| "Homelessness
is in part about a lack of affordable housing for the very
poor and disabled. But it's also about a 20-year mental health
policy of de-institutionalization that was severely under
funded at the local level.
It's
about the continued need for more research in the field of
addictions (especially alcohol) and its effects on human decision
making. It is about the violent nature of our society, especially
violence within the family unit.
It
is about the shift from the industrial revolution to the information
and service revolution, and the slowness with which our public
education system has made the shift.
It
is about the military build-up of the 1980's, which created
a "borrow and spend" mentality in Washington, D.C.
and has bankrupted our government's ability to respond to
virtually any social problem. And the list goes on.
The
answers, therefore, will require the coordination of many
disciplines: housing production, alcohol and drug treatment
service, mental health services, domestic violence services,
employment and retraining services, etc. But most of all,
we must have the public understand that homelessness is the
cancer in our society, not the homeless people themselves."
-From
another view on "A Nation in Denial"
John W. Wilson-Bugbee
Marin Housing Center Sonoma County Task Force on the Homeless
Reporter
Profiles
of homeless people
I am a 20 year old man. My wife is pregnant. My father first
abused me when I was two years old, and beat me and sexually
abused me until the State got me into a foster home. I didn't
get along in that place, and was moved to another, and another...
In never finished high school. I have trouble controlling
my temper and keeping a job.
I am a 32 year old woman. I have two boys, ages 9 and 6. Our
house was damaged in an earthquake. We didn't have any insurance.
The authorities said the damage in our area wasn't bad enough
for it to be a disaster area, but our house is unlivable.We've
been living in a tent for two months.
My husband beats me. I love him, but me and the kids are on
the run from him. I need him--I don't have any job skills,
and most of the time he's O.K.
I'm a 30 year old woman, but you'd think I'm 60 to look at
me. I ran way from home whenI was 13, because my father kept
making me have sex with him. I've slept under cars. I became
a prostitute to support myself, and it was easy to get into
drugs.I'm clean and sober now. I'm making a fresh start.
I'm a 28 year old woman with 3 kids, ages 2 to 8. My landlord
just raised my rent $50 a month. Between that and the cuts
in AFDC, we're out on the street. I've got another year to
go on my bachelor's degree.
I worked for a major corporation until about six months ago.
They laid me off, along with a lot of other middle level people.
God, it's awful. I can't even get job interviews. I never
planned for this happening. My savings are gone. I just don't
know what to do.
I got injured--really messed up my neck. Uninsured medical
expenses were huge! I had to sell my house. I still owe $800,000!
I used to work construction. I was doing a roof and lost my
balance. I fell about two stories. Landed on my feet, but
powdered my knee, broke my fibula, and can't walk right. I
just can't stay on my feet very long. I don't have any other
working skills.
My husband died 18 months ago. The rent on the house was $1,200
a month. I kept up a front, and didn't want to scare the kids.
All the money's gone...
I led a pretty normal life as I grew up and eventually went
to college. Then I went to San Francisco to teach school.
I was single and lived in a small apartment. One night, a
man followed me into my apartment building. He had a knife.
He raped me. After that things got steadily worse. I had a
nervous breakdown. I went to a mental institution for 3 months.
When I went back to my apartment, my belongings were gone.
My landlord had sold them for back rent. I had no place to
go and no job, no friends. The memory of that awful man is
my constant companion.
What
Americans say about the homeless
|
