http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/nyregion/ordinary-families-cloaked-in-a-veil-of-homelessness.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=nyregion
What shocked us about this article was one simple question: Why is Tonya Lewis’s family homeless? Homeless people are “supposed” to be, as the article so elegantly writes, “AIDS patients or men who slept on church steps,” not single mothers with jobs. If a woman can hold down a job, send her children to school, try her best to create normative family living and still be homeless, something is wrong with the society in which she lives.
One of the goals that Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030 was to “create homes for almost a million more New Yorkers while making housing and neighborhoods more affordable and sustainable.” The plan continued to explain the importance of diversity in each neighborhood and the role the transit systems play. As enticing as this may sound, to what extent could NYC meet those goals?
A prominent problem in our society is that New Yorkers run on an independent daily routine. Through the bustling commute and financial crisis, homeless families become unnoticeable after they leave their shelters. Even with the number of trains and buses New York has, the numbers of connections are endless and needless to say, very time-consuming. For families like Ms. Lewis, the transit system was perhaps the only place where they aren’t a burden to the city. But because they so easily blend in, nobody notices them, nobody even cares.
Another problem with our society are the priorities of politicians and representatives of New York. Ambitiously, Bloomberg aimed “to reduce homelessness by two-thirds by five years.” He suggested putting even more restrictions on who could enter the system and no longer giving priority to homeless families for public housing. In addition to a number of budget cuts, the city is forced to cut back on some benefits and for people like Ms. Lewis, losing aid from the government meant losing one’s home.
Who put these people in a homeless shelter and who is keeping them there? Did they do it to themselves, having simply lost all hope of getting back on their feet? Or was it city officials? State budget cuts? Wall Street and the financial crisis that has squeezed so many people? The agendas of “The Coalition for the Homeless”? Mayor Bloomberg and his ambitious plans to make his city look good? The follow-up and more important question is: who is here to help these families?
#1 by Oleksandr Dudnyk on February 8, 2012 - 9:36 pm
It is interesting that you point out that something is wrong with society if a woman who has a job and sends her kids to school is homeless. Normally we see the homeless as people who have issues with leading a normal lifestyle, such as those that are drug addicts or drunks. But it is truly surprising that a woman who does her best to work and support a family has no home. I think it is up to the U.S. government to address this issue, and it is up to people to write letters to city officials to raise awareness about the relevance of protecting the homeless.
#2 by Hayoung Ryu on February 8, 2012 - 10:27 pm
The article was very interesting to read through regardless of its length. Homelessness has been a big issue in New York City since forever and may possibly become more serious and problematic. It was a surprise to find out that a working woman with two children who appear to be completely living a normal life has no home of her own for a true comfort. Home is where people find the comfort (usually… at least that’s how it should be like) and it makes me very sad that some people just don’t have that opportunity while working. It is true that the State of New York cut down budgets for NYC and U.S. in general is going through economic downturn at the time, and that is probably why it is even harder to have the public be aware and the government to perform all needed actions to prevent and resolve such issues. I just wish that more people would become aware of the society that we live in and as a large group, would be able to somehow influence the political world to come up with a solution to the social issues.
#3 by andrewkyi on February 9, 2012 - 12:01 am
This article reminds me of a local ex-homeless man whose name is Thomas Wagner. Wagner was best known by his pen name: the “cadalliac man”. He is famous for writing a memoir, “Land of the Lost Souls,” that was composed of his personal journal/diary he kept since he became homeless back in ’94. In his memoir, he comments on the greuling lifestyle that a homeless person had to adapt to in order to survive. One of his most critical statements was about the declining aid that the local and national government has given to homeless people. Wagner sheds light on the dangers of staying in a homeless shelter, the difficulties of obtaining food stamp and the impossibilities of receiving public housing. I can’t help but to think that the root of this issue is the management of our city. These homeless people live their daily lives like nomads-as described by Wagner and it is unfortunate but a serious peoblem. With the current budget constraints, these people are the first ones to be targeted and they will be stuck in their current status unless the city makes a change.
#4 by Deborah on February 9, 2012 - 12:06 am
I think the crux of this issue relates to meritocracy and its promise of upward social mobility. Historically, America has been viewed by newly-arriving immigrants as a country of freedom and equal opportunity, where hard work enables one to rise in socioeconomic status. (Think Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn). In a good economy, with equal access to jobs and education, the system basically works. In today’s economy, however, the gap between the working class and upper class is widening to the extent that unfortunately it almost seems some are trapped in downward social mobility: Disadvantaged to begin with, the homeless are further disadvantaged when they are placed in homeless shelters rather than public housing and in lower-end neighborhoods and when their children are placed in poorer school districts. Meritocracy clearly isn’t working when, as you say, “If a woman can hold down a job, send her children to school, try her best to create normative family living and still be homeless, something is wrong with the society in which she lives.”
