Unheard Voices

This post is a collective effort of Taylor Vick, Destiny Freeman, Juwon Salami, Ruth Hull, And Leashandra Wiggins from the Media and info literacy course at the University of Memphis in Fall of 2015.

"We have come dangerously close to accepting the homeless situation as a problem that we just can't solve."- Linda Lingle

Lazy, incompetent, criminals, and drug addicts.

Imagine living in a world that labels you, looks down upon you, and expects you to fail.

Imagine a society that blames you for your hunger, your unemployment, and for being a blight on humanity as if your situation is automatically your fault because of your choices, no explanation required.

You might not have access to your birth certificate, your social security card, or a high paying job, or you might be a victim of domestic violence, but in order to be a fully respected citizen, you must be able to provide a roof over your head and meet certain standards set by social norms.

where do we get these ideas of homelessness? Why, from a young age,do we associate them with filth, stealing, drugs, laziness, and  

so much more?

The media. The media, and how different forms of media specifically portray homelessness will be the focus of the blog post. The 5 of us wish to raise awareness of the lives of homeless people and how they came to be in these situations. while we are unable to cover all possible circumstances, we will attempt to lay a foundation to broaden the reader's thoughts and considerations when consuming media that pertains to someone who is homeless.

firstly, we will provide a foundation in terms of specific statistics of homelessness in the world, the United States, and the city of Memphis. After that, we will address three separate, but equally important, aspects of homelessness: homelessness due to natural disasters, family and individual homelessness. Finally, we will wrap the blog post together with how the media represents these people and their lives. 

On a broad scale, according to a survey conducted by the United Nations, it is estimated that 100 million people from around the world live in poverty. This number only takes into consideration people who have chronic homeless, which is where they regularly suffer from being vagrant and typically have a physical or mental disability. More often than not, people will hide if they are below the poverty line to maintain their dignity or even to protect their families from having to deal with government intervention. These people are known as the “hidden homeless” which are the people who live in slums, squatters, and couch surfers. In the U.S., on a single night in January 2014, 578,424 people had no home. In Memphis alone, there are 2000 people on any given day who are homeless. And it is not just the people you think. Yes, there are mentally disturbed people who stand on the side of the road and beg for money who don’t always need it. But, homeless people are also your friends, your neighbors, and your families.they could be anyone. 

so how does someone become homeless? Is it due to pure laziness, or has something in their lives prevented them from progressing in the world? 

 In Houston, Texas there is a group to help those who are homeless and to raise awareness about their lives. This group broke down an array of possible causes of homelessness as seen in Houston in 2013.

"According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, families experiencing homelessness are generally similar to other, housed families living in poverty. In fact, many poor families – homeless or not – share similar characteristics: they are usually headed by a single woman with limited education, are usually young, and experience high rates of domestic violence and mental illness"(HomelessHouston.org) 

We know that people experience many different struggles and that some of these can result in homelessness, but how many people are homeless per state? Movoto.com has published this interactive map that tells us how many people were homeless for every 100K and what the ranking of each state was from 2010-2015

If you follow the link, you will be able to see the progression and regression some states have made over the years.

Lets bring this home

according to Memphis Union Missions, Memphis, Tennessee has approximately 2,000 people who are homeless each night. this does not include the "hidden homeless" mentioned earlier. so lets do the math, in 2013, the population of Memphis was 653,450. If there are approximately 2,000 people homeless each night, that means that for every 327 people, one of them is homeless. 

How many friends do you have on Facebook?

followers on instagram?

Bets are, you have a good number. Looking at that number statistically, one of those 327 people, if they were all to be from Memphis, could be homeless

Lets take a closer look at the homeless population in Memphis. We will specifically address 3 types of homelessness in Memphis, Natural disaster, Family and individual homelessness. 

In August 29th of 2005, Katrina hit and, according to Data Center Research, "the storm displaced more than a million people in the Gulf Coast region. Many people returned home within days, but up to 600,000 households were still displaced a month later. At their peak, hurricane evacuee shelters housed 273,000 people and, later, FEMA trailers housed at least 114,000 households." Among many other states and cities, Memphis opened their doors to a multitude of people who were left stranded after this disaster.

Around the world, natural disasters affect populations and force individuals to become homeless. To add insult to injury, this also makes the situation even worse for those who are already homeless. Events such as Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy have left the homeless without food, shelter, aid, and so forth. In a worst case scenario, homeless individuals end up waiting for help that never comes. This is due to neglect, lack of consideration, media portrayals, fear of the homeless, and lack of aid and funding. Overall, the treatment of homeless individuals due to natural disasters if often dehumanizing and unjust.

