Comments on: How Anthropology can inform Homeless Issues

By: Andrew E

Andrew E — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 05:31:26 +0000

I commend you for your concern for the lives of the homeless and how to better their lives but there are a few issues that I would like to address concerning what you wrote. I don’t have a better way of obtaining data of how many homeless there are in the Fresno area, but I don’t think Poverello House provides an accurate representation of the number of homeless in the area. I had the opportunity to serve there in 2009, and was surprised to see the significant percentage of people who were clearly not homeless. I saw families with teenagers who were on their phones/gadgets. I was told that these families were there to get a free meal so they wouldn’t have to buy food with money they didn’t have at the end of the month. This leads me to believe that not all those who attend the Poverello House are actually homeless, which could affect the data. I understand the difficulties of obtaining completely pure data, so visiting Poverello House is probably the simplest way to get an idea of how many homeless people are in the city of Fresno, as it is in an area where most of the homeless population exists.

Even though I think it’s a great idea to help provide affordable housing downtown, I’m not sure that it would be totally effective in combating the ‘war’ on homelessness. I’d really like more information. If it’s specifically for the homeless, will the apartments be a long-term commitment? Short-term? On a day-by-day first come first serve basis? In my experience while driving to school on Blackstone and Barstow, I see numerous people (not necessarily homeless) on the corners of the streets. Sometimes they are different people, but usually they are the same ‘regulars’. They sit there with a sign, and not really ask people for anything. Granted, I was driving, so perhaps if I had walked by he would have said something. Apparently they do well with their income off the streets. On a Fresno radio station, a homeless guy called in and said he was able to get $60K a year just sitting on the streets with his sign. Although this is not a good overall indication or description of the lives of the homeless, that is a surprisingly good living for anyone. It is extremely unexpected, and potentially upsetting for the working class people who don’t make that much. I fear that even if presented with the opportunity to gain a more socially acceptable livelihood/way of life, a large number may choose to simply stay on the streets. Then again, they would not necessarily desire to be ‘socially acceptable’, especially if they are perfectly capable of surviving on the streets.

The Neighborhood Thrift store is using the paradigm of enabling the homeless. They bring in someone that needs work, give them a job, help support them, and build up their resume so that they would be able to get a better job and support themselves. If the homeless were truly seeking change, they could use this program to assist them. But as I said before, if they are comfortable with where they are now, I don’t think they will want to change.

By: Jennifer Hernandez

Jennifer Hernandez — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:43:05 +0000

This year I learned how bad homelessness in Fresno really is. I found out that Fresno is one of the worst, if not the worst, in the United States. I personally have not been to downtown Fresno because I know that I would want to help every homeless person that I see on the street. But I believe that it is good for Fresno residents to know the facts about their city.
I am glad to see that the county is doing something about it and that there are people that are willing to volunteer. Every person makes a difference. My one concern is that not enough people know about this. I wouldn’t know about it if I had not read this. In order to get support from the community there needs to be more advertisement of this good thing that the county of Fresno is trying to do.
It is great that there will be affordable housing for those who can not make ends meet. Ten years does seem extensive but there is not anything else being done for homeless people. As the saying goes “better late than never” and in this case it is true. I wish I could support in more ways than one, but for now volunteering when possible will have to do.
I have volunteered in other cities, and the gratitude that these people have is tremendous. They can not believe that we would take time out of our day to help those who have not received much help before. Fresno is a large community, I understand that people are busy, but taking the time to help others makes an individual feel better about themselves. People may think that it is not right for some homeless to decide not to work, but if they do not have a job that means they have no money as well. We are all human, we know how it feels to be cold, hungry, hot, and we know that it is uncomfortable to feel any of those. How could we not have the heart to help the people that are experiencing these unfortunate rough times?

By: Brendyn Koerper

Brendyn Koerper — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:31:54 +0000

There is no doubt that homelessness is a huge problem in the San Joaquin Valley. The truth is it an endemic across the United States. To fix the issue of increased displaced workers and get back into the working class it is necessary to understand that there is no one answer. The fact that the city is willing to build a dwelling in which the homeless can live is one step to helping the problem but even that step requires lots of studying, analyzing, and assessing. It is necessary to know what is going to be needed by the occupants and how to make the living space feasible for all the people and their different demographics.

By: Brenda M

Brenda M — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:51:11 +0000

I love how this field is helping to improve the lives of the Central Valley. How dedicated you are in helping the homeless in your community. Not every person is up for the job. I realize that homelessness is a great issue through out the central valley. And it is very exciting to read that the city of Fresno is doing something about it. I live in Merced and to be honest I haven’t heard of anything like this. I hope Merced is also trying to do something about this issue. There are so many homeless in Merced that it is very sad to see. When I drive to work I see the homeless sleeping in the park under a bench. The fact that Fresno is planning to provide shelter for them is great. I hope to hear that this follows threw.