I agree that our society’s mode of functioning isn’t necessarily conducive to social change. A first step, I think, would be to simply increase public awareness about the issue. Think Ad Council. I also agree that the politics are problematic. PlanNYC seems very focused on statistics- “one million New Yorkers,” ” two thirds in five years,” rather than on targeting the root cause. This definitely raises a question of quantity vs. quality: Would we rather help everyone, but only a little bit, or provide a lot of aid to only a select few?
#5 by Tova Medetsky on February 9, 2012 - 12:12 am
The last question that you posed is a very important one. When it comes down to it, regardless of who is at fault or to blame, families are homeless and someone needs to take action. This past week, I watched a film in my Business Ethics class about the housing and mortgage crisis that majorly damaged the economy just a few years ago. The film showed the different issues behind what caused the crisis, and how it affected the different parties involved. The main focus of the documentary was to sort of shell out the blame and attempt to make some sort of sense of what went on. What I thought was lacking from it, though was your final question: “who is here to help these families?” When we hear of such tragic stories as someone being evicted from their home, we feel terrible. We want to know where the economy failed us, where the government failed us. Most people will look to play the blame game. Very few people will do what you did, though: ask the question of how we are going to move forward. Yes, the economy took a turn for the worse. Yes, people suffered. But we need to look ahead and move on from this. New York has proven its resiliency in the past. We’ve seen acts of terror. We’ve suffered economic downturn. Yet New York has always remained strong and turned itself around. Why should this be any different? We need to stop blaming others and start taking action. If we all stand by idly, and we don’t take action, we are just as much at fault as the parties involved in getting us into this mess. “All it takes for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing.” -Edmund Burke
#6 by Michael Squitieri on February 9, 2012 - 1:08 am
Thanks for finding this article! I couldn’t believe that, as the article states, “30% of people seeking shelter because of evictions, many connected to the financial crisis.” Unfortunately, homelessness in NYC is stigmatized and thought of as a group of untouchables intertwined with drugs and the like. It was interesting to see the story of this seemingly normal family being homeless.
Reading this article also made me realize the power of journalism. The article brings into question many programs that were cut by Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Cuomo. Were these cuts warranted? The press are perhaps the only people that can raise these questions to a large number of people, which can alter our social, political and economic spheres. By sharing this story, it shows that there are most likely many other families who are similar situations, and should we be ok with that?
#7 by Anna Liang on February 9, 2012 - 2:11 am
As others had said before me, this article is indeed a thought-evoking one. It closes in on a very sensitive subject (considering the relatively recent protests against privileged citizens): inequality. Homelessness is simply one of the battlefronts between the extremes of the socioeconomic spectrum. Tonya Lewis use to make $500 per week, and her husband made $600 weekly. Government subsidy, under the program Advantage, helped her with rent. Now, she works half the number of hours due to budget cuts, her now ex-husband is unemployed, the subsidy is gone, and so is her home. Surprisingly, Lewis is only one of the 40,000 homeless people who seeks to find a permanent home and rid her family of “the situation.” Unfortunately, the government appears apathetic towards this issue. The commissioner of homeless services, Seth Diamond, said, “When you come into shelter…there should be a period of time to get stabilized, but pretty quickly after that, you should be working aggressively on getting back to the community.” Why can’t they see that it is not the people who is not working, but that there are not enough job opportunities to go around? It is almost ironic how the government keeps on cutting budgets and expects people to miraculously find light at the end of the tunnel. It is almost like flipping a coin – heads: politicians win, tails: the people lose.
#8 by Eden Goykadosh on February 11, 2012 - 9:38 pm
This topic is indeed upsetting, as it is painful to think of people who lack a home, one of the most essential parts of living a normal life. In response to Tova’s comment that we must take action: I agree that we are not moving forward by playing the “blame game.” But- as much as we cannot ignore the problem- what really can we do to evoke change? I don’t mean to sound unconcerned about this issue, but I honestly don’t know what we can do as individuals. These type of large-scale issues, I believe, is the responsibility of the municipal authorities.