Final Reflection: Getting Comfortable with Miniscule, Meaningful Policy Action

At the end of last year, something that helped me reflect and digest on the termination of a course was to blog about the experience at its conclusion, and what I learned. Sometimes (especially because semester’s end in the beginning of the holiday season or summer), I run from academic work, and fail to “take stock” of the biggest pieces of learning. In an effort to more fully digest my learning, this post is an attempt to “take stock” of this semester, in Social Policy.

First of all, it was really a privilege to do this learning with an incredibly small class size - consisting of all of you! Each week, I felt really accountable for comprehending and retaining our reading, and more inspired to bring in news articles and current events that tied into our work. Staying abreast with city to country wide events is not something groundbreaking or new for me, necessarily, but I definitely noticed that as the semester went on, I was reading news through a systemic, policy lens. It was meaningful to be engaged and supported by a fantastic group of people.

Learning at City Hall definitely added an air of seriousness and  legitimacy to the course - more than being on campus ever could! Former social policy classes, while an excellent foundation for this year’s work, provided less opportunity to make connection with city leaders, and gain comfort in a context that social workers sometimes shy away from. It was exciting to meet people who are so invested in this city, and exchange between policy and in school- social work perspectives.

The way I think about policy has certainly changed as well.  Through practice, I’ve definitely trained my brain to think systemically (while obviously, still caring deeply for the work I get to do with individual people, daily).

Because of this change in thinking, writing this policy analysis has been a MONSTER! Both the writing process, engagement of community members, and sharing a brain with Chelsea have been such a learning journey. The more systemically we think, and the more research we do, the more (and more and more) we write! We both have an affinity for working with the substance using population, but we started this work in collaboration with the Parks and Recreation Department. Sure, I’d read about Safe Injection Sites but when we met Ethan, I never anticipated addressing his expressed need with a center devoted to Harm Reduction practices. And yet, even though on the surface level, it can feel unrelated, addressing the debacle of the homeless engaging in unsafe behavior in community space in this way is one direction that community leaders are heading.

Obviously, opening in-house-social-service shelters throughout the city (supporting the homeless & de-ghetto-ing the Oxford/Preble region) would be ideal. However, the plans have been in place 6 years, and little has been done due to zoning restrictions. As beneficial as it might have been to zero in on zoning laws for our policy analysis, where we chose to focus our energy (I feel) is much more pragmatic. Putting chairs in a medically supervised, sterile environment serves a number of purposes, and could be enacted much faster than proposing, constructing, and battling with the city and homeowners over zoning, while still addressing a community need.

The approach we analyzed is a “band aid” at best to what is a web of complex, systemic issues in this community. However, it is one area where we felt passionate, and perhaps, able to have some level of influence in advocacy.

I started to realize that this is sort of how policy work, “goes.” Identify an issue, learn to respect its complexity, and then choose one miniscule avenue for action - that to an outsider might seem completely unrelated.

The last three months have been a great chance to immerse myself in some deep learning about policy action, the unwritten history of the city in which I live,  and identifying one area where I feel enacting a  change is not only necessary but possible.

The re-solving adventure continues.

Marinating on the Next Four Years

I came into this week fired up about writing this blog post. I’d watched the amazing documentary, Thirteenth, had been listening to a ton of new, critical rap that tied in amazingly to the film, and was energized to write on these topics. I still want to share those resources with you (and I will, here), but my brain is hyper-focused and processing the events of last night. This post is most likely going to be garbled, and I’m sure you’ll understand why - but I’m working towards wrapping my brain around the next four years!

Last night solidified what voices matter in America today. On one hand, we esteem higher education, and on the other, make it unavailable to people of all racial backgrounds, systematically.  As a result - we all suffer. The majority of people in our country demonstrated their  lack countrywide and global empathy. As Americans we adore junk food, quick fixes, blind faith, dreams. We showed that in this election.

Last night’s results bring to light the suffering in this country, and highlight the disparity between those who have technologically advanced, and communities who are desperate, and have been left in the dust.

