CanadaNews’ Reporter Notes

There is no denying that Washington DC is an engaging city full of influential people.  Deals that affect the entire world, in one way or another, happen here in Washington.  As I walk the streets of DC, I sometimes think about the historic events that have taken place here.  George Washington may not have actually lived here, but he had been here.  Thomas Jefferson walked these streets.  As well as Andrew Jackson, Fredrick Douglass, Ida B Wells, Marcus Garvey, Booker T Washington, W.E.B. DuBois….the list could literally go on for ever.

You name a famous or well known person since the city was founded and they have in some way had a connection to the District of Columbia.

But if you are going to be walking the streets of DC, among the historic building and monuments you will also see another thing:  the scores of homeless people.

When I first moved to Washington back in 1999, I had no idea what the city was really like.  I vividly remember walking in the park across from Union Station and seeing two homeless guys in their makeshift sleeping bags.  I stopped and looked and then turned around and saw the U.S. Capitol Building directly behind me.  As I starred at the building and thought about those two guys – I thought about whether or not anyone in that building even cared.  I walked over and chatted with the two guys for about 15 minutes and gave them both 5 bucks each. 

I knew that me giving them that money was going to change their position but it would at least give them a chance to get something to eat.

A week later I saw one of the guys and I chatted with him about that evening.  He said he immediately went to McDonald’s inside Union Station and got something on the dollar menu.  He said, “I ate well that night.”  He didn’t say it, but I could feel that he wanted to ask for more money.  So I said, “Maybe you should take this – so I don’t do anything crazy with it” [it was $3.00].

He gladly took the money and walked away.  I saw him about 10 minutes later drinking a beer.  I asked where he got the beer.  He said a friend bought it for him.  I asked if he still had the money I gave him.  He said he did and I asked if I could see it.  He said it was him money and he didn’t have to show me anything.  He called me a stupid n***er. 

I learned something that evening.

The issue of homelessness is bigger than just someone being homeless or catching a bad break.  Homelessness is an issue that transcends what many of us think.  Not only that, it is everything we think.  Being homeless can be a result of many things:  drug addition, stubbornness, bad breaks, bad past business ventures, past incarceration, undiagnosed mental illnesses, abuse, neglect or a number of other things.  Like the list of historical people, this list could go on and on. 

Among Washingtonians a conversation about homelessness occurs fairly often…at least from my various circles of friends.  Homeless men, women and children are common to the landscape.  You can see them around the Martin Luther King Public Library, or the McPherson Square Metro Stop, or along the lobby-filled K Street corridor.  You can even see homeless people in upscale Georgetown along M Street or in trendy DuPont Circle.

Generally, everyone uses the same arguments to justify their inaction:  “Pull out your wallet, and you’ll probably never see it again.”  Or how about:  “They’d just buy drugs with the money anyway.”  Some of those things may be true, but it doesn’t mean that you give up on those who are homeless and they really want to change.  It’s a weeding out process that you have to consider.

It’s true that some homeless people are on the streets by choice.  They choose the streets over a shelter or helping to get themselves in a home.  They don’t mind living on the streets because they get to play by their rules.  Many, if not all of the shelters in DC, have strict rules and regulations that those residing in have to abide by.  No drugs, no alcohol, and no fornication are allowed.  To some street dwellers following those rules is not possible.

Even if some of the people go to the shelters they tend to not be safe.  Some of them only allow you to bring a particular number of items inside, while others will not allow you to have anything outside of a change of clothes.  And considering these things they feel safer on the streets. 

I’ve believe it’s easier to criticize the cause of their homelessness than to search for a solution.  But you have to be willing to try.  Some believe the people in Washington do not try enough.  That could be the case since the city is always moving…things are always happening…there is always something going on.  But thankfully, there are people who care.  They care enough to try to help with the problem. 

There is a situation that comes to mind.  One person in particular is artist and MIT graduate, Michael Rakowitz.  He has innovative ideas about housing.  So innovative in fact that it shook up the homeless debate for a time.  The city in Cambridge, MA, began making ‘homeless-proof’ vents.  The city used vertical metal grates that the homeless could not sleep on to stay warm during those cold northeastern nights. In response to this, Rakowitz developed the idea for an art project called the paraSITE, a double-membraned collapsible structure that inflates when connected to air vents. The paraSITEs take in waste heat while providing shelter from the elements.

Initially, Rakowitz also intended for these nomadic homes to provide privacy. The project developed into something quite different. Over time, he realized that the homeless were already invisible to the world. Rakowitz’s has said, “The paraSITEs became a station of dissent and empowerment; many of the homeless users regarded their shelters as a protest device, and would even shout slogans like ‘We beat you Uncle Sam!?’ The shelters communicated a refusal to surrender, and made more visible the unacceptable circumstances of homeless life within the city.”

It’s not uncommon that there would be mixed response to Rakowitz’s idea. They give people a chance to stay out of understaffed and sometimes dangerous homeless shelters. Those against the idea say that it encourages the homeless to continue living on the streets, and factors associated with homelessness such as crime and disease remain legitimate concerns.

If you have been to Washington, DC, I am sure you’ve seen the uncomfortable ‘bum-proof’ benches.  They are regular two and three-seater benches that have a bar in between them to prevent people from lying down.  There are also elaborate sprinkler systems positioned around the city to prevent people from laying there.  I’ve seen the signs that read:  sprinkler system is motion detected – keep off of grass.  For the most part, homeless are relatively harmless in relation to the prostitutes and drug dealers who take their place. 

You have to wonder if what the city is doing is enough. 

Should the cities welcome the homeless who sleep on park benches and camp out at intersections? Some people are outraged at the cities’ actions and others are just outraged at the homeless.  At least those that choose to be homeless.

They don’t take responsibility for themselves or why they are homeless.  On the metro (subway), I heard someone say that once.

There aren’t any easy or quick-solve answers. In one of my conversations with a friend, on the subject of homelessness, he said that even the homeless in America have it better. The most destitute child on the planet won’t ever have a chance to better their lives or go to college.  No matter how much they slave, it’s virtually impossible.  But here, here we have ample opportunities and money designated for underprivileged families. That’s what makes America great, and that’s what makes homelessness in America so hard to understand.