Interview 1

I met a homeless man outside of Jamba Juice. I had swung by before class as my morning had excluded breakfast (and I'm trying to eat healthier). Yesterday I gave my last two dollars to a man who was clearly homeless but not begging, so when this man asked if I had any change, I honestly told him no.

But I had some in the car. So I grabbed some money from my parking money pouch (I keep a stash of bills and change in my armrest thinger), and I walked back to him. He was grateful and that would normally be where it ended. But Kristen's words about learning homeless stories surged through my mind, giving me courage.

"I don't have any thing more, but I could buy you some lunch," I say, trying to start this conversation with something other than, "So, you're homeless..." Also, if he says yes, it'll give me some time while we get food.

"No that's ok, I'll eat later."

Damn, I think. Better just do it.

"So, are you homeless?"

"Yeah," he replies, quickly adding, "but only for now. I just moved back, I mean, I'm from California originally, but I'm back."

"Oh, cool. Where did you move from?" I don't really know what so say or ask... I'm just trying to keep the conversation alive.

"Phoenix, was out there for a few years."

Not really knowing what to do with that, feeling like I'm prying with that line of questioning. So I ask something I ask people all the time.

"What do you do?"

"Well, I'm trying to start a business."

Wow, I think. Not what I expected, I suppose. I'm interested. "What kind of business?"

Ok, so he answered this question. But I couldn't tell you what he said. His response was soft, and his words were increasingly muttered as he actually turned his head away from me as he spoke. The explanation of his plan ended with an addendum, "I also do work in factory production." I heard that last little bit.

The conversation had a sort of done feeling about it, so I told him good luck, he thanked me again, and I walked off. One of the things that stood out to me was his business plan. I hadn't really expected a man asking for change to have an enterpernerial spirit. The other thing that I noticed was his stressing that his homeless state was temporary. I sure know where he is coming from with that. I regularly stress the fact that my situation is going to end in a few months, both to myself and others. Apparently I am not alone in this desire to keep the word homeless a description of my situation, and not of me as a person.

Negotiating Homelessness

How to loose your house but not your job.

Using

Social
Performative
Symbolic
Behavioral
and
Ideological

... mechanisms to alay fears and establish normalcy despite not having a home

What Homes Communicate

Having a home communicates:

Self Determination - What I do is up to me.

Reliability - Because my things are safely kept and I am regularly there.

Productivity - I contribute enough to society that I can afford a home.

Social Status - The quality of my home is indicitive of my influence and wealth.

Decency - I keep my home clean, and it keeps me clean.

Practical Restrictions of Homelessness

There are more than a few things that a home does for a person. These functions include security (protection against the elements, animals, and fellow humans), appearance (grooming, clean and varied clothing), comfort (temperature, covering, nice places to sit and sleep), food (refrigeration, preperation, and consumption), communication (mailing address, phone, and computer), and storage (of all our extra stuff).

Housing and Environmental Advocacy

Alright, lets take a quick poll. How many here consider themselves devoted on some level to improving the status of the environment?

Let hit a few of the traditions. How many of you have taken some meaningful and intentional step to recycling? How about reducing carbon emissions? What about through diet, like eating local or reducing meat consumption?

Right. How many of you have ever considered homelessness? Didn't think so. But why not? Housing, built up land, constitutes a major aspect of our footprint on this earth. Combine loss of green space, tampering with run off, the resources used in construction, and the energy used to heat and cool the residence. A significant part of our environmental impact is bound up in our housing, and yet, this is not the hot issue that recycling, fossil fuels, and diet continue to be.

The blind spot in our advocacy is likely a product of our American cultural perspectives about property and homeownership. Central to the American dream is the idea of personal home ownership. Our own home, our own land. This desire sprung forth from, at least in earlier years of our country, the vast avaliability of such land. But it is more than just lots of land. We also value personal freedom, an independance form the rule of others, and being the master of ones own domain is an excellent outward sign as well as practical step in establishing ones liberty.

Not only are there cultural inclinations, there are some serious practical concerns that restrict environmentalists from walking away from their houses.