Poor people are getting rough treatment “out there”. Residents consider the homeless to be “washashore” people attracted by a Field of Dreams– the “if you built it, they will come” state of being that can only be ended by eliminating services for homeless people.(more). Now in the United States the federal government has an official warning out there that terrorists may pose as homeless people to conduct clandestine surveillance of buildings and mass transit stations! (So instead of being appalled when we see homeless people on our streets we are encouraged to be suspicious of them!).
While I was waiting for a bus in Abilene, Texas, lately I saw a terrific article about homelessness in a local newspaper. The article quoted a local public official as saying that ” a lot of people think homeless people are nothing….they’re not all there.” Ghosts?
Maybe that explains why land use planners are so reluctant to factor in zones for low cost housing in their land use plans- ghosts don’t need land! Land use planners are not the only professionals who act surprised if you talk about the needs of the poor. Attorneys providing legal help for low income people say the legal profession acts surprised too. One attorney said he often is met with disbelief when he tells people that he is a lawyer for the homeless! He explained that there’s no concept of the legal difficulties faced by people either homeless or on the road to homelessness. (more). Ghosts don’t need legal briefs!
As I wrote a few months ago, poor people sleep in makeshift cardboard shelters at night, and in the morning their shelters are swept away by cleanup crews with dumpsters and water hoses. By the time we walk the streets to our work they are gone. Hidden from our view they shuffle around disconnected from our world. Even when we do want to connect with them by phone, to call them back to offer a job, or food or whatever, it has been impossible to do that up to now.
Now Google has stepped in. This excellent company unveiled a plan to provide free voice mail for homeless people to enable them to leave a phone contact number for potential employers or other agencies to make it easier for themselves to be reached whenever needed (full story).
I hope land use planners follow the lead that Google is giving. As well as a phone number, poor people need toilets, houses, transportation, gardens, and work. Treating them like ghosts and then blaming them for being “a potential nuisance” is avoiding the problem. The”Planned City” up to now requires that the poor should at best be hidden, or at worst swept away. How about housing them on properly planned sites?
One of the goals of Home-Grown Food Network is to improve public understanding of how the supply of low cost housing can be increased. Low cost housing is an essential part of any strategy for helping homeless people to get connected. We know there is a vast reservoir of talent, resources and good will ready and set to go forward to make this happen. Google’s free voicemail gift proves that point.
Filed under: Growing tomatoes in the desert, Ultra low cost housing, cheap housing, under $20k house
