Homelessness in America

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On Friday, our homelessness class met with Judge Nelson Rupp, who is a Circuit Court Judge for Montgomery County. He has had sixteen years experience as a judge, as well as nineteen years previously as an attorney. As a seasoned member of the judicial system, Judge Rupp has seen many cases and decided the fate of many criminals. An underlying frustration is the “revolving door” of repeat offenders. It shows the Court’s fault and “futility” of the legal system when punishing someone does not fix the problem. Seeing the same people in his court over and over, Judge Rupp founded the Drug Court as a way to combat the flaw in the legal system. His justification is that of all the cases heard, or most any crime, the underlying issue of the crime is substance abuse.

Judge Rupp also founded the Drug Court Program in Montgomery County five years ago. This program is an “alternative to incarceration” for repeat drug and alcohol offenders in Montgomery County. The goal is to break the cycle of abusing drugs and going to prison, only to be let out after the term and turn back to a life of substance abuse. Putting people back into society permanently in a healthy, safe environment is the key to bettering their lives and futures.

The program is a two year voluntary commitment for repeat offenders who are non-violent who are “assessed as substance abusers”. It was designed as a transition program to move back into society. There are steps participants must complete during the two years such as weekly sessions of substance abuse treatment, random drug tests, AA meetings three or four times a week, a steady full-time job, and weekly drug court hearings with Judge Rupp. These hearings are Thursday nights so participants do not need to miss work for a court date. To help in the recovery/ transition process, participants must live in sober housing. This often consists of a Pre-release Center or an Oxford House. These housing projects were designed specifically to aid in the rehabilitation for these abusers in an area free from drugs or alcohol.

Currently there are 66 participants in the program. The most recent graduates were the seventh group to graduate from the program bringing the program’s total to 57 graduates. The miraculous fact however, is that less than ten percent of them have offended again since their graduation. One such success story that Judge Rupo told us about was Ruben White. He graduated from the program after abusing drugs and alcohol and having multiple offenses. Today, White has been clean and sober for two and a half years. He lives with his wife and four kids in their own home after leaving a homeless shelter. White has since gone on to sponsor other participants in the program.

Judge Rupp said the he is “saving lives” by running this drug court. People who are on the brink can still come back and be an active, healthy member of society. “That’s a big deal” according to Judge Rupp. It is difficult to break the cycle of drugs, crime, alcohol, and prison when that is all the environment allows, but when the environment changes, the cycle is broken and a new life can emerge. The strong conviction of Judge Rupp is that “nobody is hopeless- homeless, illiterate, sick- nobody is hopeless”.

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This morning our homelessness class had a meeting with U.S. Representative Todd Platts from the 19th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. More specifically, our questions were geared around poverty, homelessness, and subsidized housing. This was a great opportunity to ask questions, and theoretically, get direct answers about what the federal government is doing to combat homelessness.

Congressman Platts is a father of two, born and raised here in Pennsylvania. Since the age of fourteen, his dream has been to become a US Congressman for his district. Now that his dream has come true, he is working hard both here and in Washington to advocate for his constituents. He is a firm believer in family values and is fiscally conservative when it comes to spending. Congressman Platts has focused on promoting education and community service and improving child nutrition during the past month. Previously, he has fought the special education funding shortfall. On the topic of homelessness however, he believes, as most do, that there is much to be done to bring individuals and families back from the brink.

Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Grant Act of 2009 is one of the bills Congressman Platts has worked on during the last year. It is a bill appropriating monies for job training, counseling, placement services and child care for veterans trying to “reintegrate” themselves back into society from a state of homelessness. This bill was brought before the House in January of this year; however, at this point in time it is still sitting in subcommittee. When asked how one might go about moving the bill along to where it could actually be passed and begin helping the people who need the legislation, his response, while honest, was disheartening. The only way to move legislation out of subcommittee so that it can be voted on by the House and sent to the Senate is for House leadership to decide it needs to be given funding priority over another piece of legislation. For anyone else, their hands are tied. In my own opinion, politics gets played too much on Capitol Hill which hinders the progress of important legislation that needs to be passed to save lives. Funding, majority leaders, and priority lists consume
elected officials’ agendas.