The hypocrisy and rhetoric of this entire election have been sickening. Desperate communities, seeking advancement, put their trust in someone who is the antithesis of progressive improvement. He can speak t e that to act in favor of social justice. Stacy, I look at you and your passion for serving veterans, Chelsea your respect for the homeless, traumatized, seeking safety through substance, Noah, your articulate presence and passion for arts, Tonya, your fierce energy for mental health justice, Jana, your expertise in prevention and policy, and Paula - whose professional mission is to energize students about participatory policy and systemic change - we need it all. We are too educated and too privileged to not put our passions into activism and practice.

The soundtrack to this blog post (sorry for the language... but it is worth it to hear the unedited versions).

       

AMAZING lyrics in each, and worth a close listen. 

Trials & Tribulations of Policy Analysis Construction

 

    It seems a little strange to blog in reflection of a piece of writing, but I had a really interesting learning experience co-composing the policy analysis with Chelsea, and I wanted to share some of the “behind the scenes” with you. (Sorry, Chelsea, you have heard this all before!)

    As a refresher, Chelsea and I are studying the issue of homeless occupants of public space in Portland. We had the benefit of meeting with Ethan (of the Parks and Recreation Department) in class, and since then, have STRUGGLED to reconnect with him. We forged ahead regardless, realizing, that at least for this section of our analysis, we were mostly building our (and our reader’s) background knowledge about homelessness in Portland, and what historical events and policies have helped set the stage for the current crisis.

    I learned quickly that assembling this history was going to be WAY more challenging than I anticipated… particularly as someone new to this state. I wasn’t sure what policies or events to look at - I was searching for history that I didn’t have the language to describe. News reports aren’t readily available, journals didn’t seems to have the historical content I was searching for, and book sources by and large did not focus the homeless population of the city. Making matters trickier, policy changes that impact the homeless population usually don’t ‘sound’ like housing policies. For example, using the 2015 example of Lepage's refusal to expand Medicare/Medicaid coverage - as social workers, we are aware of the profound impact this had on the homeless population - however on the surface level, this was a decision about insurance coverage - NOT homelessness or homeless people in public space.

    I realized quickly that to get an accurate description of Maine’s history, I couldn’t rely on  print sources alone, I would need to get more creative - seeking professionals in the community who have some expertise in this area.

    I was fortunate enough to connect (remotely) with David Wagner, our former professor, and Rob Parritt (the director of the Oxford Street Shelter). Professor Wagner validated my research struggle by informing me that in a city of this size, social history is often shared orally, and it would be highly unlikely to find documentation of the sort I was looking. The history of hidden populations is stored in the minds of the remaining few, and gradually, with the help of community members, I was able to bring together pieces of Portland’s underground history. Hearing the history from the viewpoints of different stakeholders (from grassroots to bureaucratic levels) too, helped contextualize my understanding.

   The process was more time consuming and gratifying than I expected, and I am excited to share my learning with our class. I learned to reach outside my usual researching procedure and rely on spoken word and lived experience as a springboard for building background and understanding the trajectory of the city. I felt a certain level of  privilege as a student, being able to access the expertise of community members who were willing to volunteer some of their time to teach me. 

    Similar to Portland's history, Chelsea and I are realizing that our policy analysis to address homeless people using Portland's public spaces is sounding less and less like a housing policy... stay tuned!

"Either I Close My Eyes Or I Don't" - Calais Jungle

In light of the policy analysis that Chelsea and I are working on, consciously and unconsciously, I have been following news stories covering homelessness in Portland. Last week, in class, we talked about the Portland Press Herald’s coverage of Arianna’s family and their journey from Tent City to an apartment in Lewiston (Billings, 2016). Throughout the semester, we've discussed policies that impact where homeless people are permitted to inhabit, and the social justice (or lack of) that comes from leveling tent structures.

My eyes have been peeled for publications of this nature, and I've become totally mesmerized by what is occurring in France, specifically Calais, and the connection between our community policy battles (despite our smaller scale).

The once small migrant camp has grown exponentially, and “houses” upwards of 7,000 individuals (Nossiter & Hicks, 2016).

