For much of my adult life, I have been researching the relationship between culture and
poverty. As a result, when I discovered an opportunity to help educate the public about
issues related to poverty and homelessness as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Crawford
County Mental Health Awareness Program (CHAPS) and the Housing Coalition—I
jumped at the opportunity.
Three weeks into my service year, I helped a man named Tim move into the Emergency
Shelter, and it changed my understanding of what homelessness can look like and how
individuals can end up there.
Tim was born into a lower-middle class family in Ohio and moved with his parents to
Pennsylvania when he was seven to follow a new job for his father. Two years later, his
father was killed in a car accident, leaving him and his mother to fend for themselves.
When he was seventeen, money had gotten so tight he decided to quit school and get a
job working in a factory.
Without a diploma, he spent his years doing jobs that required intense physical labor,
working in factories and moving furniture. After decades of hard work, Tim’s body paid
the price -- leaving him with arthritis in his hips, neck and back, and two forms of cancer
(in his kidneys and carcinoma on his arms).
As he struggled to fight for disability, he stayed with his mother to take care of her until
she passed away, and with her went their house. At this point, Tim was out of a job, a
car, his only parent, and a place to live and had no other option but to move in with his
aunt, who lived in the country, ten miles from the nearest town. Couch-surfing for a few
weeks turned into four years, and an unstable living situation.
After many hard hits, Tim became homeless.
When we think about homelessness, it is easy to picture places like San Francisco or
New York City where panhandlers are visible to the eye. As people walk to work in the
city, they are constantly reminded of what poverty looks and feels like, even if they
choose to do nothing about it.
In more rural areas, however, people experiencing such issues are often referred to as
the “hidden homeless.”
A great number of rural homeless people around the country, and even in Meadville,
live in places we do not see. They can be found sleeping in campgrounds, cars,
abandoned buildings, and other places not originally intended for human habitation – or,
they double or triple-up with friends and family members.
According to the 2016 American Community Survey, 4,609,826 people in poor
households around the country were doubled up with family and friends, one of the
most common prior living situations for people who become literally homeless.
Not having access to a fixed, regular, and safe place to live can be physically and
psychologically dangerous. Yet, before the passage of the Homeless Emergency
Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009, people like Tim
were not considered homeless by the federal government. This Act expanded the
federal government’s definition of homelessness to include people at imminent risk of
becoming homeless—including those doubled up or living in extremely substandard
housing conditions.
When asked about the public’s perception of the homeless, Tim said, “Most people
don’t see homeless people. I noticed—I didn’t realize until I was more into that position
myself. Then you look around, and there they are. It’s like subconsciously you just don’t
want to see them, I guess.”
That being said, Tim is one of the lucky ones. When his psychiatrist connected him with
CHAPS and Crawford County Human Services in May, he was put on the fast track for
permanent supportive housing, and as of last week, has moved into his own apartment.
This was the first night he had slept on a bed in over four years.
Through his work with CHAPS, he has not only gained a new support system, but the
confidence to take G.E.D. classes and look for a part-time job that he can manage with
his disability.
His words to all those facing troubling times, “It’s not completely hopeless. There’s help
out there, you just have to get out there and do it. If you sit and wait for it, it ain’t gonna
happen. You’ve gotta start the process yourself.”
If you want to help people like Tim stay warm this winter, you can donate blankets,
sheet sets, pillow cases and towels to CHAPS as part of our first annual Bedding &
Linen Drive. Your donations will help individuals and families in need.
