Naimah Stephens, The National Coalition for the Homeless

Written Reflection:

The National Coalition for the Homeless, established in 1982, is a nonprofit built on the foundation of people experiencing homelessness in New York City who were “forced to fend for themselves with little emergency assistance from governments and communities.” In this congested city, Robert Hayes, a lawyer and later the founder “filed a lawsuit on the behalf of a man experiencing homelessness.” He won the case and “won the right to shelter” the unhoused in New York City. Expanded into DC, NCH is led by people who have experienced homelessness and know how to solve the root causes of this issue.  Their agenda includes addressing the “lack of affordable housing, policy advocacy, grassroots organizing, and public education.” On Saturday, October 12th, NCH presented three speakers who have experienced homelessness: Penny, Nicky, and Shaun. This paper will cover the lives of Penny and Nicky, in connection to Liebow’s Tell Them Who I Am and Kennedy’s Ironweed.  

Liebow’s Problems in Living, states that “the most consequential relationships are those built on emotional support” (112). Penny was sexually assaulted before she reached 12 years old, and did not receive help. During her adolescence, she developed PTSD and began running away from home when she was 13, eventually setting foot in juvie. She also became hypersexual resulting in relationships with abusive grown men, having her first child at 16. When she reached her 20s, she had three more children with an abusive husband whom she later separated from. Simultaneously, she lived in Virginia. According to a VA child welfare requirement, her home was not an efficient place of living, and her children unfortunately entered the foster care system. Eventually, she got into a car crash and after, she became homeless. Penny was unhoused for 10 years. When she found her way to DC, someone referred to her, "Street Sense". Their mission entails reporting “homelessness and poverty and empowering people experiencing homelessness through employment and art…” Since her discovery, Penny’s been housed. Her unresolved trauma which reflected in her attachment to men was the cause of her consequential adulthood.

Liebow’s chapter Work and Jobs said, “the importance of having a job is sometimes measured in pleasure and pain” (74). Nicky was born and raised in Philly. Her environment encompassed the use of drugs and alcohol, including her mother who was addicted to heroin. However, Nicky described herself as not being the product of such. Nicky used her ‘wit’. Her interests in writing, illustrating, and public speaking provided her with the enjoyable position of being a teacher. Despite that, marrying her best friend is when her life spiked downwards. He introduced her to drugs, and she became addicted; in secret from their six children, Nicky and her husband were doing drugs and alcohol. He was also abusing her. Nicky’s last straw was when he pushed her down the steps breaking her ribs, as well as the development of blood clots from insane beatings. She passed out from her clotted system and left home afterward, seeing this as a second chance. Her journey to DC has left her homeless for six and a half years. However, her job at Street Sense, by god’s grace, wakes her up at 5 am, rolling over into productively earning a wage at the nonprofit. Her relationship with god also gravitated toward the importance of her homelessness where she does not disable herself for being homeless; even helping others around her who are unhoused by providing food, peace, and comfort. Nicky also recently earned a voucher that grants her housing.

These personal experiences open the reality of how vulnerable people are. Emotional attachment heavily caters to unresolved trauma, neglect, or insecurity, which can result in domestic violence, substance abuse, or worse. From Ironweed, Kennedy’s Helen said “If you must call them sins, then there is certainly quite an accumulation” but she prefers the word decisions that she has no obligation to confess (138). Being homeless is always narrated as a choice that can be unwritten if the person experiencing it decides to. I would like to turn the question to people who are pointing fingers and ask them what they are doing to solve the issue. Nicky emphasized her not taking for granted or complaining about being unhoused, she views it as beneficial in a humbling way. Not only is she building a relationship with god, but she’s also developing self-respect, endurance, and gratitude. This makes me think of consumerism where we have fast food chains and expensive fashion brands; all at our demand and disposal because of greed. We complain about the minor inconveniences while people are struggling to acquire basic human needs.