So, I have been working in the office and with clients now for two weeks. This, by no means, makes me an expert on the situations that arise. I am however able to judge how stable (may not be the right word) their life is after talking to them for a little bit. Even though I am no expert and still have no idea what to do in certain situations other than start to look for answers on the internet and through some of our community partners, I have begun to have a change in perspective. It is one that is somewhat scary due to the nature of the change, but is seems to be true. Let me explain...
For those of you who don't know, I had the great opportunity this past year to be a part of a feeding ministry with the church that I am a part of while at school. The feeding ministry is directed towards those who live in a subsidized apartment complex. Through this, I have been able to get to know tens of people in the building. It has been quite an enjoyable experience and also saddening experience as everyday that we distribute groceries, we were faced with real life. For example, there is one guy, who is in a wheel chair and has asthma and his wife has been in and out of the hospital for the last couple years. It is disheartening to see his face when I, perhaps in ignorance and stupid attempt to connect, ask how he is doing. It was so clear that he wished he could say good, but it hasn't been for quite a while. Instead, he simply lowers his head and says something of the sort that he's making it. I bring this up not to play with your emotions, but to give you an accurate account of the life issues that are so present in this place.
When I came to this internship, I was fairly comfortable as i had worked with and interacted with people of the same socio-economic class. I knew some of the realities that they faced and thought that i had a pretty good understanding of life, not necessarily in arrogance, but hopeful expectation. In the same sense, I was troubled by the low quality of life. To put it simply, I thought that this was the bottom...
After only two weeks of working in the office with clients, I have begun to see things differently. Oh, how i was wrong... Granted, I have seen a lot of clients come into the office over the past two weeks (Each day I work with about 3-8 clients directly each day, although today I helped 13 clients personally - our office helps about 15-20 each day on average). Over the past two weeks with working with clients directly in applying for housing and searching for available housing, I have begun to open my eyes a little wider. I may come to see this differently in the future, but here are my thoughts... While I used to see subsidized housing as one of the lowest ends of the spectrum, it is actually one of the highest. The lowest on the spectrum of housing situation is clearly homeless. Those either affected by at one time, or those stuck in the cycle of homelessness, living on the streets, etc. The other end of the spectrum would be for someone to be able to rent a market-rate apartment. This would suggest that they have a job of some sort since a 1 bedroom apartment in New Haven goes for 900-950 a month and SAGA (a complicated acronym for state welfare) is about $600 at its highest (and that is generally only for those who are disabled or unable to work). Anyways, the goal is to help people get a job for those who are able, but some or a lot are not even able to do that, either from a physical or mental disability. This group probably qualifies and lives off of $630 or so a month. In this case, the best option for them is a section 8 voucher. This means that the government gives them a voucher for any apartment for rent within a certain price range for different #'s of rooms (i think 1350 for a 1 bedroom apartment). The person then pays 1/3 of their income towards the rent and the government pays the rest. This is a great program and allows the individual/family to not spend 80-90% of their income on high rent. While this is a really good program, it is really limited. Most cities have waiting lists of 10 years to get a section 8 voucher and in New Haven, you the waiting list isn't even open. Often times, the list will open for a short period where people can apply to get on the waiting list, sometimes for a day, sometimes longer. Thus, since this is limited, the next best option seems to be subsidized housing, where the individual/family pays 1/3 of their income towards housing for an apartment in a number of various apartment complexes around the city.
I hope this isn't too confusing... I am still trying to understand it all, but it is interesting how what I once conceived was practically the lowest end of the spectrum in terms of housing is now one of the best options available and is typically a legitimate one. In comparison to the other options of either living on the streets exposed to the weather or even in shelters where you are only able to spend the night (about 6 pm to the morning) and being exposed to the weather conditions during the whole day, subsidized housing begins to look pretty good. It gives someone a stable place to stay where they can start to piece together their life. I have begun to realize how difficult it is for me to conceptualize the difficulty andt he structure of the system as even after a year, i did not completely grasp the benefits... I am still struggling with the difficulties and real life issues that people face in these situations and am by no means saying that people of other socio-economic status don't face real life issues. But there seems to be a greater stress and difficulty in dealing with these issues when you don't know where you are sleeping the next night or even how you are going to feed your children.
