Christmas season is upon us. The air is crisper, the smiles are wider, the Starbucks cups are creating yet another national frenzy. My friends gather with their families around a tree, I gather with mine around a menorah. People across Durham and across the nation look forward to opening presents in the warmth of their living rooms, surrounded by loved ones and warm cookies.
Unless, of course, they are unable to look forward to any of this. For half a million Americans, there is no tree nor gift nor home awaiting their holiday festivities. These men, women, and children, either with their families or alone, represent the homeless population in the United States. In Durham alone, as of 2015, over 800 people were living on the street either chronically or temporarily. You might walk by some of them on the way to Happy and Hale or Harris Teeter without a second glance, or with a purposeful avoidance of eye contact. There are endless obstacles that accompany homeless life, but one of the most neglected is the emotional toll of stigmas surrounding homelessness.
“At the end of the day, people just want to be seen,” Sheldon Mitchell, executive director of Urban Ministries of Durham told a room full of students on Wednesday night at a Duke Political Union event on decriminalizing homelessness. “You just get so used to passing by people. I’ve been told by many folks that they just want somebody to acknowledge them and speak to them.”
Mitchell explained that the rate of homelessness in Durham is exacerbated by changing demography and employment opportunities. The Research Triangle is a growing hub for research and innovation, attracting bright young minds and professionals. Inevitably, the costs of living rise with the changing population--rents increase, property taxes go up, even food becomes more expensive. All of this change is empowering and productive for the community, but for the fact that hourly wages have not come close to keeping up with the rising housing costs. While professional salaries are high, the minimum wage is stagnant. Jobs that require less education pay less, making it difficult to obtain housing without a college degree. As of November 2016, the average monthly rent for a Durham apartment was $1,204. After some quick arithmetic, it is apparent that an adult working the typical 40 hour work week at a minimum wage job makes only $1,160 per month. That leaves negative money to go towards food, clothes, toiletries, and other basic necessities for an average worker in an average apartment. Mitchell said that this mismatch between wages and housing costs is a major problem; in fact, many of the people staying with Urban Ministries in Durham are actually employed. Despite having a job and working hard each week, they are unable to find affordable housing in the area.
Rising prices are not the only obstacles standing between Durhamites and a stable living situation. Addiction, substance abuse and trauma are all possible facets of homeless life that increase the risk of winding up within the criminal justice system. Even after the recovery programs offered by Urban Ministries and like-minded organizations, many formerly incarcerated people are turned away from employment and apartments alike. Employers tend to have policies that refuse to hire former felons or even those charged with misdemeanors. Many landlords refuse to accept tenants with criminal records or pasts marred with substance abuse. Legal marginalization of formally convicted people ends in the systematic elimination of opportunities. Even those desperately seeking a clean slate, a means to begin again, are consistently denied the ability to do so, leading to their chronic homelessness. Advocates of “ban-the-box” policies that would eliminate the need to report criminal records on job applications take aim at this cycle.
In the end, the circumstances of homelessness vary case-by-case. High living costs, involvement in the criminal justice system, domestic abuse and addiction can all push people to the street. But regardless of the specific incidents, there is little solace in being trapped in a cycle of homelessness. Though there are life-saving resources like Urban Ministries available on a small scale, these options are limited and temporary. Better still are legislative advocacy efforts that try to get at the roots of homelessness, like housing and criminal justice reforms. But at the end of the day, the most humanizing challenge to the devastating effects of homelessness is a rejection of the stigma that surrounds it. People who go through periods of homelessness do not want to be ignored, and they sure as hell do not want to be seen as “lazy.” So this holiday season, volunteer, advocate, but most importantly, look people in the eyes and treat them with the warmth, dignity and respect they deserve.
‘Tis the season, right?
Leah Abrams is a Trinity first-year. Her column, “cut the bull,” runs on alternate Fridays.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Leah Abrams is a Trinity senior and the Editor of the editorial section. Her column, "cut the bull," runs on alternate Fridays.