HOMELESS IN MANHATTAN
It’s often been said that many of us are only one or two paychecks away from being homeless and that’s very clear in GFC-stricken USA.
Millions of people are unemployed, rents are high and even people with jobs can no longer afford to make ends meet.
In the past, many of these people would have turned to their family for help, but now, their family members may be homeless too. This report in the Huffington Postsuggests the problem is about to get much worse.
The official statistics for New York City are sobering.
The census taken on December 9, 2011, records 23,061 adults and 16,726 children were homeless. There are many people who weren’t counted.
I’ve been volunteering for a homeless shelter in Manhattan for the past couple of months.
We work in pairs. If one of us fails to turn up, the shelter closes for the night and our guests have nowhere to sleep. I do feel the responsibility.
The term ‘shelter’ is a bit of a misnomer. It is a church hall in which we set up cots and heat and serve a meal prepared by another volunteer and brought in from home. The hall is clean enough but there is no shower, little heat and many mice. We provide a weekly change of sheets and a towel and a meal.
Only a street away my own family sleeps in heated comfort.
It is so little, yet in all the years I have worked in human service jobs I have never received so much appreciation.
Our guests thank us excessively for everything. And they are so concerned for the comfort of us volunteers.
They are keen to share their meal with us. They worry that we won’t be comfortable and won’t have privacy because we sleep in the same room and on the same cots as they do. It is only when I explain that several centuries ago I had been in the army reserve they are satisfied I will be ok.
They need to give to us too so they can feel worthwhile.
Our group are all women. The expected mix of sinners and saints you find in any group. Some are well, others ill. Some quiet, others bolshie. Only one was drunk last night but we chose to ignore that (although it is against the rules) as sending her away meant she would be outdoors all night.
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13 Responses to this article
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dramaqueen75 February 3, 2012
Thank God we have a bit of a safety net here in Australia. It’s not perfect and of course we have many people who sleep on the streets here too. Every time I read things about America though I am struck by the American version of capitalism that allows so much suffering and hardship to co-exist with extreme wealth and profit.
That heavens there are wonderful people who are prepared to think of others besides themselves and care for those who are doing it tough.
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leah pallaris February 3, 2012
I often wonder, when you think about it, so many people, are very rich in AMERICA, millionaires…(many times over)
and I would think that together, they could build a large hotel in every major TOWN, for these homeless people, and the homeless could clean and tidy the place, for free accomadation….. I know the salvos, and other groups do a great job, but the figures get too high, they need HOTELS for the population of Homeless… in the USA.. ROOM FOR THOUGHT… -
Rosie February 3, 2012
Leah Pallaris – American millionaires are known for their philanthropy – look at Bill Gates and Warren Bucket – in fact much more than Australian millionaires. When did you last hear of Gina Reinhardt, Clive Palmer, Twiggy Forrest or the Packers doing anything for mankind? I love your idea, and in an ideal world ……..
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Diana February 4, 2012
This is a really moving description of a terrifying problem.
I’ve always hoped that if everything came crashing down, I’d move in with my family until things improved. But what if they were homeless too?
It must be incredibly difficult to pick yourself up in a culture where so many things are stacked against you.
Thanks Angela for such a great insight into New York.
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Lisa Forrest February 4, 2012
I lived just off Times Square in the early 1990′s, pre-Guilliani, when to walk home from the restaurant where I worked at night, from the Upper West Side downtown along Broadway, was to see a homeless person in every doorway you passed. During the day you couldn’t stop to admire something in window (on a waitress’s wage I could only admire!) without a homeless person asking for assistance.
But then the new Mayor arrived with his zero-tolerance message and gave the homeless a one-way ticket out of his city and for a while NY was able to forget.
Sounds like NY is back in the real world again. -
Deborah February 4, 2012
This is the best article I’ve read on the Hoopla yet. Thank you, Angela. I’m going to take time to read the links you supplied. I really want to learn more.
I live in the eastern suburbs, near the harbour. I often walk down to the the harbour walk for some evening air. In the past 6 months I’ve been doing this the one homeless man that has been living in the park has grown to a group of three.
I’m sadly wondering when the local council in this really rich area is going to arrange to have them ‘moved on.’ And out of site. Or, if, as the GFC continues to bite, the numbers of homeless are growing to grow big enough that even the rich communities will be unable to move them on. I wonder if these three will soon be four, five and then more?
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Vanessa February 5, 2012
It’s a really good point Deborah. I’ve been wondering how people are going to cope living in Sydney if they don’t have a job. The rents are so high. Technically, we could live in ‘group houses’, but most landlords won’t rent to groups. My grandparents used to tell me about people living in garages during the Depression.
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max kolbe February 4, 2012
If you’re a Sydney-sider, the Cana Community is always looking for volunteers with Cafe Cana and Teresa House with behind the scenes stuff and with direct contact similar to what Angela writes about here: http://www.cana.org.au/
I used to volunteer there when I lived in Sydney and the experience is extremely rewarding.
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Angela February 5, 2012
Thanks so much for your interest. Volunteering for the shelter has certainly challenged my perceptions of who ends up homeless. Americans impress me as very generous but naturally donors will focus on those problems that attract their personal interest. Unfashionable or obscure social issues are easily overlooked. Government social policy seems tougher here yet I have attended functions where individuals have packed up their leftovers for their local homeless identity.
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Alice Shaw February 5, 2012
It’s when I read a post like this that I am even more sickened by the millions of dollars Americans spend on the Superbowl, the advertising, the security etc… all while people are freezing on the streets. It is very wrong.
We have a homelessness crisis here in Australia. Women and children sleep in their cars and at bus shelters. They stay with violent men because they literally have nowhere else to go. The refuges and shelters are full and they are often scary environments for children to be thrust into.
The rents in Sydney are so high, often the properties are so badly maintained, dirty, cockroach infested and all the while greedy agents and landlords ask for more and more. Without proper regulation the housing situation will only get worse.. thank goodness we at least have all the wonderful volunteers who can help make a difference.
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Jenny M February 6, 2012
Isn’t it interesting that this article has 10 responses and Wendy’s article about dog ownership has 69.
For what its worth, I own a dog, cat, fish and have been to New York.