There have been TONS of publications about this, however, about a week ago, the New York Times published a heavily photographed  article that to me, captured the humanity of the crisis (Nossiter & Hicks, 2016). (I'm inserting a few of those photos here, and the link for further reading - absolutely worth it for those that missed this: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/world/europe/calais-jungle-france-migrants.html?mwrsm=Email&_r=0).

The magnitude of the refugee crisis in Europe is striking. However, there are related themes between the European refugee crisis and the housing battle in Portland: How to handle vulnerable populations as they seek stabilization on public lands? What policies will support human beings and the communities in which they live?

No one has an answer.

France has actually physically assembled a barbed wire wall around “the jungle” with the intent of preventing people from passing into Britain. Given land quality, over time, the wall’s structure will deteriorate. The measure is a far cry from preventing imminent migration to Britain, or providing any semblance of stability to the adults and unaccompanied minors inhabiting the tent city (Nossiter & Hicks, 2016).

Eradicating the camps has become a hot issue in France’s elections - yet accommodating human beings has not. Mayors in France have even created policies that prevent migrants from entering their towns and cities (Nossiter & Hicks, 2016). The hazing and shut out aren't unlike the experience of homeless folks in Maine (like Arianna’s family) who are shut out of housing opportunities due to stigma and prejudgement.

Despite the depressing and quite honestly embarrassing response in social justice and policy to this reality, there are reports of “guerilla social workers” taking grassroots action in support of migrants.

In an almost “Underground Railroad” fashion, a French Farmer has taken it upon himself to help transport and navigate 200+ being via train into Britain. When asked about his work, he states, “I don’t have a global solution, he said at another point. “But the state is not managing this properly. I think it’s my duty. And I don’t think it’s normal that children have to go through this…. Either I close my eyes, or I don’t,” he said. “These are people with no papers at all. That means they have no protection. I don’t see how we can be inert” (Nossiter, 2016).

The case of Calais is an extremity, but his statement applies to those who are homeless and marginalized everywhere. Either we close our eyes or we don't. No giant solution exists for the messiness of the current housing policy crisis.

We are arriving in a place where we need to open our eyes to suffering around us and accept one another - regardless of  living conditions. We have to stop pushing “undesirable” populations into further suffering.

References:

Billings, R. (2016). Meet arianna, the little girl who lived in portland’s woods. Portland Press Herald. Retrieved from: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/09/25/ariannas-home/

Nossiter, A., & Hicks, T. (2016). Inside france’s ‘jungle’: Desperate migrants keep coming to calais. New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/world/europe/calais-jungle-france-migrants.html?mwrsm=Email&_r=0.

Nossiter, A. (2016). A french underground railroad, moving african migrants. New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/world/europe/france-italy-migrants-smuggling.html

Alternative Housing Policies: Tiny House Communities

In thinking about public policy as cultural value statements, my quest to learn more about homelessness and housing policies continues. Nothing speaks louder about the way our culture feels about human life than the way we take care of those who are struggling deeply.

I perused  the incredible resource file that Julie assembled for our group, and sort of excitedly noted that at least on a surface level – the brainstorming, researching, and planning process of the folks at city hall wasn’t dramatically different than that of my peers! My forever skeptic mind, and pervasive: “can we actually do this kind of work?”  thoughts took another step back, as I began to see the feasibility of the work. Thank you, Julie for providing us with an inside look into city planning ☺.

In addition to reading the city of Worcester’s, “triage plan” for homeless reduction, I began doing some side research to learn about what other cities have done well, in the spirit of “housing first.” I was struck by the tiny house model that originated in Portland, Oregon (known as Dignity Village).

Dignity Village  is a community of “temporary” Tiny Houses, created to serve the pervasive homeless population of Portland. Despite the transitional nature of the homes, folks seem to show no interest in leaving –  the structures have turned into an established community. There are self identified ground rules: anti theft laws, mutual respect, and horizontal giving among residents (Heben, 2014).

An MIT student, Catharine Mingoya,  completed a comparative case study of Dignity Village and a similar Tiny House village in Madison Wisconsin, acknowledging some of the benefits and drawbacks of such models (2015).

