million units.”

So, ‘splain it to me like I’m a 6-year-old. How do decades of declining availability of low-cost housing units, rising long-term unemployment, inadequate wages, slashed government investments in human essentials, long-lasting global economic demise, increasing numbers of renters, sequester government spending slashing, and a growing population combine to REDUCE homelessness?

Seems like the same folks foisting Santa on unsuspecting lil’ kids are at it again, making believe that a housing fairy is flitting about as the bamboozlers steal cookies from the plate on the kitchen table. And the US Mayors Conference drank the kook-aid. Fa-la-la-la-la….

Also posted on Diane's AlterNet, Speakeasy page.

The Weirdness of Facebook

Posted to my Facebook page October 12, 2013 at 5:28pm

A simultaneous conversation between 2 people I know and love...and me is way too weird.

On one thread, a former employee who worked with me helping homeless families.

The other thread, a formerly homeless mom that I've gotten to know quite well.

My former employee, hard-working, mother and a decent person.

My mom-friend, a hard-working stay-at-home single mother and a decent person.

The difference? Poverty, opportunity (or lack thereof) and perspective, for starters.

My former employee is evidently listening to the gospel of prosperity in one of its many forms, perhaps designed to encourage people to reach their full potential, thus eschewing dependence on government system, relying on God.

My mom-friend is being ravaged by the reality of poverty and bureaucratic dysfunction keeping her from life-saving surgery for cancer. Insurance-less, she's being denied the surgery she needs because she doesn't have the $13,000 to cover the procedure she desperately needs.

The argument against dependence on a system is valid--as far as it goes. People need to be encouraged to be independent, some need the nudge more than others. However, I don't believe that everyone all the time can avoid the system. And God is, was, and ever shall be distorted by human condition.

In some cases, lacking a personal support network, when the rug gets pulled out from under you by any number of disastrous experiences that can befall any of us at any time, you may need help. Or when you have no where to go but up, and no way to scale the slippery walls surrounding you, lacking a miracle, you'll perish. From what I've seen, miracles are in short supply for too many deserving, unfortunate souls.

In this case, my mom-friend is being told her life is worth nothing by virtue of inaccessible health care. She's been told she makes too much (child support) to qualify for Obamacare coverage.

In my opinion, the hoopla over Obamacare has fueled the disdain of the poor, not to mention a government shutdown, among other things. The haves are looking down on the have-nots, and in this case, the systemic looking down is depriving millions of babies, children, teens and adults of what they need most to live, much less thrive.

Implying that government is bad and people become dependent on hand-outs is a popular position. For religious leaders to preach it is, in my mind, holy malpractice. If this is what their congregations are hearing, then the preachers need a reality check.

I'm not sticking up for government across the board. Plenty is wrong with the way it's been going for a long time. But to toss government out...well...I'm just not sure that Jesus, or any other spiritual force, will be coming down in time to save the imperiled...like my mom-friend who needs surgery NOW.

Have we gotten to a point where we're even more isolated, using church walls to block out society's dysfunction and to separate believers from the undeserving? Inspiring others to reach for the gold and disdain the broken will accomplish just what the puppet-masters seek--total anarchy among the masses.

Whether or not anyone has thought through what this means is a valid concern. The blatant disregard of humanity --and our responsibility for ourselves and others--will bring about a whole new world...far weirder than I can even imagine. For my mom-friend, it very much means her children will lose their mother.

But thinking seems to be in short supply during this crisis of confidence in our elected officials. And we'll all pay the price.

Lost and Forgotten: Income-Challenged Families In America

Lost and Forgotten: an appropriate reference for this neglected blog. Sorry I've been MIA for a while, but I haven't been sitting under a rock. In fact, 2 major events have grasped my time and taught me invaluable lessons in the process.