Since taking office in 2001, Congressman Platts has worked hard to address issues important to his constituents here in Adams, York and Cumberland counties. He is currently serving on the Committee of Transportation and Infrastructure, Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Armed Services. He co-sponsored a bill named Quality Education Begins At Home where funding is allotted to train single mothers to be better parents than the traditional basics of parenting so that by the time children start school, they have experienced a nurturing environment and the beginnings of a sound education.

This meeting was a great opportunity for the students in class to ask the questions that we, ourselves, do not know the answers to, nor does our professor. We learned about the inner workings of why change is so long from happening and that others share the same frustration we do about homelessness getting rapidly worse instead of better. We asked honest questions about the availability of Section 8 housing, healthcare, and adult education class for the homeless population. The Congressman met our questions with honest and straightforward, if long winded, answers about what the problems are and what the federal government is currently doing to change the dire situation. We are very grateful for the opportunity to speak with our elected officials and to inquire about matters important to Adams County and the country as a whole.

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Throughout the course of this trip we’ve had various conversations with informative figures regarding homelessness. However, many of these conversations have been informal, taking place on couches amidst snacking and laughter interspersed with intense conversation. Today we met with Pete Dougherty at the Washington Conference Center, and the atmosphere of this meeting was certainly more formal than any other meeting we had on the trip. Although formal, our discussion with Mr. Dougherty was extremely educational for all of us. As opposed to our typical volunteer sources and relationships with non-profit organizations, a federal spin on the homelessness topic was certainly eye-opening. Peter Dougherty is the Executive Director for the US Interagency Council on the Homeless since May of 2009 as well as the Director of the Veterans Affairs Homelessness Programs Office since 1998.

Our discussion was centered around a series of issues we chose to discuss involving the processes of federal interactions with homeless programs and also challenges associated with the current economic crisis. Mr. Dougherty spoke to general issues we’ve previously discussed such as points of vulnerability associated with homelessness including dysfunctional families, the foster system, and lack of access to health care. Our class has analyzed Rossi’s book Down and out in America Considering his position, it was no surprise that he had much to say about the VA. He informed us that Veterans are one of the most susceptible groups to homelessness because of related mental illness and lack of access to health care. He explained that with the loss of structure and motivation of the military, often veterans fall behind in everyday working life after they return from service, thus causing their chronic unemployment. Mr. Dougherty believes that if we as a country cannot solve the issue of veteran homelessness, then there is less hope for the remainder of the homeless population. His reasoning behind this theory was based upon veteran’s available access to health care.

He also spoke to various progressions in Housing and Urban Development. HUD is also working to make health care available not only to the veterans but also to their spouses and families that are in equally as much need. He described a new, unrestrictive policy in which housing is available to people with criminal records as long as they are not sexual predators. This is a big step for availability of housing considering forty percent of homeless veterans have a criminal record. Mr. Dougherty described a conversation with a homeless man in which he man told him that spending six dollars per meal is far more expensive than buying a set of groceries at the beginning of the week. This creates a vicious cycle for homeless people because for as much as they try to earn money, without a place to store necessary goods, money will consistently be lost to the expenses of basic survival.

In 1996 a survey was conducted over 3800 homeless individuals. A result of this study showed that not many homeless people are transient, and that they do not wander in search of services, but rather consistent jobs. Many are lured to cities for the potential of economic opportunity. Mr. Dougherty called Washington D.C. a “power city” in which every American sees change taking place. When someone wants to see a major change in government policy, he or she takes the issue to Washington. It should be no surprise that when someone is down on their luck they see D.C. as a place that might allow them change in their future. Unfortunately, as we’ve addressed previously, one of the greatest issues involved with urban poverty is the fact that homeless people often slip through the cracks. People often pass by the homeless on a regular basis without committing a poverty stricken face to memory or even acknowledging a homeless person’s existence. Mr. Dougherty admitted that this is indeed one of the greatest issues that Washington D.C. has yet to fully confront.

