Check out the highlights from the Live TwitterChat following the national digital viewing of Storied Streets!
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#NHHAW – Storied Streets Q&A
As we kick off National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, we encourage everyone to take to social media and share something that they have learned with their networks. Remember to tag #NHHAW!
See what people are saying here:
On Tuesday, October 21, Fort Lauderdale Commissioners will vote on a proposed ordinance that will severely limit the capabilities of groups to distribute food to people experiencing homelessness. According to our research, over 30 American cities that have tried to introduce similar legislation in the past two years.
The new report, Share No More: The Criminalization of Efforts to Feed People In Need, documents the recent known cases of food-sharing restrictions throughout the country. Since January 2013, 21 cities have restricted the practice of sharing food with people who are experiencing homelessness while at least ten others have introduced ordinances that are pending approval.
These restrictions primarily come about in three different forms; the first is by restricting the use of public property. In this scenario, individuals and organizations are generally required to obtain a permit, often for a fee, to share food in a park or in another public space. 12 cities have recently passed legislation that imposes this type of restriction.
The second type of legislative restriction is to require groups to comply with city/county/state food-safety regulations. Since January 2013, four cities have passed legislation that required individuals and organizations to comply with their food-safety regulations when sharing food with people experiencing homelessness.
The last method utilized to deter food-sharing are community actions driven by the principle of “Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY)”. Often, local businesses and homeowners do not want to attract people experiencing homelessness to their community join together to put pressure on local government or directly on individuals and organizations that share food with people experiencing homelessness. These groups are harassed and in result feel compelled to relocate their food-sharing efforts or cut the program all together. Since January 2013, four cities have successfully utilized this tactic, with local community pressure, to pass legislation to restrict sharing food with people experiencing homelessness.
This year’s food-sharing report attempts to address the myths and motivations that often drive the demand for food-sharing restrictions. While the evidence is overwhelming that this practice is too common, there are some success stories that prove that these restrictions do not need to stand. Citizens can use the same community pressure to stop these laws from taking effect. Some faith-based organizations have led the fight to protect their First Amendment Right to openly practice their religion. There are a number of policies we can advocate for on the local, state, and federal level to protect the civil rights of those experiencing homelessness.
Since January, 2013 the following 22 cities have passed ordinances that restrict the food-sharing process.
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For more information about food-sharing restrictions please read this year’s report and/or contact the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Why you should think about youth homelessness this Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week by Deirdre Walsh, NCH Intern
Youth homelessness is this year’s central theme for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. While the issues associated with living in poverty are difficult for all, homeless youths encounter unique obstacles when trying to secure housing, employment, health care, and emergency services. Discrimination and a lack of opportunities put American youths at great risk to be on the streets without access to shelter, appropriate resources, and protection. The National Campaign for Youth Shelter seeks to provide all young people, ages 24 and under with immediate access to safe shelter, affirming the principles that no young person in the United States should be left homeless in the streets. This commitment calls attention to the causes of youth homelessness and its troublesome existence in the United States today.
Each year, as many as 500,000 unaccompanied youths experience homelessness. Many homeless young people have fled abusive homes, left or aged out the foster care system without resources, or been rejected by their families because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Increased discrimination against the homeless youth population is leading thousands to life on the street and the need is greater than ever for shelter beds and resources. The National Campaign for Youth Shelter calls for an immediate commitment of 22,000 shelter beds and services to match the impending influx of youths requesting services. The campaign also calls for a more accurate and comprehensive effort to count the number of homeless youth in the nation in order to determine the number of beds that are needed over the next decade. It is only through understanding the ongoing issue and realities of homeless youth that their needs can be address.
Schools and community groups can support this campaign. When planning events for this year’s H&H Week, event organizers can shine an important light on vulnerable youth populations. NCH is encouraging groups to take actions that will be matched around the country to start a movement that will keep fighting long after Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Find your local shelter that provides resources specifically to homeless youth and see what they need or what resources they lack. Advocate on the behalf of discriminated LGBTQ youths to your local, state, and federal officials. Help your community know what resources are needed and raise funds and materials for your local shelter. Our society cannot sustain the lack of resources for homeless youth. There is only 1 bed available for every 125 homeless youth. Awareness and advocacy this Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week can help to increase the number of youth shelter beds increase and decrease the number of homeless youth on the streets.
Download the Planning Guide for advice on organizing youth-focused awareness events.
Speaking on Homelessness at Northern Virginia Mosque – By Andrea Barron, NCH Volunteer
Since 1999, the Faces of Homelessness Speakers Bureau has made over 3,000 presentations throughout the United States. It has held hundreds of events at synagogues, churches, public and private schools and universities, but never at a mosque. This was about to change. On September 13, Dana Woolfolk and Candi Darley became the first NCH speakers to visit a mosque.