1. Death of my Mom, Ellie Nilan. On May 9 I received the call that she had quickly and unexpectedly passed away. Ellie was a treat! And she lived life to the full. Her 93rd birthday, on the first day of Summer, approached, but she didn't make it. Ellie was an ardent supporter of HEAR US, and she was an essential part of my life. Our daily 8:45 a.m. calls were our touchstone. I find myself looking at the clock, reaching for my phone...and recalling she's "in the next room" as the What Is Death? meditation reminds us. To continue her generous legacy, the Ellie Nilan Memorial Fund was established by HEAR US. Among other things, her death and dealing with the aftermath, gives me new appreciation for those who struggle with loss.
2. My trip to Tanzania, Africa. A planned trip, my "vacation" so to speak, for 3 weeks in June. I'm part of a nonprofit organization Friends of Imiliwaha NFP. We develop support for a specific educational effort and medical project. Three of us went to see what things looked like on the ground. I've never crossed the Atlantic, so this was an eye-opening trip! And contrary to my little imagination, Tanzania is beautiful! Here's a 5-min video I made showing the school we're supporting. And I penned/typed a blog for AlterNet on our visit vs. President Obama's trip a couple weeks after.

That being said, Lost and Forgotten means much more. It reflects how abysmally this country's leaders are treating the families and individuals on the bottom of the economic ladder. Case in point: the recent slash and burn of food assistance, aka SNAP or food stamps, in Congress. Poor families don't need food. Rich farmers need federal support, billions. Uh huh.

Lost and Forgotten formerly middle-class families got a great visibility boost in the recent PBS film Two American Families. In an unprecedented (at least to my knowledge) look at a 22-year span at the same 2 families, we witnessed the unraveling of their lives as their union jobs fall by the wayside and they struggle to survive. 

Bill Moyers and Company did a fantastic job on this film. But it was ugly. I expressed my feelings about the film in my AlterNet blog, asking the question: How Far Is Your Family From Homelessness? 

Sometimes I feel the frustration of "just" blogging when so much more needs to be done. But if enough people see my blog, watch the film, and contact their elected officials or at least clue-in their neighbors and coworkers, some good will occur. 

Don't know if I was in the Lost and Forgotten category that I'd be satisfied with "some good," which takes me back to my frustration. 

HEAR US has begun our astounding 9th year July 1, 2013. In my wildest dreams I never imagined I'd be sitting here typing those words. HEAR US began out of my frustration--knowing that homeless families and youth populations were skyrocketing at an unprecedented level, but most people didn't even know it was a problem. 

We all can make the world a better place. HEAR US, and my related activities, is my attempt to ease the suffering of the Lost and Forgotten. I'm asking you to at least watch the (free, available online) Two American Families documentary. You'll recognize families you know and love in these stories. If more would watch and learn of others' sufferings...well, I'd like to believe we'd have less Lost and Forgotten. Then I could go MIA and no one would miss me.

P.S. If you read this far and found this worthwhile, please fling it around--Facebook, wherever. Thanks!

A Worthwhile Journey

The ICPH map showing the dearth of family
shelters across the country hung proudly
from Tillie at our Arkansas launching spot--
the Clinton Presidential Library in
Little Rock, AR.

Another cross-country trip--I don't take them lightly. But this one was special. Dubbed Babes of Wrath, my esteemed friend Pat LaMarche and I, supported by our techie Mary Parks, threw everything we had at our EPIC (Everyday People In Crisis) Journey 2013. 6,500 miles (trip map) later, phew, we know it was quite worth it.

The awareness factor of homeless families and kids is dismayingly low--on all levels: elected officials, school personnel, and community members. As Babes of Wrath, we set out to change that in a swath of states from AR to CA, from Pacific to Atlantic coasts.

Tillie, my tin can on wheels, served as our traveling home-office, albeit a tad crowded. We contacted our network--Pat's Green Party and my HEAR US McKinney-Vento and shelter friends--and set up events. The tremendous cooperation we received made our trip extremely worthwhile and satisfying! We cannot thank our friends enough for their efforts, support and hospitality!

