Tag Archive for Tent City

Tent Cities Provide a Temporary Alternative to Homelessness

"Nickelsville" homeless encampment (...

“Nickelsville” homeless encampment (named after Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels) towards the end of its 3-month stay in the parking lot of the University Congregational United Church of Christ in the University District, Seattle, Washington. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Since the US and world economies cratered in 2007 there has been a large increase in homelessness. Supportive services have become overburdened, and many people have abandoned the shelter system altogether and moved into tent cities.

 
In 1990 Seattle had one of the first tent cities, created by a sponsoring organization called SHARE. Twelve years later Seattle became the first major American city to accept the basic tent city operating principles. Ever since, two tent cities have operated under city and local ordinances—and one has operated unsanctioned—each relocating every three months. They are hosted by a rotation of churches.

 
Neil Donovan, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, in a 2010 report declared:

 

Tent cities are Americans’ de facto waiting room for affordable and accessible housing. All developed nations have supportive public housing with varying levels of volume and efficacy, but many housing options take months or years to get into.

It is ironic that while US homelessness is increasing, 11% of houses stand empty. Tent cities are a pragmatic, short-term way to widen the safety net for people in danger of losing their homes. If permanent housing for all homeless people becomes unrealistic, the model of transitional housing in organized tent cities could prevent both temporary and absolute homelessness.

 
Many churches like to host tent cities, as it allows them to help the people most in need.

 
Despite high unemployment, many tent city dwellers work day jobs, and some tent cities are based around employment opportunities. In Fresno, CA, for example, Little Tijuana is a predominantly Hispanic tent city comprised of many migrant workers who can’t afford housing or don’t want to take the risk of signing a lease.

 
Portland, Oregon’s Dignity Village is a self-governed, self-funded community founded by homeless people (all of whom have since moved on to permanent housing or elsewhere). In its 13-year life, it has evolved from a traditional tent city into an “eco-village,” with help from local non-profit organizations and community donations. Its houses are made from recycled materials, and amenities include 24-hour security, an organic farm and city-provided waste removal and recycling. This autonomous community remains relatively safe by throwing out residents who bring drugs or alcohol onto the site. Portland police believe that Dignity Village makes their jobs easier.

Seattle Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith concludes:

 

  We have people in this city sleeping outside. That’s reality. So let’s create as many options as we can.

 

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Oprah Should Revisit the Homelessness Issue

OprahOprah Winfrey has become a household name, there is no mistake about that. Over the course of her career, she had experienced success in a wide variety of arenas ranging from the big-screen movies to her rightfully famed talk show. This is exactly why we feel that she should revisit the topic of homelessness in the U.S.

This would be familiar territory, after all. In June 2009, Lisa Ling did a special report on tent cities in Sacramento, CA., that helped put a human face on the issue. [Video: “Lisa Ling Goes Inside a Tent City”]

While it has only been 15 months since Ling’s report, in those 15 months we have experienced major housing and economic upsets — the circumstances that have created a huge influx of new faces on the streets. There are also new initiatives popping up across the country that attempt to find ways to reintegrate the homeless back into society. (Back On My Feet is only one of many examples.) In addition, there have been disasters such as the BP oil spill and the recent wildfire in Colorado that have contributed their own brand of socioeconomic chaos to the mix.

On “Inside a Tent City,” Ling presents a number of interviews with those who were living in the tent city at the time, such as this one with a woman named Tammy:

Tammy is a 47-year-old who says she has been living with her husband in this tent city for a little less than a year. ‘My husband’s job fell through,’ she says. ‘He was a tile setter … [but people] weren’t buying houses anymore, and there was no need for tile setting. We lost our car and our home, our apartment. We lost everything we had.’

Though Tammy and her husband are both actively looking for work, they say it feels impossible in this economy. ‘That’s where we’re going this morning,’ she says. ‘To get cleaned up and go out and try to make our best appearance.’

The hardest part about living in a tent city is losing the everyday amenities most people take for granted, Tammy says. ‘Taking a shower when I want, walking into my bathroom, turning the light on. Fixing my hair and doing my makeup,’ she says. ‘I miss looking like a girl.’

It’s one of those things that often slides past notice. Without regular access to a shower and other amenities, it is hard to pull oneself out of the homeless situation once one has fallen into it. Even if you are dead sober, skilled, and willing to work, it rapidly becomes hard to make yourself presentable for a job interview, especially in these tight financial times.

Shortly after Ling’s work aired, the tent city was shut down by the city of Sacramento. The time since then has been filled with tumultuous changes on all levels of society. We believe that this alone makes it a topic worth returning to. So many people follow Oprah’s work that putting this in front of them will go a long way towards raising the awareness needed to effect change.

So please, Oprah, cast your attention once more to the plight of those who inhabit the streets of our country. There are more of them every day. You have the ear of the world.

Source: “Inside a Tent City- A Lisa Ling Special Report,” Oprah.com, 06/19/09
Source: “Lisa Ling Goes Inside a Tent City,” Oprah.com, 02/23/09
Image by Alan Light, used under its Creative Commons license.