Dana and Candi were invited to speak at Dar al-Hijrah in Falls Church, Virginia by Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, the mosque’s Outreach Director. September 13 was a special day in Virginia – it was designated as a “Day to Serve” by the mayor of Washington DC and the Governors of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. In Northern Virginia, volunteers from religious communities collected food donations for the food pantries at Dar al-Hijrah and the Annandale Christian Community for Action (ACCA).
Candi shared her experiences with “Day to Serve” volunteers at the mosque, and with the Latina women waiting to register for the food pantry. Originally from Panama, Candi had not spoken publicly in Spanish for years. But she made such an impression on the Latina women, mostly from El Salvador, that some of them discussed inviting her to speak about homelessness at their churches.
Dana addressed over 150 Muslims, immediately following prayer services. He spoke movingly about how he had once been addicted to drugs and alcohol and lived on the streets for three years. But he overcame his addiction and now works as a therapist and Clinical Recovery Coach and has become one of the leading advocates on homelessness in Virginia.
“I was honored to be the first representative from the National Coalition for the Homeless at a mosque,” said Dana. Everyone at Dar al-Hijrah treated me like a brother and made me feel welcome. Imam Johari can be a strong ally for us to end homelessness in Northern Virginia.”
“The tenets of Islam underscore the importance of caring for the miskeen (poor in Arabic),” said Imam Johari. “So it is a fulfillment of our faith to care for the homeless and the hungry. Often times people do not see the face of what hunger and homelessness look like—Dana showed us that people who are now or used be homeless are just like us.”
The Imam said he hopes to work with the National Coalition on a “Day of Action about Homelessness” in January 2015, when Muslims celebrate the birth of the prophet Mohammed. Thanks to Candi and Dana, NCH is now on its way to building a relationship with the Muslim community of Northern Virginia.
Planning for National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week, An Organizer’s Perspective – By Deirdre Walsh, NCH Intern
Planning events for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week can seem daunting. What will you do? Will the events be oriented towards service or education? How do you know that you are planning the right type of event? These are all common questions when starting the planning process, but the most important thing to remember is that you are not alone. Last year, over 750 high schools, colleges, community groups, and faith-based organizations nationwide hosted events including clothing drives, speaking engagements, educational films, and voluntarily nights without a home to understand the struggles related to the experience of homelessness. Now it is your turn to look at the impacts of poverty around you, educate yourself, and call your communities to action to help end hunger and homelessness!
The planning process must start off with two major elements. The first is a team to brainstorm and execute programs. Bring together individuals from different backgrounds who share an enthusiasm for helping to end poverty. Volunteers can be individuals who donate their time to their local soup kitchen, community leaders, and individuals who are or have experienced homelessness. Their commitment to the cause will be a part of everything you do and show others why they too should become involved. The second is a theme. It may be cliché, but the theme is everything! It helps you to clarify your goals and prevents your programming from becoming muddled. This year, the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) is encouraging groups to focus on youth homelessness, in honor of the launch of the National Campaign for Youth Shelter. With only 4,000 shelter beds for as many as 500,000 young people (16-24 years old), NCH recognizes that the time has come for us all to fight for more safe shelter for vulnerable youths in our communities. No matter what aspect of poverty you choose to highlight, a unifying theme is a way to bring your passions and ideas together to make your week a success!
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is dedicated to education and awareness about poverty-related issues within our local communities and across the nation. Poverty has many different causes and there are a variety of factors affecting those experiencing poverty and homelessness today. It is wise to think outside of the box and go beyond stereotypes to create awareness programs that are diverse, unique, and creative. An important element to planning an educational program is to know your audience. On a college campus, students embrace volunteerism and enjoy making toiletry kits, trail mix packs on-the-go, and sandwiches. Your local community group may want to organize a clothing drive or Oxfam Hunger Banquet while your faith-based organization can host a round table discussion to discuss poverty, its causes, and how it can be eliminated.
Engage your community! Some of the most prevalent needs may be around the corner. Rather than make assumptions, see what your local soup kitchen or community center needs. If you invite a speaker, invite someone who is local and can share experiences within the community. Engagement with local organizations and individuals has the potential to establish long-lasting relationships and service opportunities that can extend your efforts beyond H&H Week. The National Coalition for the Homeless can provide you with many more ideas for events and educational resources. Check out the 2014 manual to be inspired.
Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week brings people together from across the country to educate and promote change for some of the country’s most dire issues. You can be a part of this movement and help your community become a part of the solution. Planning your events is the first step to making hunger and homelessness a thing of the past. After you have planned your events, don’t forget to register them on the NCH website to become part of our national map and let participants in your area and across the country know what you are doing to celebrate Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week 2014!
40 Years of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act by Frank McAlpin, Guest Blogger
This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), which has provided funding for services to youth experiencing homelessness across the nation. And 40 years after the initial legislation, the services that RHYA funds are needed now more than ever.
Youth become homeless for a number of reasons including: family violence and neglect, rejection due to sexual orientation or gender identity, the overwhelmed child welfare system and extreme poverty. These youth almost always have experienced unimaginable abuse and trauma, in their homes, their communities, and on the street. It is the RHYA-funded services and programs that help to rectify the deep injustices that homeless youth experience on a daily basis.
RHYA specifically funds three different programs for homeless youth: street outreach, which aims to transition youth off the streets; basic centers, which provides youth temporary shelter and services; and transitional living programs, which provides longer term housing and support to youth 16-21 years of age. In July of this year new federal legislation was introduced in Congress, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking and Prevention Act.
This new legislation would reauthorize the original RHYA and strengthen the law to better serve homeless youth today. The new law adds a nondiscrimination clause, which would ensure that all youth seeking services, including LGBTQ youth are treated fairly and with dignity by agencies receiving federal funding. This clause directly reflects the current homeless youth population, with almost 40 percent of homeless youth identifying as LGBTQ. In addition, the new law would require culturally competent and comprehensive care and services for all homeless youth, including LGBTQ youth and youth who have been survivors of human trafficking, violence and exploitation.
Over the past 40 years, there is no question that millions of youth have been impacted by RHYA. This one piece of legislation has been the cornerstone of homeless youth services for decades and has literally been a lifeline for an untold amount of youth experiencing homelessness. As a social worker working with homeless youth I have seen first hand the extraordinary work of the RHYA funded programs.
In working with youth experiencing homelessness, I have been witness to the beautiful transformation that happens when youth are transitioned off the street and into supportive housing programs. Programs in which youth can heal from trauma, learn basic life skills, obtain a job, pursue their education, repair relationships with their family and begin to fulfill their deepest passions. In short, RHYA and the agencies that receive the funding seek to restore dignity to youth experiencing homelessness. It aims to provide youth with the support and care necessary for them not just to survive but thrive.
The passage of the updated RHYA, Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking and Prevention Act by Congress is imperative for youth experiencing homelessness. There is no better way to honor the 40th anniversary of RHYA and the over one million homeless youth today, then for the passage the Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking and Prevention Act. It ensures that homeless youth’s beauty, strength and potential are elevated and that they will be able to move out homelessness and fulfill their dreams.
Frank McAlpin, social worker based in Hollywood
Adam Goldstein
American University
Majoring in Political Science with History Minor
Class of 2017
I was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in the suburbs. Living in the suburbs puts people in a bubble. They are not exposed to daily reminders of the homeless problem in the United States. I was one of those people.
Growing up in such an insulated community prevented me from seeing anything beyond the average panhandler when I dared venture into the city to go to a restaurant or sporting event. This vague view of the homeless community was shattered once I began to become more cognizant of politics and the wider social issues plaguing many Americans today. After taking a sociology class in the spring of 2014 I knew I wanted to work on this issue. Understanding the structural problems behind homelessness is the first step towards solving them. When a panhandler in the city asked for change, I wanted to know why they asked for money.
At the National Coalition for the Homeless I help to add homelessness to the list of protected characteristics in the District of Columbia’s Human Rights Act. Preventing discrimination is an important step towards busting the cyclical nature of homelessness. My goal in the future is to continue to help those at the bottom of the economic and social totem pole reach success, and what better place to start than at NCH, right in the nation’s capital?
Annie Leomporra
Northeastern University
Masters in Urban and Regional Policy with emphasis on Homelessness
Class of 2015
I grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and I finished my undergraduate degree at the University of St. Thomas, in St. Paul Minnesota with a degree in Justice and Peace Studies.
My internship with the National Coalition for the Homeless has given me incredible experience in lobbying, writing reports and researching civil rights issues surrounding homelessness. I am currently working with Michael Stoops and the People for Fairness Coalition on trying to add homelessness to the District of Columbia’s Human Rights Act. This legislation would make DC the first city in the country to declare people experiencing homelessness as a protected class. I have also had the honor of assisting with the now published 2014 food-sharing report, Share No More: The Criminalization of Efforts to Feed People In Need.