In addition to events, Pat and I blogged. She writes for HuffPo and New Clear Vision. I write for AlterNet, as well as my (neglected) invisible homeless kids and Wanderers. 

We received some incredible media interest, including the prestigious cable news show, The Young Turks.

Social media proved to be our super-tool, with our EPIC Journey FB page becoming quite the hotspot of cyberspace.

The crux of our journey--and the reason we did this crazy marathon trip--consists of 2 groups:

• university students and audience members who attended our events; and,
• the people experiencing homelessness who shared their stories with us.

We're excited that the stories and support have lead to a bodacious plot. More on that soon!

We took this journey for each of you--those experiencing homelessness and those working to ease the crisis of homelessness. We're not done yet, so we urge you to join our EPIC Journey family because we've got some exciting news round the corner! 

Knowing your time is limited, unlike our blogs and stories, I'm listing my favorites below. 

Blogs:

• Pat called me a "daft knight" and a middle-age broad, and I'm delighted!
• My double-double-dog dare to 2016 Prez candidates
• An in depth, and disturbing look at Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County's legendary lawless-lawman. Sheriff Joe, Whatta Ya Know? (includes blog and links to transcript and photos)

News stories:

• Focus on the film stars--the kids of My Own Four Walls--People's Tribune
• Flagstaff, AZ covered our event
• The Young Turks news show

Far from feeling all news is bad news, this trip restored my faith in good people doing good things. After 8 years, 166,000 miles, that's the kind of tune-up this gal needed! Happy to share a burst of good news, knowing we all need to hunker down to overpower the naysayers. Count on this "daft knight" to continue my humble efforts. Stick around!

Time 4 Compassion Epidemic In Your Community

The swirl of concern inspired by the latest shooting tragedy, snuffing the lives of 20 innocent little kids and 7 adults in the path of senseless bullets, will likely dwindle in our ADD/ADHD collective psyche. In the dust, if anyone cares to look, are millions of kids clamoring for adult attention and action.

Look in the eyes of this child and make a silent promise to do SOMETHING to make life better for kids in your community. 

HEAR US Inc.  strives to create a compassion epidemic for homeless children/youth in every community. You are cordially invited to learn more and do more.

As we near the end of 2012, and I'm rolling in my 8th year of a challenging but rewarding cross-country sojourn, here are some important observations from my travels....

First:

• Homelessness among families/youth is soaring. Despite the hugely questionable data being touted by HUD and a national homelessness group, showing homelessness going down (based on dubious survey methods and an even worse definition of homelessness), every indication shows millions of invisible families and youth bearing the brunt of this brutally unequal economy.
• Efforts to help homeless families and youth are severely strained. I've yet to hear one organization say anything like--we've got it under control, we have lots of resources, our numbers are dropping, our donations are soaring.
• The safety net does not exist in any meaningful way in any community. That's right. The myth that we have a safety net is a myth. 
• Babies and toddlers are the upcoming homeless student population. By the hundreds of thousands (I fear even more), the Littlest Nomads are being neglect in the prime of their development cycle. They'll show up at school doors unprepared and unable to succeed. 
• Record numbers of homeless kids are moving into adulthood. Sure, some kids will succeed and be independent and productive, but the odds are perilously stacked against them. 

Second:

• A different paradigm is needed. Communities are dutifully dusting off the old tried and failed version of HUD's 10 year plan to end homelessness for round 2. They have to, in order to get HUD funding, but it's far past time for a new approach that doesn't ignore/discount/dismiss the needs of the majority of the homeless population--families and youth.
• Thinking that homeless families and youth can make it on their own is hogwash. Not to dismiss the gallant efforts and stellar abilities of an untold number of house-less parents and kids, but the deck is so significantly stacked against them that it's an unfair fight. Housing assistance wait lists, debt and police record barriers, skyrocketing unemployment, shrinking health services, and diminishing child care are just a few obstacles to success.

