Structural Causes to Collective Issues
Imagine being born in a state where you are statistically 8 times more likely to be suspended than your peers, simply because of your skin tone and the racial bias and discrimination of school employees. Now imagine that somehow, despite this incredible barrier, you were able to get good grades, graduate on time, and even get a well-paying and dignified job shortly after graduation (in this economy? I know, but just try to imagine).
But, despite your hard work and even good luck up to this point, you’ve been living in an apartment covered in mold that your landlord refuses to remove, all while they continuously raise your rent at what seems like every chance they get. As one of the nearly 350,000 Minnesotans without health care, it is becoming more and more costly to pay for antibiotics and other medical support to combat the respiratory infection caused by this mold. You’re forced to take time off of work to recover. Unfortunately, your job does not offer earned sick and safe time (1.1 million Minnesota workers currently do not have the ability to earn sick leave), and as a result you are terminated from your employment for your lack of attendance. Now you can not even afford to rent your mold-infested apartment and are forced to be put on a waiting list for Section 8 vouchers. Many people are stuck on these waiting lists, while looking for shelter, for several years.
Despite all of your hard work: overcoming racial barriers, succeeding in the American public school system, gaining employment shortly after graduation; you are now homeless in your early 20s. Sadly, it is not uncommon for people to be homeless at this early age. In fact, “children and youth age 24 and younger are the most likely to be homeless in Minnesota.”
This was one of the first facts that I learned in the HECUA: Inequality in America classroom. It both surprised me and made me feel extremely upset and angry. Although it is not something that I ever wish to grow accustomed to, it is very common for me to see older, homeless adults when I am walking or riding public transit throughout the Twin Cities. It is much harder to realize that the most likely human beings to be homeless in my state are the exact same age or even younger than me. I could not even begin to imagine the trauma and terror of being an unaccompanied, homeless minor; yet the amount of unaccompanied minors under 17 who are homeless increased by 46% in my state between 2012 and 2015. How can someone blame an unaccompanied 17 year old for their homelessness?
In my opinion, supported by what I’ve learned throughout this semester in HECUA, you can’t. If we are not looking at the structural and systemic causes of how human beings end up experiencing homelessness, we are failing both ourselves and our fellow community members.
The scenario that you imagined was not random, or even fiction, but rather it takes into account just a few of the many systemic issues that have lead to an affordable housing and homelessness crisis in the Twin Cities. In Minnesota, 3 out of 10 homeless adults reported that losing a job or having their hours cut was a significant factor in their loss of housing. Six out of ten homeless adults admitted to having a mental illness, while more than half stated that they have chronic health conditions. These conditions make it much more difficult to hold down a job (especially if you are a part of the more than one million Minnesotans without earned sick and safe time), and retain safe and stable housing.
It is sad and hard to think about the fact that a mental health or physical health crisis can cause Americans to go broke and lose their housing. These issues will not be improved by putting those with debilitating mental illness or chronic health issues out onto the streets. They may be improved with more support, affordable and stable housing, and a universal health care system that works for all of us.
It is easy to imagine yourself into a situation that helps you to understand the root causes and the systemic failures that are currently causing so many Americans to live without having their most basic needs met. It should not be easy, however, to look at the results of our societal failures. Everyone should feel uncomfortable and morally destitute when faced with the realization that our policies and our systems (such as education, health care, housing, and many more) are the biggest contributors to the crippling and horrifying problems the most vulnerable among us face.
Our youth, our elders, those with mental and physical illnesses, ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQ folk, and those who live in generational poverty are constantly being forced into chaotic and often exploitative situations in order to simply maintain and survive in our country. It is time that we make sure to include those who have been traditionally disadvantaged and marginalized in our country in discussions of how to solve our social problems. It is time that we begin recognizing and discussing the structural roots of the collective issues that many of us face. Then, and only then, will we have the right voices and be having the right conversation to be able to make sure that every human being is able to create their own destiny and make their own choices, rather than being handed down challenges and barriers simply due to their race, gender, social class, or the neighborhood where they were born.
This piece is part of a series written by college undergraduates enrolled in off-campus study programs through the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA). HECUA programs offer students a chance to think deeply about the issues that matter most, and we’d like to share a piece of that experience with you. Every student post on the HECUA Medium page considers a theory or reading that intersects with that student’s lived experience. For more information about HECUA programs, click here.