Moving onto family homelessness, we have a great example in Memphis Tennessee. The Dorothy Day House of Hospitality. This house is for homeless families specifically. Families are often separated into men's homes, then women and children's homes. In Memphis, there is a lack of shelters for teenage boys. after a certain age, they are no longer permitted to stay at the woman and children's shelters, but they are not old enough to join the grown men. The family unit is already falling apart due to stress, so the Dorothy Day house provides a home for the family to recuperate and regain some normalcy for the family. Families facing homelessness often hide the fact that they are homeless.Why? you may ask. If you were a Single mother, with 3 kids and could not keep up with your bills, you could lose your home. You, and your three children, are now homeless. This is seen as neglecting your children and they can be taken away and placed in foster care. This house keeps families together. You can learn more about the house in this short video Dorothy Day video.

To look at how family homelessness is portrayed in the media, Will Smith and his son help viewers to capture an idea of how it could be. In this clip from "pursuit of happiness", Will smith's character is homeless and supporting his son while trying to work. Smith sleeps in the restroom out of desperation and need to provide a safe place for his son.  

Family homelessness can also be encountered due to a mother or father removing the children from a household of domestic violence.

On the 7th of September of 2015, Humans of new York covered a story of a young man that was given up to a boys home as a child. This man represents individual homelessness. from the age of 4-17, he, and the other boys, were forced to have sexual acts with older men and would receive painful punishments if they did not do them or acted out of order in any way. At the age of 17, He escaped the boys home, climbed a mountain to hide, was hit by a blizzard, and lost his foot to frostbite. to read more of his story, go here.

Individual homelessness is everywhere and there are so many people affected. One group, in particular, is veterans. 

The people who have fought for us, now live on the streets due to mental illness, physical disability, denied benefits and more.

Here is a story CNN covered to show how a veteran can become someone who is homeless through a series of unfortunate events. Due to injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, this veteran is unable to work.

I would like to draw attention to the fact that I am not ignoring the stolen valor that is often seen. It is easy to pick up a veterans hat or coat from a thrift store or homeless shelter and make up a story in order to receive notice from more people and ultimately more help. Desperation causes people to do things they may not normally.

The media has asked us to believe that each homeless individual is homeless due to their own laziness, drug or alcohol addiction, or criminal record. While this is true for some of the people who are homeless, is is unfair to generalize all of homelessness in this manner. 

Ultimately, this blog post has been written to encourage everyone to think of people for who they are, Human. due to media and other influence, we often dehumanize and devalue those we believe to be less fortunate than ourselves. 

Because they are not living the way we deem necessary, they hold less value than us. 

Wrong.

People are people, no matter their way of living.

http://tennesseehomeless.org/news/
http://www.dorothydaymemphis.org/
"Facts for Features: Katrina Impact." The Data Center Facts for Features Katrina Impact Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2015. 
"Frequently Asked Questions." Memphis Union Mission. N.p., 22 July 2015. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.

Gilbert, Roy. Doing more for those made homeless by natural disasters. Disaster Management Facility, World Bank, 2001.

Groen, Jeffrey A., and Anne E. Polivka. "Hurricane Katrina Evacuees: Who They Are, Where They Are, and How They Are Faring." Hurricane Katrina Evacuees: Who They Are, Where They Are, and How They Are Faring (n.d.): n. pag. Mar. 2008. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. 

"Homeless 101." Coalition for the Homeless. N.p., 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.

Luft, Rachel E. "Beyond disaster exceptionalism: Social movement developments in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina." American Quarterly 61.3 (2009): 499-527.

 National Alliance to End Homelessness. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.

Ramin, Brodie, and Tomislav Svoboda. "Health of the homeless and climate change." Journal of Urban Health 86.4 (2009): 654-664.

Springer, Sabine. "Homelessness: a proposal for a global definition and classification." Habitat International 24.4 (2000): 475-484.

Toya, Hideki, and Mark Skidmore. "Economic development and the impacts of natural disasters." Economics Letters 94.1 (2007): 20-25.

Washington, Thomas Alex. "The homeless need more than just a pillow, they need a pillar: An evaluation of a transitional housing program." Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services 83.2 (2002): 183-188.