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Invisible Families: Increase in Homelessness Among Families

Homeless motherThe Seattle Times recently did a multi-part series on the issue of homelessness in the area. One of the things that came to light in this series was that the fastest growing demographic entering the homeless life is that of parents with children. In addition to the obvious issues — lack of a roof and safety on the streets, having to care for multiple people, etc. — there are further downsides presented by the way that the homeless aid is structured.

This excerpt from an anonymous editorial in the The Seattle Times series sums it up:

But homeless families face unique challenges. They’re often invisible to social-service agencies because they prefer to double up on a friend’s couch than to sleep on the street. Shelters are often already full, space taken by those on the long wait list for public housing and subsidized Section 8 housing.

Do a little Googling around, and you will find that this is true in many other places in the U.S. For instance, Florida and Pennsylvania are the two states that come up on top in search results.

It’s an unusual situation. Services are not optimized for family assistance. Sometimes the families still have vehicles or belongings they have managed to preserve. Addiction issues are nowhere near as prevalent. The list goes on.

As with the other homeless across the U.S., homeless families are in danger of simply being statistics to most people. This is why it is important to put faces on these dry facts, and allow the actual people in this state share their own narratives. Like with any social ill, it is important that we never forget the human faces and stories behind the facts and the figures.

This is why we publish works like downtTown USA: A Personal Journey with The Homeless and Maggots in my Sweet Potatoes: Women Doing Time. It is also why we were thrilled to see a lot of video material included in The Seattle Times series. Here are two clips, below. The first is about Cherie Moore and her 17-year-old son, Cody Barnes, who have been calling their Ford Ranger home.

Then there is Kim Ahern and her nine-year-old son Jack. After losing their home, they lived at Nickelsville, the only tent city in Washington’s King County that allows children to stay for more than the short term.

So, what are your thoughts on this disturbing trend? Do you know any families that have lost their homes? Do you have a story to share yourself, perhaps? We would love to hear what you are thinking, please leave a comment!

Source: “Shining a compassionate light on ‘Invisible Families’,” The Seattle Times, 09/12/10
Source: “The fastest-growing group among local homeless: families,” The Seattle Times, 08/28/10
Image by mcaretaker, used under its Creative Commons license.

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“Tent City,” a Documentary Film from the Oprah Winfrey Network

OWN LogoOprah Winfrey has a new cable network debuting next January, and that means a need for programming. In an interesting move, Winfrey has announced a new series of documentaries co-produced with some of her celebrity friends.

Richard Huff, The Daily TV News Editor of the New York Daily News, reports:

OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is scheduled to launch next year, and will replace Discovery Health on cable systems around the country. That network is now in 80 million homes, although its reach could grow by the time the network — which has been delayed by a year — gets started.

Julia Roberts, Forest Whitaker, Goldie Hawn, Gabriel Byrne and Mariel Hemingway were all announced in the recent press release as participants, along with the details of their respective projects, all of which are produced for the network’s monthly “Documentary Film Club.”

One of these projects makes this news pertinent to our readership: Tent City, produced by Gabriel Byrne. Here is a brief description from the press release:

Executive producers Gabriel Byrne and Leora Rosenberg, producer/director Steven Cantor and Stick Figure Productions present TENT CITY, a documentary exploring homelessness in Nashville, Tenn. With the economic recession, a growing number of people are finding themselves in a position they never imagined, homeless. TENT CITY explores a community of nearly 100 homeless individuals who live under a downtown bridge. The group is self-sustained and self-governed. They work to stay together after a devastating flood destroys their land and forces them to evacuate. As a result of the disaster, for the first time in Nashville history, the municipally run Homeless Commission has opened one seat on its council to a resident of Tent City. This opportunity will allow the winning Tent City individual the chance to spearhead the search for a new location. TENT CITY will follow the four candidates as they vie for election and the process of moving the camp and keeping the community together.  ‘Shelter and home are the most basic human and fundamental human rights, yet increasingly in one of the world’s wealthiest societies, more and more of us are losing our homes. How we address this social epidemic may very well determine our future. This isn’t an abstract concept but a reality millions of Americans confront every day. Our sons, our daughters, our fathers and mothers are the homeless,’ says executive producer Gabriel Byrne.

This community is reminiscent of the encampments known as Hoovervilles during the Great Depression. The really interesting point is the enfranchisement of this usually neglected demographic by offering its representative a seat on the Homeless Commission council.

As more and more Americans find their resources dwindling, and the prospect of homelessness looming, these issues become a lot closer to home. What do you think? Here at HUMANE EXPOSURES, we are interested in your thoughts and views, please share them with us in the comments section, or on Facebook.

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Source: “Julia Roberts, Forest Whitaker, Goldie Hawn, Gabriel Byrne and Mariel Hemingway Sign On for OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK Original Documentaries,” PR Newswire, 07/26/10
Source: “Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Forest Whitaker among stars to make films for Oprah’s new network OWN,” New York Daily News, 07/27/10
Image of Oprah Winfrey Network via PR Newswire, Fair Use: Reporting.

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