The questions lurk within my mind and remain unanswered... (perhaps questions that are not asked very often because they often don't have an easy answer - maybe we should be better at asking questions that don't have an easy answer).
What can I do about it?
How can the system be better?
What can we as a society do to change this world in a positive way?
What is the best way to help people get out of this endless and tormenting cycle?
Is there always going to be a way to help individuals? And if not, how do I face that? Do i accept it and move on? Or am i deeply devastated?
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3 comments:
The plight of the homeless and under-resourced is truly a sad situation and one difficult to know what to really do in order to make a difference and impact the outcomes. A couple of Fridays ago we went to a Tom Petty concert downtown. After we parked, got out of the car and were heading to the concert, we ran into Washington, a man we know through volunteering at Degage. (Washington is homeless and has lived downtown for 22 years.) I hugged Washington and introduced him to our friends. He told us to have a great time at the concert. Much to our surprise, while walking back to our car after the concert, we ran into Washington again. This time he had his bedroll neatly laid out in the doorway of a business ... this would be where he would sleep that night. We talked for awhile and Washington was glad we stopped by to talk. When we left him my heart was sad because it became even more real to me that my friend was homeless. The next morning I woke up to the sound of rain hitting the house ... my first thought was of Washington sleeping outside.
What can we do? This is a hard question that I too wrestle with.
Homelessness is a serious problem. We sometimes erroneously think of it as something that happens to people who are alcoholics, drug addicts or just don't want to work. But, it can happen to anyone given the right circumstances, such as losing a job, an unexpected illness not covered by insurance, etc. And once a person is in that situation, it can be very difficult to get out from under it.
Some are not homeless, but under-resourced. They are blessed to have a roof over their heads and a place to call their own through section 8 or subsidized housing. Unfortunately, as you have shared, these options are not easy to come by. There is much need and not enough resources.
What can we do? I wish I knew the answer. I hope you and others will share thoughts and add ideas to this list of … Maybe we could …
• Write to our legislators asking them to allocate more funds to this area.
• Provide financial support to local missions or community centers that assist the homeless and under-resourced.
• Volunteer.
• Intern with NSP :)
• Care.
I added “care” because of a strong belief that caring is an important part of the process. Remember in Mike Yankoski’s book, Under The Overpass, how Mike (a college student who chose to become homeless for 5 months) talked about feeling invisible, abandoned by society and like no one cared? Every person wants and deserves to be valued.
Thinking back to the Saturday morning in April distributing groceries to people at Patten Towers with you and the group … we were unable to solve their problems, but we came and we cared … and brightened their day. By visiting, listening and meeting a tangible need for food they knew that someone cared for them. It was neat that David bought and delivered bird seed for Miss Sally because the time he visited previously she was feeding her bird bread because she didn't have any bird seed. And, Jessica bringing an electric can opener for Mary because she was concerned about Mary not being able to open cans because of the stroke that had affected Mary’s right side. And the art supplies and paper because she knew that Mary loved to draw. And just watching all of you interact with people whose lives you had touched and gotten to know over the past year was a true blessing.
What can we do?
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” ~Matthew 25:40
Wow, that was a long post, wasn't it.? :)
Cor,
Thx for sharing your heart. It does sound like there are many aspects to discover in this "big wide world" around us. I have often wondered what kind of resources there are available for those in need. Yes, there should be more ways & means (financially) to bring about more assistance. I'm pleased to see God working so meaningfully in your lives (you & Jess). May He reveal more answers to you both as you continue your journey.
Loved ya, Mom
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