Erin Rauch – Historian
Chelsea Carnes, a representative from the Homeless Speaker’s Bureau, spoke at SPJ’s second meeting of the year Tuesday.
Carnes spoke to the group about how people become homeless and provided statistics and graphs to explain America’s homeless population. Domestic violence, unemployment rates and the lack of equilibrium between living wage and minimum wage, were only a few of the major catalysts she said can cause homelessness.
She wrote a mathematical equation on the chalk board explaining that minimum wage in many communities does not provide enough income to sustain living wage, often leading to homelessness. Even a room full of journalists understood the misconnection this equation represented.
Carnes localized these statistics and facts when she began talking about the homeless population in Gainesville, a population living in the nation’s fifth meanest city for the homeless.
A Gainesville city ordinance enforces a 130 meal limit on homeless shelters and soup kitchens. The St. Francis House located downtown has to close its doors even if it still has food left in the kitchen because of this ordinance. As Carnes said, even if a homeless man’s daughter is the 131st person in line, and her entire family has already eaten, she will not be given a meal.
By ignoring the homeless population, or worse, treating them like they’re not human beings, we are contributing to an issue that can be treated. Instead of stereotyping the homeless people we encounter in Gainesville, she urged us to look deeper and try to understand the factors that brought these people to the streets.
Stephen, a man who found himself homeless after returning from the Vietnam War, also spoke to the group. You could feel the horror and fear as he spoke of how he was treated.
He explained that he could not find a job when he returned and was treated as an outcast by much of society for his involvement in the war. It didn’t help that he was suffering from PTSD, an illness that doctors hadn’t yet identified or begun treating.
Without the medical attention and the support he needed, Stephen found himself living on the streets and abusing drugs and alcohol. After repeatedly seeking help and being turned away because of a lack of room in homeless facilities, he gave up.
Stephen said that there is simply not enough room for people in homeless shelters and medical facilities. He said it took him three months after his diabetes diagnosis to get medication.
Stephen has been alcohol and drug free for two years. He is living in a housing facility in Gainesville and is seeking a degree in psychology.
After Carnes and Stephen spoke, our members asked questions. One of the members seemed very interested in Stephen’s situation and what it was like for him to be homeless. Others asked about how students can help curb the homeless population in Gainesville. After all, we are a curious bunch.
But perhaps the most informative and interesting portion of the meeting was when we discussed our role as journalists.
Carnes read portions of a column recently published in the Alligator regarding Gainesville’s homeless population. She said she was disappointed in the way the homeless people were represented in the column.
She urged us to remain objective and ethical when we covered homelessness. Something I think we all agree is imperative.
By opening up the discussion last Tuesday I think we all gained more insight into our role as journalists and how we cover an issue like homelessness.
Ashley spoke of the Will Write for Food event which invites student journalists to take over the Homeless Voice, a homeless newspaper in south Florida, for a weekend. She participated this year and spoke highly of it. Although the next event won’t be until next September, all members should keep this opportunity in mind.
As the newly elected co-historian, I’m excited about the upcoming year for SPJ. All of the members have been quite engaged at our first two meetings. I can’t wait to see what our members bring to our upcoming events.
