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Notes by Summer D Clemenson
Facilitated by:
- Joe Ingram, ITFH – joe@vetsedge.org
- Bill Kirlin-Hackett – itfh@comcast.net
- Graham Pruse – prussg@seattleeu.edu
Vehicle Residency
Actual living in a vehicle; Will see lots of possessions – A successful vehicle resident will never be seen
Many cities have laws to limit vehicles that can be parked for long periods due to complaints (many come from people that are merely afraid something will happen, when nothing bad has never happened)
72 hour notices can lead to a ticket, impound and boot.
Many times vehicles are “home” to people but also how people get to work or even used for work. When the car is impounded important paperwork is taken that may stop them from working because the car is their home.
Vehicle Resident Cycle of Harm
- Loss of home
- Vehicle Residence
- Potential Unsheltered Homeless
- Vehicle Residence within limited legal space
- Frequent police calls = work flow
- Parking tickets
- Denial of registration because of unpaid tickets
- Compiling fines
- Vehicle identified as scofflaw
- Vehicle impounded
- Loss of vehicle residence
- Start over
- Sometimes there are such terrible things that happen that cause people to change.
- Services provided do not help if you can’t get your vehicle to them.
- Restriction to programs create barriers and stop people from receiving services.
- Public perception that there MAY BE potential criminal activity is the main reason for police calls.
- Sometimes people living in cars have full time jobs but still cannot afford housing because of low wages.
Aspects of Vehicle Residents Camp
- Volunteer mechanics
- Parking Lot
- Lighting
- Portable toilets – or permanent restroom structure
- Funding to assist with tickets, licensing, gas
- Background checks
- Case Management
- Security – Peer companionship
- License on window with contact information of facilitators
If a car is towed and someone lives in there the lost must save possessions for the owner.
Vehicle Identification Schema:
A vehicle parked on a public street may be identified as a residence if it exhibits at least 2 of 6 characteristics:
- The view through the front and rear window is blocked.
- At least one side window is blocked by sheeting, blankets, panels and/or curtains
- There is evidence of unfrozen condensation on windows
- At least one window is partially open
- There are items often associated with vehicle residency such as generators, bicycles or storage containers externally secured
- There are unusually large volumes of possessions, sometimes appearing as “garbage” (often in bags) within or near the vehicle.
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Homelessness Myths and Facts
Myth #1: It is impossible to end homelessness.
Fact: There is a growing national consensus that homelessness CAN be solved with the right plan, the right approach and enough funding. As encouraged by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, many communities have enacted a 10-year plan to end homelessness. Through endorsing this plan, communities are joining forces to end homelessness.
Myth #2: Government policy has nothing to do with homelessness.
Fact: Government policy affects homelessness more than any other factor. It is important for all citizens to let their elected officials know that human service funding is important to them.
Myth #3: The number of homeless people is exaggerated by homeless advocates.
Fact: In King County on any given day in 2012 there were more than 8,800 individuals who did not have permanent homes – they are sleeping on the street, in cars, in shelters, or in temporary housing. That number represents the best point-in-time count available from human service usage stats at the time that King county’s 10-year plan was issued. Emergency shelters surveyed in King County report that they have sustained over-capacity requests for shelter since 2003, and turn-aways continue most nights.
Myth #4: Homeless people are singe white men standing on street corners with cardboard signs.
Fact: Homeless people are singe men and women, families, children, workers– they span the demographics of our country.
Myth #5: Homeless people in my community come from someplace else.
Fact: Conditions in our own communities create and sustain homelessness. It is easy to claim that homeless people are “outsiders.” But while some homeless people move around to find jobs and housing, most are scared to leave their own familiar communities, or are unable to move because of physical or mental difficulties or because they don’t have the financial means to move.
Myth #6: Homelessness is just a big-city problem.
Fact: While homelessness is more visible in the cities, it has become a problem in rural areas as well, especially areas hard-hit by the economic downturn. Research indicates that families – usually single mothers with children make up the largest group of homeless people in rural areas.
Myth #7: Most or all homeless are people of color.
Fact: It’s more a matter of economy and geography than color.
Myth #8: The homeless are diseased and infectious.
Fact: The truth is that people suffering from disease and illness including HIV have an increased potential to become homeless.
Myth #9: People are homeless because they lack intelligence and ambition.
Fact: Being homeless is a condition, not a character defect. Anyone can become homeless if they are forced into unemployment with no financial cushion, must immediately leave a domestic violence situation, are laid off with no unemployment insurance, fall ill or become injured and can’t qualify for disability, or become incapacitated due to mental illness.
Myth #10: There are no veterans among the homeless population.
Fact: Approximately one-third of single homeless men are veterans.
Myth #11: All homeless veterans are Vietnam or other war veterans.
Fact: Studies have found that homelessness among veterans is not solely related to combat military experience.
Myth #12: There are no elderly persons among the homeless.
Fact: Homelessness is increased among aged persons because of the declining availability of affordable housing and increased general poverty.
Myth #13: The United States doesn’t have the homelessness problem that the third world countries do.
Fact: Homelessness is increasing in the United States.
Myth #14: Homeless people choose their lifestyle.