When asked about possible solutions to homelessness along with specific goals for the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, he said that their number one goal is and will remain eliminating homelessness entirely. Short term solutions include training programs, breaking stereotypes, and day shelters. He described the process of receiving funding as block grants from the federal government to individual states. It is then the state’s responsibility to evenly distribute these funds. However, he also acknowledged that often the best solution is to turn to community outlets for support as well. Individual communities and community groups can just as successfully raise enormous sums of money for the same cause. He encouraged us to take this idea back to our homes, and to spread this bit of knowledge so that our communities might make this effort. However, Mr. Dougherty also said that the best solution to eliminating homelessness entirely is prevention of homelessness in the first place. He said that his department is making great efforts to prevent homelessness from ever occurring through basic education about money management, credit cards, and case management. Our experience with Mr. Dougherty was indeed very informative and positive, and I know that I personally have taken heed in much of what he shared with us.

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Today was our last morning in D.C. and at D.C. Central Kitchen. Unlike other mornings at D.C.C.K., five of us were asked to work in capacities throughout the facility different from the kitchen. While half of our group spent their morning in the kitchen chopping, dicing, and cooking, Emily and Michaela organized D.C.C.K. apparel, new shipments of shirts that needed to be put away, Taylor revised the 2010 calendar of events, and Ciara organized comment cards into the computer system. I made paper airplanes.

Among serving nearly 4,500 meals a day to homeless people in Washington and Virginia, D.C.C.K. runs a number of life skill classes in which students learn fundamental lessons. The mission of these lessons is to instill within students confidence to manage themselves, their relationships, prospective job offers, money, and daily life. The skills classes take place over the course of several weeks, and correspond with job opportunities in the kitchen. At the conclusion of the course, a student who fulfills the requirements, which includes staying clean, earns a diploma. He or she is then given the opportunity to take a test through the state that, when passed, enables the student to be eligible to work in any kitchen around the United States. The transformation in students who participate and succeed in this program can be enormous. Not only do students acquire the ability to be employed, but the belief that they can be in control of their lives.

Students participating in this program will soon graduate, and a new round of perspective employees will enter D.C.C.K.’s doors in the hopes of pursuing a path away from homelessness. The paper airplanes I folded today will be used at the graduation ceremony. They will be flown, symbolizing hope, sovereignty, and accomplishment. Like a high school student tosses his or her graduation cap in great triumph, students at D.C.C.K will fly the planes in celebration of their own victory. New students will be watching in the crowd, as the graduating members participate in this joyous ceremony, and will be inspired. For if, what they see, is anything like what I have witnessed and been a part of for the last four mornings at D.C. Central Kitchen, they too, will want to fight against homelessness, join the organized chaos of the kitchen, and do everything within their power to become a success story, like so many of the workers at D.C.C.K.

In reflecting on my unique experience this morning at the kitchen, I cannot forget my brief conversation with Carolyn, the volunteer coordinator at D.C.C.K. She told me of her struggles in homelessness; of being a part of the foster care system and upon turning eighteen, having nowhere to go. She told me of her addictions, her mother, and her daughters. She told me that eight years ago, when her eldest daughter was just nine years old, she told her mother she was tired of bringing her baby sister to the park, fearful of going home to addicted parents, “And that’s when I knew, I had to stop.” Carolyn told me. I was amazed. This woman could run this place. She is so confident, so beautiful. How can it be that just eight years ago, this women who I am facing now fought a battle with crack? Her answer: D.C. Central Kitchen. She, like the students who will fly the white, pastel purple, marigold yellow, and spearmint green airplanes at the conclusion of their program, graduated and entered the work force a new person. Now, she embodies the possibilities that a student affiliated with D.C.C.K. can pursue.

