“They are humans too”
An in-depth look into homeless population in Berkeley
Produced by: Conan Lee, Weiming Liu, Fengling Liu, Jasmine Chen, Reni De La Nuez
“When you see a homeless person on the street, will you say “hi” to him or her?”
People are socialized to be skeptical of their surroundings.They are trained to travel in packs, to avoid strangers, to go home before it gets too late or else run the risk of being subject to the dangers of a violent society. For the nearly 400 unsheltered homeless people in Berkeley, however, the luxury of being cautious is not an option. Without private homes or reliable support systems, homeless people are expected to fend for themselves and lift themselves out of poverty simultaneously, often resulting in both psychological and physical trauma. The solution to this crisis lies in the advocates who hear survivors’ stories, understand their struggles, and defend their rights.
There are many factors that contribute to Berkeley’s homeless crisis, one of the most pressing being the cost of living in this area. Health, Housing, and Community Services Department coordinator Peter Radu recognizes that this is the result of an affordable housing shortage.
“In Berkeley, the rate of chronic homelessness is about twice the national average,” said Radu. “We have far more people in need, far more people who have housing insecurity, than we are able to accomodate with our current resources.”
Although he values Berkeley’s charming environment of endearing public spaces and stylish architecture, Radu recognizes that an urban plan that prioritizes aesthetic quality over functionality is unsustainable. He believes that if Berkeley residents say that they want to eradicate homelessness, they have to adjust their priorities and substantiate their claims.
“We can’t have it both ways,” said Radu.
The first step in an infrastructural transition will likely happen at the governmental level, where an increasingly popular debate topic is that of how to better apportion funds to serve the homeless population. Under mayor Jesse Arreguin, the city is trying to accommodate people in need by proposing and implementing more housing projects. Although various shelters and donation centers work independently of the government to aid homeless individuals, nearly 1,000 people sleep on the street each night. Jacquelyn McCormick, a top assistant to mayor, says that local government officials are relentlessly exploring new ways to house unsheltered individuals for both the short and long term.
“We have increased our budget, just this year, by 30 percent,” said McCormick. “These are not dollars that are matched by the county or state or federal government. These are dollars that our taxpayers are delivering to our [services for the homeless].”
Recent polls indicate that Berkeley residents are willing to put more money toward efforts to alleviate homelessness, and McCormick is hopeful that this will be reflected when the community votes on a ballot measure to increase funds allocated for homelessness by an additional 125 percent.
For now, a handful of volunteers are doing their best to use what limited resources they have to promote positive changes for people without homes. Many of these volunteers have histories of homelessness themselves, such as A Woman’s Place program coordinator Maria Bellinger.
An affiliate of CATS, San Francisco’s Community Awareness and Treatment Services program, A Woman’s Place works to provide housing and treatment services to women in the bay area. Bellinger was homeless before taking on a role at the women’s place, and believes that her personal experience with living on the street has greatly benefitted her ability to benefit others.“I was homeless for almost two years, which at first was this grand adventure, but really quickly led me to be shocked by what I experienced,” said Bellinger. “When I came out of that, I was like, ‘I have to do something.’”
Bellinger remembers her time spent homeless as being absolutely dehumanizing and recognizes the stigma against homelessness as one of the main limiting factors in her endeavor. People frequently make assumptions about the homeless population as a whole, when in reality, each person has a unique story that requires individualized attention. This is especially true in the case of women, who are, more often than not, survivors of domestic violence who are suffering from PTSD.
“I don’t know any homeless women who haven’t been sexually assaulted multiple times,” said Bellinger. “ But it’s never reported because there is this feeling that it is not going to do anything, and I think that is the reality.”
Even if these programs are readily available, they can only help the people who are aware of them. A lack of communication and unity between various volunteer groups and the people who would benefit from their services threatens both parties, and requires immediate attention on the volunteers’ side. First and foremost, people must start talking about homelessness more. People who become homeless are frequently marginalized and ignored by those around them, thus perpetuating their feelings of self-doubt, fear and hopelessness. In turn, they become less likely to seek assistance. According to the Berkeley 2017 Berkeley Homeless Point-In Time Count, 56% of those surveyed had been homeless for over a year. This qualifies them as being “chronically” homeless, and puts them in even greater need of immediate housing.
In talking to homeless people, it quickly becomes clear that they are ostracized without justification. They are well aware of the stigmas against them and recognize these stereotypes as forces that keep them out of work and housing. Unfortunately, there is little that they can do to change this when a majority of people with homes do not make an effort to talk to those in need, creating an even wider gap between the two groups.
This is a crisis that requires time, money and effort, but perhaps most importantly, empathy. Observers of homelessness need to understand that the differences between them and their unsheltered neighbors are few and trivial, especially when compared to the amount of positive outcomes that would come of putting more effort into solving this falsely-deemed “insurmountable” problem. Every vote, every conversation, every donation is another chance to move toward a goal that will take the entire city to accomplish. Take advantage of opportunities to help with passion and sincerity, and know that even the smallest contribution can make a world of difference for a woman with no place to sleep at night.