The War On The Poor In America: How Homelessness Became A Crime

Let’s talk about what may be the ultimate form of poverty: Homelessness.

Homelessness isn’t a new phenomenon -- and the homeless have never been treated with tremendous kindness by the system in which we live. In fact, there tends to be an overwhelming assumption among the “haves” that the homeless “have-nots” have somehow earned their homelessness by making poor choices in life.

In reality, there are so many factors that can lead to homelessness that they’re impossible to count. Some of them include:

• Running away from an abusive family situation.
• Being kicked out (as a minor) by a family for being gay, lesbian, trans or otherwise not cis-gendered.
• A medical crisis that threw the finances of the household underwater.
• Mental disorders (including drug or alcohol addiction) that make working impossible.
• Delays in processing claims for Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits.
• A lack of social services (or lack of funding) designed to assist people in the midst of economic crises.

Let’s add to the picture the fact that anyone working a full-time minimum-wage job (if they can find an employer willing to grant them full-time hours with the resulting benefits) still can’t afford a modest two-bedroom rental anywhere in the United States. You can quickly start to understand that homelessness is not a personal failing. It’s a failing of the system that’s supposed to help personal struggles.

So, why then, are American cities responding to the homeless as if they are waging a war? The war, one might think, would be against poverty and the system that keeps people stuck in a cycle of homelessness. Instead, it’s the homeless that are seen as the problem and outright attacked.

How Are American Cities Declaring War On The Homeless?

City governments are going out of their way to make areas inhospitable to the homeless -- seemingly with the idea that if they can make the homeless disappear then the problem is somehow solved. (There’s a revolting sort of logic to this. After all, if the affluent and working-class people don’t have to be troubled by the sight of some homeless people on the streets, then the problem seems to be solved and city leaders can relax.)

Let’s talk about how cities go out of their way to make homelessness a bigger burden than you may have thought possible:

• Anti-begging laws, which require homeless people to buy a permit in order to stand on a street corner asking for donations.
• Fining motorists for stopping to give homeless people donations.
• Designing urban architecture that makes it impossible for homeless people to sit down or rest in public spaces, including the use of spikes on window ledges.
• Ordinances that make sleeping in public -- even inside a car -- a punishable offense.

Some cities have even taken the step of disbanding homeless camps wherever they can locate them -- even on private land when the homeless are there by invitation. They also shut down “illegal” shelters and donation points that aren’t officially sanctioned. This forces the homeless to find shelter anywhere they can -- often in secret camps in the woods where they are more exposed to the elements (and more danger).

What Can Be Done To Redirect The Efforts Against Homelessness?

Homelessness isn’t a problem that can be made to go away simply by making the homeless invisible. Some things can be done (experiments with a universal basic income come to mind as does building mini-homes that can be maintained on a minimum-wage job) to help erase the problem of modern homelessness.

First, however, city governments need to acknowledge that the homeless are people -- and deserving of the resources that can help them escape their situation.

This was a guest piece by Maggie Black.