While I wouldn’t trade anything for my work in the kitchen – I loved meeting characters like Freddy, who danced to Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Billy Jean as we worked, or Ms. Dot, who inspected all of our hands at the end of the morning to confirm that none of us had injured ourselves on account of her instruction – the folding of the paper airplanes gave me the most satisfaction. The planes will symbolize a new beginning. I hope that this small contribution, and those of previous mornings in which each of us did everything we could to aid in providing a balanced and nutritious meal to someone who may not otherwise eat, we made a difference. In speaking for myself, I have a new understanding and appreciation for the urban homeless population. Fu rthermore, I have an interest in the issue of homelessness that was further prodded and provoked at each facility we visited, most consistently at D.C. Central Kitchen.

And as our experience comes to an end, I have a new hero in Carolyn.

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This evening, ten people in our group went to serve dinner at Thrive DC, a women’s soup kitchen in the heart of downtown Washington. Many of us went with expectations about what we were doing that were not completely accurate. Because the group at Thrive DC had asked for a maximum of ten volunteers, many people expected that we would be in an intimate setting, serving dinner for a group of perhaps twenty women, then sitting down and eating with them. In reality, we got to a church a few blocks away from CCNV and DC Central Kitchens, and headed down to the basement to serve dinner to approximately one hundred and fifty women. We worked in the church kitchen with three church members, as well as five other volunteers from Howard University, while several other women from the church ran the overall program and worked with the women.

After working in DC Central Kitchen every morning, with its large industrial kitchen, professional chiefs and large number of trainees overseeing and working with the volunteers, we had quite an adjustment to make tonight. Many people expressed some confusion as they figured out where they were needed and how much food they were preparing. Although we still washed our hands and put on gloves, aprons and hairnets identical to the ones we wear at DCCK, it was a different atmosphere. We all knew what we needed to do while preparing the food to make sure that we met certain health standards - changing gloves regularly and not mixing raw and cooked food - but the people supervising us didn’t watch out for these things. Also, some people were disappointed that the most contact we had with the women was plating the food for them, after we had expected to eat dinner with them.

As we walked back from Thrive DC, many people expressed their frustrations at an experience that wasn’t what they were expecting. They brought up disparities in the health standards and nutrition between the food we regularly prepare at DCCK and the food we made and served tonight (fried fish, rice, vegetables, salad, bread and bread pudding for dessert). They talked about the confusions they faced in the kitchen and the disappointment that we didn’t interact with women in the way we thought we would. Eventually though, we made some important realizations. Thrive DC and DCCK do not accomplish the same things. However, they don’t intend to. As expressed in Robert Egger’s book Begging for Change, DCCK attempts to deal with the root causes of homelessness, hunger and poverty. This is a lofty goal, resulting in a multimillion dollar operation that trains people in food service while simultaneously rescuing unused food from restaurant and agriculture partners to send to shelters, seniors, and people on the street. This is not the goal of Thrive DC; they are a group trying to help other people by offering food to any woman who walks off the street, as well as giving them a place to go other in the afternoon and evening, and allowing women computer access while they are there. It is an immediate need that they address, and they do it effectively. In this sense, they really are thriving. Is it a less lofty or admirable goal than that of DCCK? I think this question should be asked of the women who can come in off the street every day and receive a meal. It was a learning experience for all of us that went to Thrive DC tonight. Some learned that not all non-profits are the same, while
others learned that prior expectations will greatly affect experiences and our perceptions of them. I learned about the women whom we served; instead of being in the kitchen helping to prepare the meal with everyone else, I was by myself in the room with the other women, serving them coffee. My experience was somewhat different from the others; while they were trying to figure out how many salads to plate for the meal, I was worrying about serving the women with compassion without being condescending or fake. I was concerned with communication barriers between me and the women I was serving, and looking them in the eye without staring. Although I didn’t get to sit down and talk to the women, I did get to interact with them - getting complimented on my smile by one woman while another admonished me for looking happy while I infringed on her ability to get her own coffee. It wasn’t the easiest thing I have ever done, but I did find it rewarding. I got to see and talk to women whose only fundamental difference from me was their lack of a home. In the end, all of us accomplished something at Thrive DC tonight—making sure that some women got a meal tonight. The important thing wasn’t that they were homeless women, crazy women, grateful or ungrateful women, women who we knew, or women that we will never see again. They were women, and every woman should be able to eat when they are hungry.