Fact: A homeless life is not a comfortable one. Few would choose a lifestyle that can be unhealthy, is at times dangerous, stressful and humiliating and invites abuse from community members. Some homeless people choose to sleep on the street rather than shelters because the noise and conditions are unsettling.
Myth #15: Their families should take care of the homeless.
Fact: Families of homeless individuals may themselves be destitute and unable to provide assistance to their relatives, no matter how they would wish to.
Myth #16: Our country has services for the mentally ill, so they shouldn’t be homeless.
Fact: The number of mentally ill needing services has far outstripped the services available.
Myth #17: There is plenty of housing and shelters for the poor and homeless.
Fact: The incomes of low-income households continue to decline as rents rise. In 2012, a worked needs to earn $20.31 per hour to afford a 2 bedroom apartment.
Myth #18: Homeless kids choose to run away from their homes because they don’t want to obey rules.
Fact: Kids run away because their homes are unsafe.
Myth #19: Those homeless are alcoholics or drug addicts; they refuse to stop.
Fact: Estimates are about 1/4 to 1/3 of the homeless population are or have been substance abusers or addicts. Many are dually diagnosed, which means that they suffer from mental illness as well, making it harder for them to cope with their addictions.
Myth #20: Homeless people don’t seem to want help.
Fact: The experience of being homeless can create fear of strangers, even those offering help.
Myth #21: It is a waste of time and money to help homeless people.
Fact: Not true. Homeless people who have access to and take advantage of resources (education, job training, medical treatment) show fast progress, moving back into the community. It is not a waste of time or money to help our fellow humans–rather it is a moral duty and responsibility, whatever the outcome. Every religious tradition practices and teaches this. As for strategies, we have learned that Housing First saves up to 80% in tax-payer funds dedicated to emergency services.
Myth #22: The federal government provides Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and financial assistance for all homeless people. Isn’t that enough?
Fact: It is not enough to sustain life. Nor do all homeless people qualify for SSI or financial assistance.
Myth #23: Homeless people are violent and dangerous.
Fact: “Most of the homeless are not a serious or dangerous threat to society.” Dr Pamela Fisher explains in Criminal Activity Among the Homeless. “They are more victims than perpetrators.”
Myth #24: Congregations can’t operate shelters because insurance companies don’t cover such activities.
Fact: Usually the insurance coverage for an individual congregation covers the shelter.
Myth #25: Services such as emergency shelters and missions only attract additional homeless and increase crime in neighborhoods.
Fact: Some unfairly charge that those homeless travel across county to spend time in a shelter. People travel in search of jobs and opportunities.
Myth #26: It is someone else’s job to help homeless people–charitable groups or religious organizations will do it.
Fact: Helping poor and homeless people is everyone’s job.
This update is of the 2005 adaptation by Sally Kinney for the Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness, from the original work, “The Myths and Facts of Homelessness,” by Rev. Jean Kim
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Handouts from Seminar:
Who is Homeless? Published by the National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009
http://nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/who.html
Why Are People Homeless? Published by the National Coalition for the Homeless, July 2009
http://nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html
Learn about Interfaith Task Force at http://itfhomeless.org
3030 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
425-442-5418
_______________________________
“Untitled Poem”
Author Unknown
Let me just clarify with you:
I am NOT homeless.
I am NOT a bum.
I am NOT an unmotivated degenerate.
I’ve heard the names you call me. I know what you think.
I am polluting your space. I am a menace, a threat.
However, here is what I really am:
I AM a person.
I AM employed.
I AM a valuable contributor to society.
I AM, in fact, living in a home.
My home just happens to be mobile with 4 wheels.
You mumble under your breath as you walk by home – Why don’t these people just go to a shelter?
Why?
Why should I?
Why would I want to?
What do I do with my dog?
Why would I want to lose my freedom? To be able to come and go as I please?
Where would I put all my stuff? – my clothes for work? my dishes for eating?
Tell me! – I’d love to know what you suggest.
I have money. Well, enough to survive.
Just can’t afford rent – especially not after my divorce and house foreclosure.
Sucks. But I am getting by.
I love my car.
It’s paid off.
It’s running great.
It’s comfortable.
My dog and I have carved out a happy home.
My boss is cool – I can bring my dog to work. She is a good dog, well-trained, sweet to everyone.
Plus my boss lets me use the bathroom at work for showering.
Life is manageable.
I just have to remember to keep moving my car every 72 hours. It is hard to keep track of time.
The hardest time for is the weekends.
Where should I while away the hours? Everyone is out and about in the neighborhoods.
Weekends are the days when I get noticed.
That’s bad.
Why do you feel compelled to call the cops on me?
I don’t leave trash on the sidewalks.
I am not causing ANY trouble.
I don’t pee in your yard.
I keep my car neat.
I take pride in my car! Just like you do in your home.
Just know on the window and talk to me.
The worst part of my day is the tap
tap
tap on the window of the cop’s flashlight.
I can take your comments, your fear and your threats.
But here is THE worst thing that could happen to me:
A parking ticket.
I can’t afford to pay the fines, the towing and the impound fees.
I LOSE my home.
I LOSE my dog.
I LOSE EVERYTHING.
Then, and only then, would I need a shelter.
Have I made myself clear?
