US launches "clean-up operation" against homeless people
2024-08-12
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On August 5, in Venice, California, the United States, police supervised the demolition of a homeless camp. Image source: Visual China
China Youth Daily and China Youth Network reporter Wang Zi
Michael Johnson, 41, is a homeless man in San Francisco, California, USA. After hearing that the mayor had launched an operation to crack down on homeless people and remove street tents, he decided to move off the streets as soon as possible. Johnson told the Associated Press that during the last cleanup, police and street cleaners only gave him 10 seconds to move his belongings and he "lost everything."
Johnson was evicted wherever he moved his tent. "It's like a merry-go-round. Whether I stay where I am or move somewhere else, they'll come (to evict me)," he said.
Similar situations are happening in many parts of the United States, especially in California. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently said that if counties and cities in the state do not take more measures to get homeless people off the streets, the state government will stop related financial subsidies.
More than half of the homeless people in the United States are concentrated in California, New York, Florida and Washington, with the largest number in California. CNN cited a 2023 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, saying that there are about 653,000 homeless people in the United States, of which more than 180,000 are located in California.
The number of homeless people in the United States has increased significantly since 2017. Jeff Olivet, executive director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, warned that many Americans are "living paycheck to paycheck and are only one step away from homelessness."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the trend of increasing homelessness disappeared for a time, thanks to the federal government's assistance policies. In 2022, relevant assistance policies and subsidies were successively suspended. Coupled with soaring inflation rates and record-high median rents, the number of homeless people in the United States surged again under the "triple blow". Today, Americans have to spend more money every month to keep their homes. In Olivet's view, this is like a "game of musical chairs", and the poorest people will be squeezed out of the "chairs".
Many Americans joined the ranks of the homeless in 2023. Taqiya Cheeks was one of them. After losing her home, she tried to find a higher-paying job, but she often missed work to find a place to live and change schools for her children, and soon lost her job.
Cheeks parked her car in a Walmart parking lot, and it became her and her children's new home. "I couldn't sleep because there were so many people walking around and I had to watch my kids," Cheeks told NPR.
It was so hot in the car that her daughter got sunburned and had to go to the doctor, and their dog had trouble coping, so Cheeks had to abandon him, even though her autistic son needed him for "emotional support."
After a few weeks, Cheeks found a job as a deliveryman and moved into a motel. A few months later, they moved into a house with rent assistance, but the assistance was only temporary.
As more and more Americans lose their stable homes, on June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a California appeals court's ruling, which was considered to "pave the way for banning homeless people from sleeping outdoors in public places." The appeals court previously ruled that the city manager's implementation of a sleeping-out ban in the absence of shelter space was tantamount to "cruel and unusual" punishment and was unconstitutional.
Newsom praised the Supreme Court's ruling for "providing clear authority to enforce policies that allow state and local officials to remove unsafe encampments from our streets." On July 25, he issued an executive order requiring the removal of homeless encampments in California.
Media such as CNN and the Harvard Gazette said that scholars, medical staff and activists were angry about the implementation of the order. They emphasized that the two main causes of homelessness are poverty and lack of affordable housing, which are chronic social diseases in the United States and must be gradually resolved through sustainable policies.
“Until the Supreme Court ruled, cities had to provide shelter before they could remove encampments.” Chris Herring, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, noted that Newsom’s order allows local governments to “issue incredibly high fines to homeless people…fines that people can’t pay and that can lead to arrest or even incarceration.”
Herring said the timing of Newsom's order was not surprising: it came during the U.S. election, under the "national spotlight," and Newsom wanted to clear himself of the stigma of acquiescing in the "homelessness crisis."
"You can't use criminalization as the primary way to address homelessness. It won't reduce the number of homeless people," said Ann Oliva, executive director of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Many of these people’s journey to the streets begins with childhoods of poverty or abuse, traumas that can have long-term effects on their ability to get an education, learn skills, and maintain relationships. Given the right support, many of them would strive to seize opportunities and get their lives back on track.
According to National Public Radio, more than 1.5 million college students in the United States face homelessness. Studying, rising tuition fees... College life is stressful enough, and if you have to worry about housing, it's enough to make young people collapse. For many college students, graduation is a serious challenge.
Oscar Godinez-Ávila grew up in a poor family. Both his parents worked but could only afford the bare necessities. They moved every few years. Most of the time, the four children had to sleep on the floor in a one-bedroom apartment. As a child, Oscar would envy other kids in school for having nice backpacks. His parents could only afford plain, solid-colored backpacks, and other kids' backpacks with Super Mario or other popular cartoon characters on them always made him sad.
Oscar studied hard and won a small scholarship to Colorado State University, but the money was not enough to pay for the dormitory, so he began to live a homeless life.
Good friends let Oscar sleep on their couches. "Moving" meant finding another couch. Oscar often washed up in the school bathroom. He skipped breakfast and was always studying or working.
According to a U.S. Department of Education survey of more than 2,000 colleges and universities in the country, 8% of undergraduates and 5% of graduate students in the United States are homeless. Some researchers call them "survivors" - despite all the difficulties, they still manage to stay in college.
A church organization that provides assistance to college students reached out to Oscar. The organization not only provides free meals, but also provides housing subsidies starting in 2021. Of course, not all applicants can get housing subsidies, but Oscar has once again become a "survivor." He has his own bedroom, and the monthly rent is less than $400. He can live there until graduation.
Oscar finally has his own space. His room is a bit messy with books everywhere. The thought of decorating the house by himself makes him motivated and "feels more dignified."
He bought some potted plants and a brand new school bag. It was brown with white spots and had blue straps. "This is the most expensive backpack I've ever bought. I wanted a better quality bag, and I did," he said.
Without having to worry about housing anymore, Oscar can finally focus on his studies. This spring, Oscar graduated with a bachelor's degree. He plans to continue his studies in the fall for a master's degree in history.
Source: China Youth Daily Client
