The fact that homelessness continues to inspire antagonistic reactions from individuals living in wealthy neighborhoods like the Upper West Side is proof that our ignorance problem is just as bad as our homelessness problem. Don’t get me wrong, homelessness is terrible and with massive unemployment, a looming eviction crisis, and a global pandemic that disproportionately targets communities of color, things will likely get worse before they get better.
Yet, we still can’t seem to wrap our collective minds around the fact that homelessness is not simply a consequence of poor decision making, drug and alcohol addiction, and mental illness. Over the years, I have witnessed neighborhoods protest the presence of homeless shelters in the name of decreased property values and the fear that “those people” will increase crime and violence in “our” neighborhoods.
The us vs. them language that drips off the pages of New York Post articles with words like “drunks” and “sex offenders” don’t just reveal a lack of empathy for their fellow human beings, but reinforce stigmas that show a remarkable level of ignorance around what actually causes homelessness and what everyday citizens can do about it.
First of all, can we please stop reinforcing the idea that people choose to be homeless? Nobody chooses to be homeless. Sometimes people choose the way in which they experience their homelessness, but given any viable alternative, there is no “choice.”
I met a gentleman in Harlem a few years back who was an alcoholic. He was in his fifties and he spent most of his life in the streets. He asked me to help him get into detox because, in his words, he was “tired of being tired.”
“When did you start drinking?” I asked.
“When I was a kid my mom and I moved in with a guy who used to beat me up. As I got older and stronger, I started to fight back. He didn’t like that. When I was fourteen, he gave my mom an ultimatum: it was me or her. You can probably guess what she did. I’ve been in the streets and drinking myself to death ever since.”
Almost forty years later, this man was chronically homeless and self-medicating with alcohol to stay alive. His drinking didn’t cause his homelessness; his homelessness caused his drinking. For many New Yorkers the options of a shelter system that is known for violence and abuse versus sleeping on a park bench or subway car are not options at all.
Secondly, not all homeless people are criminals and shelters won’t destroy your property value. It’s extremely frustrating that this even needs to be said, but here we are. According to the New York Times, shelters can decrease property values in New York City by a whopping 6 or 7%. I suppose when your property costs millions of dollars, that can feel pretty devastating. But another article by City Limits states that “a study released by NYU’s Furman Center in 2008 found that supportive housing in New York City does not have a negative impact on nearby property values. And if it’s the “Wild West” that you’re concerned about because you’ve been reading the New York Post, a recent Daily News op-ed actually shows that the Brennan Center analysed changes in crime rates from the twentieth and twenty-fourth precincts and crime on the Upper West Side is actually down 10.5% even as the uproar about luxury hotels being converted into temporary homeless shelters has skyrocketed.
The bottom line is that Covid-19 forced us into a situation where homelessness is now front and center. Take away the tourists, shutter many of the businesses and restaurants, close the subways between 1 am and 5 am, and just like that many of the people who used to blend into the fabric of a bustling city are now just bursting the bubble of perceived economic bliss.
The hotels are a temporary solution to protect those who cannot stay home simply because they don’t have one. While the infection rate in NYC is down, the memory of sirens echoing through the streets should not be so easily forgotten. Coalition for the Homeless evaluated the death rate of homeless New Yorkers in congregate shelters and found that “as of June 1st, the overall New York City mortality rate due to COVID-19 was 200 deaths per 100,000 people. For homeless New Yorkers sleeping in shelters, it was 321 deaths per 100,000 people on an age-adjusted basis – or 61 percent higher than the New York City rate.”
If we are actually going to take on the issue of housing affordability and homelessness, we need to start by tackling our collective ignorance and recognizing that the people in these hotels on the Upper West Side didn’t ask to be there.
If ignorance is bliss, we should all be feeling pretty great right about now. Unfortunately, our homelessness problem won’t be solved by reinforcing stereotypes and shouting at people who are already stuck between a rock and a hard place. Instead of hiring lawyers, maybe we should invest in converting unused hotels all over NYC into SRO’s. Maybe instead of paying $3500 per month in shelter fees for hotel accommodations, we should increase the monthly allotment for CITYFEPS vouchers from $1,265 to $2,000. Maybe, instead of judging those with fewer resources than they need, we could try to learn more about the resources that are available to share.
Several hundred new homeless neighbors do not have to ruin the neighborhood unless the neighborhood in question makes the transition so intolerable that people start doing stupid things along the way. There are systemic changes that need to be made, but there are also small efforts that can make a lasting impact. Try learning your new neighbor’s name. Try offering to buy lunch with a gift card to a local restaurant. Learn what some of their biggest challenges your new neighbors are facing right now. Don’t try to be a savior. Just listen.
With some effort, the Upper West Side could be the standard of hospitality and social justice instead of a negative object lesson for NIMBY outrage. It can be done. But ignorance will not take you there. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best, and for me, those kids drawing “Welcome to the neighborhood” in chalk out front of the Lucerne hotel was exactly the direction we all need to go. I think we need to let the kids lead on this one, God knows the adults aren’t making things any better.