Meeting Mickey

On Saturday, August 8th of 2015, I met Mickey while spending a sweltering afternoon with a friend from out of town. My friend and I were walking about the streets near the Lorraine Motel waiting for a shop to open. On our way down the street, we passed a man who obviously had a disability. This disheveled, tired, and ignored man struggled to walk. Mickey was walking in the same direction as my friend and I, but he walked stooping over to his right and dragging his left leg behind him as if his leg was in protest of the movements he was making. As my friend and I quickly and very uncomfortably passed him, we noticed his body trembling, a hospital band on his left arm, and a fresh eight to nine inch gash on his right arm that had been poorly closed with staples. I am ashamed to say that because I was uncomfortable, I hurriedly passed this obviously distressed man with my eyes averted and my hand clutching my bag. As we walked by, my heart sank, but for the sake of my comfort and the comfort of my guest, I proceeded towards a small bench in front of the fire house away from this hunch backed, dirty, and tired man.
God must have prepared a lesson for me that day because He laid a heavy burden on my heart. I chose to ignore it. One of my very many mistakes, but God gave me a second chance. Mickey came stumbling up the sidewalk towards us. I was uncomfortable. I wanted to get up and relocate hastily before he drew too near, but we stayed sitting on that bench and Mickey looked us in the eyes and simply asked if we knew where he could get a coke. Mickey could not speak very clearly, so if I remember correctly, we asked him to repeat what he had said a couple times. After asking the man to wait on the bench for us, we left to grab him a coke, water, a sandwich, and some potato chips. Mickey looked so happy when we got back. He was most excited that the sandwich was on wheat bread. I cannot begin to explain the difference in Mickey's face from when he first ashamedly asked for a cook to when he was talking of how he loved wheat bread and was so glad that is what we got him.
Mickey showed me his cut and I washed it with some water and a napkin. We held Mickey's hands, prayed for him and went on our way to the small shop downtown. I didn't think I would see this man again.
On our walk back to the car, we passed the bench where Mickey had been eating his lunch and he was no longer there. I looked around and didn't see him. as we got closer to the Lorraine Motel, I saw him sitting on a different bench. We went up to Mickey and asked how his lunch was. He told us it was wonderful and thanked us again. Mickey's gash had reopened and was bleeding down his arm and onto his clothing. I couldn't ignore this. We prayed with Mickey again, thanking God for allowing us to meet and then I asked Mickey to wait on me one more time while I ran to get my first aid kit in my car about a 1/4 mile away.
I quickly gathered the things I needed out of my car and my friend and I walked back. We met mickey on the road and stopped under the shade of a trolley/bus stop on south main street. Thanks to my wonderful mother, having brothers, watching small prone-to-injury children, and being a nursing student for a semester, I had a little first aid knowledge at my fingertips and began patching him up to the best of my abilities. As I talked Mickey through what I was doing to patch him up, my friend and I got to know Mickey a little better. Mickey is from Pensacola, Florida and worked as an ER assistant and EMT for years. Mickey had a wife and family and loved his grandmother dearly. 16 years ago, Mickey was in a terrible car accident and was in a coma for 4 months time. Mickey told me about how he could hear his wife, family, friends, and doctors talk about him while he was in this coma.
Mickey never told me what happened to his wife or his family, or how he ended up in Memphis, but he did tell me that God had a plan. Mickey, with all that has plagued him, told me that he wouldn't be on this earth if God didn't have a plan for him. Seeing Mickey, a man with so much going against him, light up at the remembrance of a purpose God has for him, just filled my heart.
I finished cleaning, disinfecting, and patching Mickey up and we prayed. Mickey specifically asked for prayer over his back. He said it had been hurting since his accident 16 years ago and that he was hurting so badly. My friend, Mickey, and I all prayed and we went on our way.

It has been over a week since I saw Mickey and I have been unable to stop thinking, praying, and worrying about him. I find myself wondering if he has eaten or if his injury got infected or better. I pray that he finds a safe place to sleep at nights. I cannot forget the look in Mickey's eyes as he thanked us. I believe listening to him was more help than anything else we had done. Mickey said no one had spoken to him in quite a long time and even longer since someone had listened. I will never forget Mickey's face lighting up as he spoke of his Grandmother and his wife and brother and work as an ER assistant. He told me about how his Grandmother had the best apple pie recipe and how he missed it so much.

To me, Mickey is my reason. He is my reason to be aware. Mickey could have been anyone. He is someone's uncle, someone's coworker, someone's husband, someone's dad. He could have been my uncle, my coworker, my husband, or my dad, and I would want someone to take care of him if that were the case.
So, why didn't I help him the first time? because he was dirty? because he was hurt? because he was alone? because he was distressed? what more reasons do you need to help someone?
Why did I, specifically me, rush by Mickey the first time?
Because I was uncomfortable.
I was uncomfortable.
I rushed past him.
I did not look at him.
I did that.

Me specifically.

Mickey has been on my mind everyday since. I have truly evaluated the situation in many of its aspects and have prayed for him in every way I can think of.

Before I met mickey, I kept snacks, water, and Gatorade in my car and would uncomfortably pass them to strangers who sat by the roadside or who i met on the street. I would have small talk, but not enough to truly know the person.

I do not want this post to have a "look at how much of a good person I am" feel to it, because I feel cruddy after thinking of how many people I have walked by and not gotten a second chance to love on. I want this post to bring awareness to homelessness and to loving our neighbors, no matter where they are. These summer months are coming to a close, but they are not over yet. I ask you guys to join me and keep some Gatorade, water, protein snacks, and such in your car to give out when you see a neighbor in need. also, First Aid kits are a wonderful thing to have. I was so thankful for mine when I saw Mickey's injury and was able to help.
This is such a small thing, but if it can open the door to talking to someone about their life and how God is working in them, just think of what a grand adventure it could bring.
Pray for Mickey.
Pray for our neighbors.

Lots of Love,
Ruth