Based on her study of the communities, Mingoya uncovered that some of the greatest challenges faced include ongoing financing of the projects, sanitation, oversight and governance in the communities, and building quality/longevity (2015). These issues are especially relevant when applying this model to Portland, ME as our weather can be quite extreme leading to wear and tear on homes.

While creating Tiny House communities may only be a temporary and partial solution to the plight of homelessness, a structure of one’s own grants dignity and autonomy that simply doesn’t exist in the current shelter system.

Understanding the trials and tribulations of other cities in terms of homelessness is helpful in advocating for alterations to housing policies in Portland, ME. Tiny House communities, at least on the surface level, could be a short term, community-fostering alternative to the institutionalized, humiliating shelter system as it currently sits.

References:

Gearty, T. (2015). Tiny houses could help mitigate a big problem: homelessness. Retrieved from: http://news.mit.edu/2015/tiny-houses-could-mitigate-homelessness-0723

Heben, A. (2014). Portland’s dignity village: Thirteen years later. Retrieved from: http://www.tentcityurbanism.com/2014/08/dignity-village-thirteen-years-later.html.

Mingoya, C. (2015). Building together. Tiny house villages for the homeless: A comparative case study. Retrieved from:https://dusp.mit.edu/sites/dusp.mit.edu.

Participatory Policy: Harnessing the Voice of the Homeless

In light of our first Public Policy Class, I have been glued to coverage of the current housing crisis in Portland. The fresh evacuation of Pine Street Tent City (officially yesterday, I believe) has filled the Portland Press Herald with the latest news and case studies of the 24+ individuals who were forced out of their makeshift homes and relocated god only knows where.

I have a loving appreciation for the Portland Press Herald, and their dedication to covering the day to day occurrences in tent city; however, the language used in reference to the residents was really disappointing.

Descriptions, photo captions, and police comments were a far cry from “people first” language. Note the caption for the image below. Instead of, “Tent City inhabitants play board games during final days of residency,” the descriptor is reduced to, “Homeless people play a board game Monday under a turnpike overpass where they have set up tents and hope to remain.”  

Tangent-ing slightly, something similar occurred during the spring of 2016 when the series of assaults against women occurred in Portland’s west end. Instead of electing to describe the crimes against women in non-specific terms, the author’s purposefully inserted the identifier of “homeless” (“a 29-year-old homeless woman”) to somehow make distinct this particular victim from her female peers, and possibly discredit.

Insensitive labeling of the homeless isn’t confined to the newspaper; but, it is one indicator of the way in which we caste homeless people as “other,” and less credible in some way, to peers. 

During our first class meeting, when Jon Jennings posed the question to our group of how to improve the city’s shelter system/ways to address the homeless crisis, my mind immediately jumped to the value of the voice of the city’s homeless population on this matter. Sure, as social workers with working relationships with those experiencing homeless in the city, our perspective is absolutely valuable from a policy standpoint. However, our word is only worth so much, given our privilege, and the fact that every night we go home – however meager the dwellings. 

In lieu of our community practice projects, my brain immediately jumped to the notion of how we can gather the voices of those utilizing shelter services (and just as important -  those utilizing public spaces instead of the shelter) to hear from the service users what possible solutions to the current debacle exist.  

As we discussed in class , policy inevitably feels like an imposition for those who are not adamantly supporting a given initiative. However, the conversation leaned toward the sentiments of those who are housed. This is a great place to start, however, we really need the inside voice, too before we can feel confidence that this issue is in any way being re-solved. 

I recognize though, that this is our policy course… the time for artistically gathering narratives and beliefs may have come and gone with our multicultural/community practice classes. However, I’m not totally certain how the city can move forward without at least hearing the voice of some of those who are directly impacted by decisions made in this realm. 

I’m curious if my classmates have thought similarly about this, and if this sort of data gathering would be of any use to the city and/or could be integrated into our portion of this community work. 

References:

Bouchard, S. (2016, September 1). Portland police issue warning to lone remaining homeless camper. The Portland Press Herald. Retrieved from: http://www.portlandpressherald.com. 

Byrne, M. (2016, June 1). Police looking for suspect in three assaults on women. The Portland Press Herald. Retrieved from: http://www.portlandpressherald.com.