By: Edgar Sepulveda

Edgar Sepulveda — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:12:47 +0000

The idea of a dwelling for the homeless is a great idea especially during the colder seasons. There is just so much help we can offer to the homeless with the few cents we give them whenever we see them out on the streets. And giving money away becomes somewhat of a burden with the economic times we are facing today. It should be the government’s responsibility to help the homeless and a dwelling is a great start but the help should not end there. There are other things like jobs and rehab services that should be given to the homeless along with a place for them to sleep over. If we do not help the homeless in other ways, there is little a shelter can do for their self-esteem. I think that the government should create programs to find the homeless jobs in things like farming and such; something for them to start integrating themselves back into society. Also, there should be laws that protect the homeless against discrimination on the workforce because the reality is that they are looked down upon because of their social state. And so society needs to humanize itself by stopping dehumanizing the homeless.

By: Jose V

Jose V — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:58:49 +0000

Not all of homeless population is an alcoholic or drug addict, but the ones that are might have a mental disorder or trauma that has drove them to their downfall. If that is the case do you think that we should help out the homeless medically, and give them some sort of support until they can stand on there two feet. What about the homeless war veterans that were mentally affected, and find substance abuse as a way out. I do not believe that we are all equal when it comes to having family, friends, education, and a finical means to support oneself, and that is why I think we should help the less fortunate.

By: Jose V

Jose V — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 03:56:26 +0000

Not all of homeless population is an alcoholic or drug addict, but the ones that are might have a mental disorder or trauma that has drove them to their downfall. If that is the case do you think that we should help out homeless medically, and give them some sort of support until they can stand on there two feet. What about the homeless war veterans that were mentally affected, and find substance abuse as a way out. I do not believe that we are all equal when it comes to having family, friends, education and a finical means to support oneself, and that is why I think we should help the less fortunate.

By: Andrew S

Andrew S — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:21:38 +0000

I agree with what you are saying Brad. You make some interesting points. I don’t see a real reason to put this in place unless they are willing to maintain the structure. I also feel that you get what you work for. I don’t see the government bailing those of us out that work hard so that we can pay for our own housing, so why do they bail these people out that continually squander their oppurtunities. I have always felt that you get what you deserve. If these people don’t want to go out and put in on honest hard effort, then they don’t deserve the help. With that said, I am all for helping those that are willing to work hard. If housing can provide them a basis to jump start there lives, and get a job and be a productive citizen who puts into the system, then I am all for it.

By: Brad V

Brad V — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:45:31 +0000

I would like to know about those of us who are losing our houses because we cannot afford to pay our mortgage anymore. Do we deserve to get help from our city, county, or our government? Those of us work and pay taxes but still are losing our homes. In fact, we pay some of the highest taxes around. When we ask for help, we are told fill out this paper and wait or you are not behind enough for assistance. I guess if you are not having financial difficulties and are struggling not to lose your home it is easy to think about curing homelessness. I do not think the homeless are owed anything.
I work at a place that offers health care to the homeless and a majority of them just gets intoxicated or high and do not care about anything else. They come back repeatedly for the same issues because they do not listen to advice to help themselves. The money they make collecting recyclables goes right into alcohol and drugs. How can someone who does not work and put into the system deserve to have anything given to them. I have known people who have lost everything and made it back up with a lot of struggle and fight. Take for instance the move The Pursuit of Happiness that was based on a true story. That guy had motivation he did not spend every day looking for a fix. Sorry I think that those of us who are working and trying to survive should be offered help.

By: Brad V

Brad V — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:50:55 +0000

Just a thought, providing shelter for the homeless is a fantastic idea. It would help keep people off of the street and maybe clean up some of the clutter of cardboard boxes and tarps. It could also help to improve the health of our homeless and lighten the load on the homeless shelter during the cold season. But let me play devils advocate for a bit. Now that the shelters are built and our homeless are residing in them, who will do the maintenance and keep up the shelters? I’m sure that there are many of the homeless that choose to live that way. Some of them have families but like the responsibility free lifestyle that they have made for themselves. Look at the area where our homeless call home now.
This type of person is living this way because they do not want responsibility. I am thinking that this will be a place that the city or county will have to maintain. This would increase cost for our fair city because people will have to be employed to take care of this task. This place could also become a place for infections to spread or a drug house. We do not really want to add a permanent structure that would be more of an eye soar that what we have with tent city.
These folks would go out and work if they really wanted to make a change from being homeless. My thought is that they like this life style and do not want to do much to change it. A potential solution would be offering the homeless money to maintain their shelters. This could possible keep the area a little nicer. You may make it a stipulation for living there that they must maintain it but then you will still have to bring someone in to check on them. I think it would be a good idea to build these shelters for the homeless if you can find a way to prevent them from becoming run down like the section 8 apartments.