Youth Radio - Topic: Housing

Homeless Empathy

wilmer — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:48:09 -0500

By Ayanna Heaven, YR Atlanta

I have always had a soft spot for the homeless. So when a homeless man recently approached me asking for food, I felt a little bad when I answered "sorry, no.” I continued listening to my iPod, watching him from the corner of my eye. And when he came walking back in my direction, I decided to ask him about his story and how he ended up on the streets.

He explained that a hip replacement took him off course financially. I was inspired by his optimism, especially when he told me that even though his stomach was hungry, his spirit was full with faith and he knew that would get through this difficult time in his life.

I felt privileged to talk to him and learn about him, and I’m pretty sure he enjoyed talking to me too. In fact he told me he had goose bumps from just talking to me, which made me think he probably doesn’t have many opportunities to speak to people on a regular basis.

The next day, I returned to the same spot and surprised the man with two public transportation tickets and some food, along with an address of a homeless shelter I knew could help him out. I know many people assume that the homeless are lazy drug addicts, but if more people could take the time to really interact with homeless people, they may find something different.

Learning to Live With Others

skhan — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:59:58 -0500

After I graduate from high school this December I have a choice: either move out of my parents home and live with friends or just stay put in my childhood bedroom. Being an independent person I'd like to move out, but because of money and some experiences I've had living with strangers it seems like it's going to take a lot longer than I'd hoped. This is a real setback and slightly frustrating.

Similar situations have been cropping up recently with greater frequency throughout the country. There are many difficulties associated with living with others. Many people have problems either with groceries, private spaces that no one touches, or chores. It almost sounds like you're married to the people you're living with for as long as you're living with them. It's hard when you're either a clean person living with a disorderly person or the other way around. For example my brother was planning on moving in with a college friend of his, until he realized how meticulous the guy was after talking to his other roommates. This made him think twice and he decided not to move in. Since then he is still living with us for economic reasons. Depending on who the alpha of the house is, it's sometimes a what-they-say-goes kind of situation.

Due to the recent financial crisis, the number of people moving in together or back home has increased significantly. A recent survey reported that more than 76% of homeowners and renters who had to move because of foreclosures are staying with family and friends. Jim Toedtman, editor of the AARP Bulletin, has said that "the recession is having an impact on people of all ages, and the effects are starting to be felt at home." Even President Barack Obama has had to address some of these issues. Even though his reasons for moving his mother-in-law into the White House weren't economic, they still probably had some adjustment issues. According to the New York Times, when families move in together, it is "rarely without tensions. There are old expectations and patterns of behavior, new partners and economic realities, and, typically, an endless series of conflicting individual needs." The upside to moving in and out is that you learn to live with people, to be aware of everyone's privacy, and to cope with things that are out of your control.

I thought at first that I'd live in a dorm when I went to college. I thought it would be fun to live with other people I don't know. But that was before I had a taste of living with strangers. When I moved to Texas, I had to live with one of my mom's friends -- a stranger to me. My family was in the middle of a move to Texas, so my parents sent me ahead so that I wouldn't have to change schools mid-semester. It was really hard to live in this situation. The woman I lived with was very particular about the noise we made, to the point that I couldn't move around too much upstairs because she could hear it. We had to do chores, which was fine since I was happy to help out, but I had to do them in a very particular way. She had a bunch of other relatives living with her who didn't follow the rules as much as I did, and whenever they did something wrong they would blame it on me. Once, the lady thought I stole some lotions from the bathroom, so she took it upon herself to go into my room while I was downstairs. My parents had given me an allowance of 40 dollars a week, so there was no reason for me to steal anything. Of course the other people knew I had money, primarily to buy food, so they would always hit me up for extra food. I would oblige them, but would then end up walking around hungry half the time.On the other hand, there were some benefits. For instance, I ate out less and ate less in general because it wasn't my mom's kitchen. But it was still kind of annoying because I didn't have the freedom to open the fridge and grab something to eat.

