Homelessness in DC
By Kara Spada
Homelessness is one of the issues that I have had the hardest time understanding while in DC. How can such a developed country allow for so many of its people to be living in the streets? As a middle class student I have never had the money to donate large amounts to help my community, but I have found various other ways to help out. After all, we are only as strong as our weakest communities.
Here in the States homelessness is a problem experienced daily for over 600,000 people. In D.C. alone there are 11,000 people living without the security of food and shelter. Moving here from Columbus, the homelessness was one of the biggest differences I experienced on a daily basis. Yes, I remember the few people waiting up and down high street selling papers to raise money, or yelling at students when they turned them away because they only took cash not food. But none of these experiences prepared me for what I was going to see in D.C.
On an average daily commute I pass roughly 10 to 15 homeless people sitting along the sidewalks and streets asking for money. I have seen people standing out with their children holding cups begging, and have even pets being used to attract more donations. I have passed women, children and families taking shelter over heating vents, and have even accidently walked into homeless camps hidden in the woods of the suburbs.As far as the danger homelessness can often cause, I have had roommates who have been assaulted by people living on the streets just because they didn’t have any cash on them, and have experience uncomfortable situations myself when I had nothing to offer.
Every time I see a person living on the streets I am overcome with a feeling of sadness, wanting to change the entire world just to help that person to be comfortable. I have spent a good portion of money (that I do not have) trying to provide food and necessities. Since we are students, and mostly unpaid interns, it is impossible for us to spare as much money as we would like to help those in need. Here is a list of 10 ways to help the homeless population in D.C. without spending money.
1 Volunteer
Volunteering is a great way to help your community without donating money to an organization or giving money to people living on the street. You can google Volunteering with the Homeless in D.C. and find a list of ways to get involved, or you can visit VolunteerMatch.com to find a list of organizations in need of volunteers. Gather some of the WAIPers for an early sunday volunteer project and grab breakfast as a group after!
Check out this Washington Post article for a list of 25 organizations in need of volunteers throughout the D.C. area
2 Advocate
Advocacy and outreach is the best way to spread the message of the need to end homelessness, and provide resources to prevent families from becoming homeless. Plenty of organizations need more voices to reach out to congress or attend meetings on the Hill so that our representatives understand this problem. Reach out to DC’s National Alliance to End Homelessness and find out how you can join them in their advocacy efforts. Their website is full of ways to get involved and even include advocacy updates and policy initiatives!
3 Donate old clothing
Are your parents coming to visit you while you are here? Have them bag up all of those old clothes so you can donate them to the homeless population while in D.C. You can find a Goodwill in the city, and you will be able to clean out your closet while providing for a good cause!
4 Smile and Respect
After a while of living around a larger homeless population it becomes easy to block them out and ignore them. Try not to forget to see these people as humans. I sometimes find myself ignoring them or walking out of my way to avoid them for various reasons. If someone asks you for money, be polite. There is no reason to completely ignore them (unless of course they are being rude or you feel threatened by them). Smile and let them know that you are a student and you have no cash, or if you do want to offer them something, offer to pick them up some food at a local convenience store. Granola bars, cups of soup, a bottle of water are all cheap options that can make a huge difference to someone who doesn’t have access to food and water. I have seen many people feel so grateful for these little things.
5 Educate
Learn about the causes of homelessness and inform others. Here is a Facts Sheets that includes information on causes, numbers, and special issues. Also check out the following sites to learn more about the problem of homelessness across the country and what organizations are doing to help.
- Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors Report on Hunger and Homelessness: http://usmayors.org/publications/default.asp
- The National Low Income Housing Coalition: http://www.nlihc.org
- The National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness: http://www.studentsagainsthunger.org/
- Homes for the Homeless/Institute for Children and Poverty: http://www.homesforthehomeless.com/
- National Health Care for the Homeless Council (Formerly The Better Homes Fund): http://www.nhchc.org/
- Universal Living Wage Campaign: http://www.universallivingwage.org
- To find out other ways to help homeless people: http://earthsystems.org/ways/list.html
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