Anyone who is interested in homelessness issues should consider interning at the National Coalition for the Homeless. You’ll gain incredible experience working for a national nonprofit with an unbelievable staff and you’ll make great contacts in the District of Columbia.
Jarred Myers
Indiana University, School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Majoring in Law & Public Policy
Class of 2016
I have been enjoying my time with the National Coalition for the Homeless, where I serve as the intern for the National Campaign for Youth Shelter. The amount of hard work and dedication that goes into this great organization continues to teach me great values in working to assist individuals who are currently facing homelessness. As someone who comes from a family of public servants, I have always had an understanding that there will be individuals who have gone through and who are currently going through rough times. However, since I have started my time here at the National Coalition for the Homeless, I have started to catch glimpses at what it takes to live a life serving others. Although I have volunteered at many organizations working to provide assistance for homeless individuals and their families, I would not have imagined being able to view what homelessness was like on a national scale. The National Campaign for Youth Shelter has taught me that there is much more to be done in the prevention and the eradication of homelessness. There needs to be better research and a better understanding of the lives of individuals who are struggling to do what is necessary for them to live a life much more desirable than the one on the street.
Auburn Trotter
University of Central Arkansas
Majoring in Public Administration
Class of 2016
I was granted the opportunity to intern with the National Coalition for the Homeless as a member of the Washington Center Program here in DC. Whilewith NCH, I will be serving as a policy intern for the affordable housing and rental assistance campaign. After graduation,I aspire to work for a non-profit organization that serves both domestic and international citizens, emphasizing on community development. Whether that’s educationally, economically or with programs thataid in reducing homelessness.
When I found out that I was going to be living in DC for three months, I was extremely excited. I came to the city looking to explore and learn about all the beautyit has to offer. Working for NCH has immersed me into the DC culture and I am loving it!I’m very excited to see what I will learn within the coming months of working at NCH. The rental assistance and voucher campaign has become like my baby and I plan to help this campaign succeed!
Deirdre Walsh
Catholic University of America
Majoring in History with Peace & Justice Studies Minor
Class of 2015
Growing up outside of Boston, Massachusetts I participated and led various community service projects and organizations. I knew that I wanted to continue volunteering in college, but I did not know that it would become such a big part of my life. Upon starting as a student at The Catholic University of America, I began working with weekly service opportunities such as delivering meals to homeless men and women throughout Washington, D.C. I connected with the people I served and learned more about the obstacles they experienced living on the streets and in poverty. I wanted to do more for them. Their stories and hardships gave me a drive to not only work to make sure their daily needs were met, but also advocate for change to help them out of poverty and end the discrimination they experienced.
As an intern with the National Coalition for the Homeless, I have the opportunity to engage with passionate leaders and community advocates who have made ending poverty their goal. The experience to understand grassroots organizing and witness change as it happens is invaluable and will provide me with the tools to pursue advocacy as a career after I graduate. Although NCH is a national organization, it still maintains its personal connection with the people and cause it advocates for. My time here has taught me to always remember who you are working for and to know that when you advocate for change, you advocate for a person.
Guest Post – by Matias Vega
Following last weekend’s devastating murders of two homeless individuals, Matias Vega of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, Inc. wrote this piece to gather media attention.
Vulnerable to Hate: A Survey of Hate Crimes Committed Against Homeless People in 2013
This is the title of a June 2014 report from the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) on the national trend of hate crimes and violence targeting people experiencing homelessness. I am a family physician who has worked exclusively with the homeless community over the past 26 years, am the current Medical Director at Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless where I have worked for the last 16 years, and am a 24 year member of the NCH Board of Directors.
For the past 15 years, we at NCH have been documenting hate crimes against homeless people across the nation. Sadly, what has happened locally in Albuquerque over the past 2 months is neither unique nor surprising. Since 1999, there have been over 1400 acts of violence against homeless individuals and over 375 deaths reported in 47 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC. 72% of the victims were men over the age of 40, and 48% of the perpetrators were males under the age of 20. For reference, homeless hate crimes leading to death have been greater in number than all other deadly hate crimes combined in 14 out of the last 15 years across all of the US.
These deaths all meet the definition of homeless hate crimes: crimes committed against people simply because of their homelessness and vulnerability. Much can be done to protect the lives of people experiencing homelessness including designating homeless status as a protected class, adding homeless status to existing hate crime laws, or passage of City or State homeless hate crime legislation or a Homeless Bill of Rights, and requirement of law enforcement to complete trainings on how to interact effectively and respectfully with the homeless community. Since most of these hate crimes are committed by teenagers, creating educational curricula in grade and high schools on homelessness can be essential in preventing future homeless hate crimes. As the NCH report documents, “Bias crimes send a message to the attacked group, as well as a message about society as a whole. There is a correlation between the criminalization of homelessness and hate crimes against homeless individuals. Without protection under hate crimes legislation, homeless individuals are targeted as a class because of their status in society. We need to send a message that people who are homeless are still people and, as such, should not be attacked.”
