“It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?” ~Christopher Gardner in the “Pursuit of Happyness”
I decided to take an in-depth look at how the homeless are portrayed in the media. After having watched “Pursuit of Happyness,” I became increasingly aware of my own judgements and bias about people who are homeless. Most of my pre-conceived notions of homelessness come from either the media or seeing men pan-handling on the streets. However, it is easy to disregard the actual statistics of homelessness. The National Coalition for the Homeless defines homelessness “a person is considered homeless who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence; and... has a primary night time residency that is: (A) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations... (B) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or (C) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings." With this definition, this could encompass many…including those impacted by Hurricane Katrina living in FEMA trailors I suppose. Here are some interesting facts:
Children, youth, and young adults age 21 and younger made up 47 percent of all people experiencing homelessness in Minnesota the night of the survey. A total of 2,726 children age 17 and younger experienced homelessness with their parents on the night of the survey.
Research indicates that families, single mothers, and children make up the largest group of people who are homeless in rural areas
89 percent of homeless youth are enrolled in school.
The number of homeless families with children has increased significantly over the past decade.
During my search for homelessness, I found a large number of homeless portrayed as as men living on the streets either as drug addicts, pan-handlers, or “beggars.” I found a few women dressed as a the stereotypical “Bag-Lady” living out of a car. All instances of homelessness I found focused on the homeless in urban areas, never rural areas. Perhaps homelessness is considered by people as only an “urban-problem.”
Here is some clips from the movie "Pay it Forward" where they portray the homeless living on the streets. The homeless man is a drug addict while the woman who is homeless lives in her car.
I found many images of homelessness portrayed men as pandhanlders in an urban setting.
Homeless images from Los Angeles....again, "Urban Homelessness"
"The Land of 10,000 Homeless" is about homelessness is MN.....a more broader representation of homelessness
The "Pursuit of Happyness" goes beyond the stereotypical image of homelessness by portraying a man working his way up from poverty. it's based on a true story of Chris Gardner. This was a very awe-inspiring movie.
Finally, when I was home over the Thanksgiving Holiday, my local newspaper featured a story about a Vet and his two sons who have been homeless. Rather than the hollywood image of homelessness, this story gave a better representation of who the homeless are today and the challenges they face. This family had moved from city to city and finally setteled in public housing in La Crosse WI (generally considered a rural area). Perhaps this newspaper story is a more accurate portrayal of who the homeless are today. http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2007/11/22/news/01goodness22.txt
After staying at the Salvation Army for 2 months Tom Surrarrer and his two boys, Zack (left), 14, and Brandon, 12, recently moved into a low income apartment building on La Crosse's North Side where they have their first real home in 5 years. PETER THOMSON photo
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