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NEWS & LETTERS, April 2002
Homelessness is now a full-time job
Chicago--Neoliberalism, or naked capitalism free of
social restraints, has been accelerating since the mid-1970s. The push for
deregulation of industries trucking, airlines, utilities, and capital
itself-began with Jimmy Carter and has picked up speed now with George W. Bush. Deindustrialization brought structural (permanent)
unemployment. Land speculation and rents have skyrocketed as politicians move to
attract high-tech businesses and the wealthy back into the cities. Mass
homelessness and overcrowded housing have resulted, worsened in this present
recession. 'TRAMP TRAIL' In 1995, I had my first direct experience with
homelessness. I became familiar with the "Tramp Trail" in central
Chicago. Within a mile, a person could eat two or three meals a day, with three
overnight shelters nearby. Upon learning the ropes, one did not have to travel
far to fulfill the most basic necessities. Other social services were also
within walking distance. Near the Loop, a homeless person could obtain an address
and a phone number (the phone company answering service is relatively cheap).
One could try to find daily work at the many offices, restaurants and stores in
downtown Chicago. The Fulton Street (meat and fish) Market and day labor
establishments were also near the shelters. In 1995, there were also cheap
hotels and rooming houses in the area. Chicago, like most cities, does far more to push poor
people out of the central city than it provides affordable housing. Close to the
central city, affordable public housing is being replaced by expensive lofts,
condominiums and townhouses. To help facilitate this development, the city
forced overnight shelters to move away or close down. Now a homeless person
cannot get the services needed in one area. That means you need a pass for the
Chicago Transit Authority for $20 a week or $75 a month. There is breakfast served at a Salvation Army mission
four miles north of the Loop, and lunch northwest of the Loop Monday through
Friday. There is a supper served near there seven days a week. But other meals
are served on given days at various times. Most food pantries are of little use
to the homeless because they have no place to cook. DAY OF FASTING Ironically, Sunday is the worst day for church soup
kitchens. It is a day of fasting for the homeless. In the soup kitchens, if you
cannot come the hour they serve, find another location or you don't eat. In some
locations, later in the hour the food has run out. The overnight shelters have limited space. In some cases
you have to come late in the afternoon to sign up for the night. While
volunteers do try to accommodate people, I have seen people turned away in
temperatures below 20 degrees. These facilities run by charities on donations and
donated labor, what George W. Bush praises as volunteerism, is a system of
inadequacy. Asking the average person to donate to these charities is not
enough, since most of the resources of this society are controlled by less than
one-fifth of the population. Plenty exists in the U. S. to provide food and
housing for everyone, but to paraphrase Woody Guthrie, this is mighty thin soup. |
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