This is the time for NM and Albuquerque to lead the way in making crimes against people who are homeless a hate crime. In America and New Mexico, people deserve the right to a quality of life and safety from violence, and especially, murder, regardless of their housing status. Homelessness should not be a death sentence. We can and must do better in protecting the lives of people experiencing homelessness.
Unintended Consequences: Leaving a Wake of High Living Costs in Tourist Destinations – By Julia Chambers
In recent years, Americans have become increasingly interested in the idea of responsible tourism. Many seek the most authentic and local experiences possible, but they do not necessarily consider how their presence may alter the place or the lives of the people who live there. The priority of responsible tourism is to minimize that impact. Most discussions about sustainable tourism, ecotourism, etc. are generally focused on places like Costa Rica, Kenya, or Thailand, but how are the trips that we take, our spring break trips and honeymoons, impacting the places we visit domestically?
It is no coincidence that we see the densest homeless populations in locations that are also desirable tourist destinations. While they arrive for different reasons, a decent climate is highly sought after and can reduce the burden of everyday life and survival. Tourists travel to warm places like Fort Lauderdale, San Diego and Honolulu to decompress and escape the cold winters. People experiencing homelessness also gravitate to these destinations for a bit of added security, because even if they cannot find any rental assistance or a place in a shelter, they can live more comfortably outside without the daily threat of hypothermia/hyperthermia that they might face in more dramatic climates. Visible homelessness is certainly higher in these locations.
Not all homeless individuals in these climates have travelled to arrive there. The truth is that a quality tourism industry is a powerful economic tool, which unfortunately does not always benefit the whole community. Many individuals experiencing homelessness in these sites have lived there for long periods of time and eventually could not keep up with the constantly-increasing, astronomical cost of living. Home prices and services are too expensive for the average citizen and access to basic necessities, like low-cost grocery stores, is often scarce. Jobs can be limited and many times reserved for skilled outside labor. The hospitality industry, for example, is very competitive; local talent is rarely developed and hardly ever brought into management roles. Orlando serves as an outstanding example of how a single tourist destination, like Disney world, can inflate the cost of living so high that the minimum wage workers keeping the destination running can hardly afford to live within a reasonable distance of the site. In an isolated state like Hawaii, there is fierce competition over job opportunities, even minimum wage work. Without massive job development on the part of the tourism industry, locals will be left with no work and nowhere else to go to look for employment. Even those with jobs are constantly at risk of falling into homelessness, as wages are inadequate to comfortably support a family.
If one were to fall into a state of homelessness, he or she could expect an exceptionally challenging future. Navigating shelter systems, housing authorities, and other service agencies is exhausting and difficult, but in high-tourism zones, those are just a few of the struggles that homeless individuals will face. In states like Florida, California and Hawaii, localities have enacted legislation that effectively criminalizes homelessness, in hopes of pushing the problem out of sight. Governments in these states have even purchased one-way bus or plane tickets for people experiencing homelessness in order to get them out of their jurisdictions. When the economy is so reliant on tourism dollars, it is natural for a local government or tourism board to take complaints seriously. Often times, tourists complain that they feel unsafe or uncomfortable around homeless individuals. The reputation of a destination can be tarnished so quickly, it is almost remarkable to see how agile governments can be in responding to economic threats. They generally first introduce bans to keep people from sleeping in the most visited parts of town. Sometimes they will open up a resource center far from the center of town to try to lure homeless people away from the hot spots.
Sadly, more often they will enact numerous so-called “quality of life” laws that they can use to collect and jail homeless individuals in periodic sweeps. Some examples of laws that are in place are bans on sitting/laying on public sidewalks, bans on begging or panhandling, prohibition of the use of blankets, chairs, tents, etc. in public places, and bans on sharing food with homeless people in public parks. Not only do these laws neglect the immediate needs of people experiencing homelessness, they actually punish them for their current circumstances. They are inherently flawed and will fail to assist in any effort to end homelessness in this country.
Honolulu’s current war on the homeless is perhaps the most concerning, where nightly sweeps and increasing numbers of anti-homeless ordinances are forcing homeless individuals to constantly relocate, but this is taking place all over the country, and not only in tourist destinations. We need to stand together and shout that it is not acceptable for our neighbors to be targeted and jailed simply for being poor.