This experience taught me to cope with other people and difficult situations. I learned that you have to be strategic about when you put yourself first and when you cooperate with others. Usually it's better in these situations to compromise, but sometimes it can get out of hand. Now, I know better than to jump into things. For instance, I'm not tempted to leave my parents' house after high school to live with friends, like a lot of people I know. I know that I won't be able to make it by myself at this stage, especially in this economic climate. And even if you're living with friends, you won't know how they are on a day-to-day basis until you live with them. Another option is that as soon as my brother and I get on our feet, we could possibly rent an apartment together since we already know each other's habits. That would eliminate some of the leg work.

Sometimes living with strangers can work better than living with friends. Kendall, a New York native, moved into a one bedroom apartment in Los Angeles with five other girls from all over the globe: two were from South Korea, two from Mongolia, and one from Paris. In the beginning, it was a bit hard for her since her roommates were complete strangers to her. She didn't have much money, so she didn't have much of a choice. Even then, she was paying about $200 a month for a small corner of a room. Because she's living in such close quarters, she's had to learn to keep organized and be conscious that there are others in the house.

But, things have turned out OK. All the roommates distribute chores and food fairly: twice a month she cleans the kitchen and the bathroom, and others pitch in on their own. It's kind of like a reality show, except it's not fake--it's actually real! But it's not like a reality show because Kendall is living without the drama. None of her roommates are melodramatic people who just want to cause problems. They've all come together to live inexpensively while going to college in Los Angeles. And they're caring to boot. Every morning, before she heads to her internship, Kendall's roommates wave furiously saying, "Have a good day! Have a great day!" Perhaps her earlier experiences living with others helped her get along with her current roommates. One summer, she worked on a horse ranch in Colorado. She shared a shack with three other people, but said that "after doing manual labor, working with horses all day, it didn’t matter what the room looked like as long as you had a bed to sleep on." It seems that as long as your roommates are focused on larger goals, then the minutiae of daily living are less important and less of a cause of tension.

The list of issues that arise is just as long as the variety of shared living situations that exist. Many problems arise from living with either a roommate, friends, relatives, etc. In all situations, we have to learn to coexist with people and respect boundaries and others' privacy.

Previously:

Pending CA Foreclosure Bill Criminalizes Creditors

Editor — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:02:25 -0500

On Forum, guests discuss the state of foreclosures in California and pending legislation in Sacramento. With foreclosures on the rise in California, the number of loan "rescue" scams is increasing throughout the state. Desperate homeowners trying to stay in their homes are increasingly being ripped off by companies promising - and then failing to provide - loan modification help. YMI's Denise Tejada reports on mayors discussing foreclosure solutions. Mayors from New York City, Los Angeles, and St. Louis praise one strategy that has been helping people stay in their homes in Philadelphia.

Mayors Discuss Foreclosure Solutions

rpereira — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:48:19 -0500

U.S. mayors held a conference call today to “discuss innovative local solutions to the foreclosure crisis.” Mayors from Miami, Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and the city administrator from Oakland, CA were all on the call.

Instead of focusing on mulitple innovative solutions, the call focused on only one: Philadelphia's Mortgage Foreclosure Protection Plan. This plan allows lenders and homeowners to come together—in person-- and modify their loan together. Despite different cities' foreclosure rates, all the mayors and representatives on the call supported Philadelphia’s plan and seemed to want to implement it in their cities.

During the call, Mayor Francis G. Slay of St. Louis brought up a critical concern: How can they get the banks on board on this plan?

According to Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, the answer is simple. Banks do not gain anything from continuing to foreclose homes. In fact, they are better off helping homeowners stay in their homes and working something out. The mediation method in the Mortgage Foreclosure Protection Plan hinges on being able to get support from lenders. As Mayor Nutter says, it’s the lender who has the final word.