Most important (ACTION!), third: 

This is no time to wimp out. The old adage, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" needs to kick into gear big time. 

• Newly (re)elected members of Congress need serious work to do. These homeless families and youth are their constituents, albeit a tad powerless. Local efforts can change that. Involve their local office in this unaddressed issue.
• Legislators are clueless as to the scope of homelessness in their communities. 
• Give them a copy of My Own Four Walls (dvd), on the edge: Family Homelessness in America (dvd), or host a screening in your community and make sure they're in the audience. (preview short trailers on our website, http://hearus.us) Anyone in the audience--from parents without homes to parents with more than adequate homes-- can benefit.
• Let them know you think this issue is vital. Invite them to visit and volunteer at local shelters, if your community has them.
• We can all do something to help. See above. 

It's time for a compassion epidemic in every community across this great land. The only thing stopping us is us.

• Check the discussion guides on the HEAR US website. All designed to inform and inspire. 
• Kids experience trauma all the time. It's up to the rest of us to help them cope with the hand they've been dealt. Here's one resource. But remember, it's how we treat the kids around us that can create a ripple effect of compassion.

Whatever fuels your determination to make a difference in your community, thereby creating a ripple of compassion, joining with like-minded persons across the land...well, it's time. Compassion epidemic, catch it!

Clash of the Egg-Heads and the Enlightened

I can't resist a fight. Especially when it comes to underdogs, or under-people, in this case, homeless families.

The US Interagency Council on Homelessness , the federal agency charged with spearheading our nation's efforts to alleviate homelessness, just posted a blog, astonishingly called "Taking Risks..." when addressing family homelessness. Read it, or at least skim it. You'll see what I mean, even if you're not from this wonky world of bureaucratic bullshit.

I picture these securely-housed, well-dressed women and men standing on the ledge of the U.S. Capitol, peering down, realizing how dangerous their position is. Then I picture the families I've known over the years, and the compounded risks they encounter every day. Who's in a riskier situation? Those who risk a "mistake" by thinking outside the tattered boxes that we've used as a pathetic national response to homelessness, or the families contemplating how to get a box to live in because their community lacks any kind of help for those without a place to live?

Ironically, or maybe not, my friend Ralph da Costa Nunez has a HufPo column today (11/7/12) too. He talks about a riskier solution, based on the abysmal reality of a dearth of affordable housing in this country. He thinks some families might be better off if they could stay in some sort of shelter environment--admittedly not the stark, in-at-night out-in-the-morning shelters in many communities. I agree with him, for reasons too numerous to list here and now.

Another friend of mine, Mattie Lord, with years of experience working with systems and shelters, recently shared with me a powerful testament to the absurdity, in some cases, of the federal approach to homelessness--something developed and promoted by the likes of the USICH. The staff at UMOM, a respected shelter/service provider in Phoenix, looked at the barriers that the hardest to serve families faced.

Let me tell you, the USICH approach to their theoretical path to end homelessness would be a big FAIL when it comes to the reality of many homeless families. USICH and friends are the same folks who have vigorously fought to restrict the definition of homelessness, eliminating the scores of families in motels and/or staying with others in precarious situations. I dunno, it's hard to trust their judgment when it comes to families/youth.

For me, the most powerful reality check when it comes to homelessness are the people experiencing it.

(Watch the 4-minute clip of My Own Four Walls, our acclaimed documentary. Purchase this $40 DVD and share it in your community.) 

They'll tell you that one-size-fits-all solutions don't fit. They'll put the URGENT in your thinking. They'll move you to take risks, because every day we diddle around and debate approaches means a baby sleeps in the cold, a toddler goes without cuddling, a student sits outside school doors, a youth contemplates grim possibilities, a parent fears failure, and we as a nation lose. What's risky?

HEAR US is willing to fight for those kids and families who've been ignored. Reality trumps ivory-tower-theories every time.

Join us on Facebook to keep up with our efforts and to offer encouragement! We need you!