"Well, ultimately of course it’s the lenders decision, it’s their mortgage. But again, if he has good faith mediation, everybody is trying to accomplish what has been referred to a triple win. The lender doesn’t want to own the house. The homeowner wants to stay in the house, and the city interest of course, is for people to stay in their homes as well. If you have a good faith mediation and legitimate dialogue, the process that everyone is already agreeing works, should lead you to a natural conclusion and a relatively positive outcome, but it’s always ultimately up to the lender as to whether they want to be a cooperative lender."

Good faith mediation is what everybody is looking for, and thus far Mayor Nutter says they have been successful. It’s not in the lenders interest' to have the foreclosed property. According to ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis, good faith mediation is not easy to accomplish and that is why it’s important for homeowners to come into mediation with counselors who can represent their interest.

Lewis says there have been problems when the mediation between lenders and homeowners has not been mandatory. “We get calls all the time from other house counseling agencies who have said, time and time, lenders will not come in good faith," she says. "You know, there are still flipping and selling off and slicing and dicing of these properties that went off before."

City administrator Dan Lindheim from Oakland says his city is dealing with another issue -- tenants in multi-unit housing. Oakland is working with tenants trying to get them to pay their utilities when the owner of the building abandons them.

Even though Philadelphia’s plan has been successful thus far, it's yet to be seen whether this plan works in other cities.

A Country With No Homelessness

dwesley — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:34:09 -0600

Going to school and getting a lot of information for free is the best thing ever (it's up there with having a lot of money). This is my last year in school, yes, I'm finally a senior, and I'm going to be free at last. I will be free from waking up extra early to get on BART to be on time for school. But the hard part about being a senior is that you have a senior project to do - 20 written pages, three interviews, and a 15 to 20 minute presentation. While it may sound easy, it's not, because you have to plan your project early on. I started planning my project when I was in the 11th grade. My senior project is on homelessness and why homelessness occurs in the United States.

My biggest question is why, if the United States is one of the richest countries in the world, are so many American people homeless. What is the government, federal, local, and state doing to prevent this? What is going on in American that the Government is not doing much? I picked this topic to show the problem and show possible solutions. There are many things that need to be done in America to solve homelessness because there are many people who don't have a home and haven't for a long while. Many people think that homelessness is homeless people's problem. But it's all our problem and we can do something to help out because homelessness isn't caused by one thing. Nobody wants to be homeless and what if that was one of your family members? We should all help out and every little bit helps. Me, I'm going to Glide Memorial Church every Wedesday and Sunday to help out as much as I can.

Workaholic Landia

kchau — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:07:27 -0600

For many immigrants, this financial crisis is the enemy of accomplishing the American Dream. My family’s story is a little bit different than other immigrants struggling to make ends meet. We’ve been in America 13 years, and we’re in a more comfortable position than most. But there is one thing we have in common with newer immigrants. The land of opportunity has suddenly become workaholic-landia.My family consists of four members with a minimum of two jobs each but with the economy getting worse each day it’s gone to three jobs each. There are times I come home from work angry because I haven’t slept and I’m too tired to sit down and talk.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not made of armor. I’d just want to be a kid again and not have to worry about next month’s bills. But I know this struggle is part of my dad’s dream of seeing his kids be successful in the long run. I know my dad’s tough love is what’s getting us through these hectic times, and through the bumpy roads of "workaholic-landia".p>

A Young Commentator's Thoughts on Proposition 6

kchau — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:03:06 -0600

I live in East Oakland, just a few blocks from a subsidized housing project.I’m Kelly Chau, with a commentary from Youth Radio.If Proposition 6 passes, that means government agencies will be required to perform annual background checks on everyone who lives in that project down the street from me. On top of that, the proposition will make it easier to try juveniles as adults for gang-related offenses.I’m really on the fence about this proposition. Not too long ago, a high school classmate of mine was shot and killed. So I do feel strongly about wanting to reduce violence and gang-related activity in subsidized housing units. But opponents of Proposition 6, like Tey Welbeck from the Center for Media Justice, say it will unfairly target and criminalize young minorities.What I want most from this proposition is to make my community safer. But I don’t want my innocent neighbors to be searched all the time—just because of where they live.For Youth Radio, I’m Kelly Chau.