NEWSHOMELESSNESS IN THE MEDIA

This Thanksgiving, most of us around the country shared a bountiful harvest feast with friends and family. We celebrated all that we are thankful for by gorging ourselves right into a food coma. It's the American way. Unfortunately, it's also the American way to be thankful for all that we have while not always acknowledging those around us who are without. It's also the American way to not fully understand the real truth about Thanksgiving.

In his brilliant book A People's History of the United States, the late Howard Zinn noted that we need to question "the excuse of progress in the annihilation of races, and the telling of history from the standpoint of the conquerors and leaders of Western civilization."  In his provocative and necessary book Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, author James W. Loewen finds that the "true history of Thanksgiving reveals embarrassing facts. The Pilgrims did not introduce the tradition; [Native Americans] had observed autumnal harvest celebrations for centuries ... During the Civil War, when the Union needed all the patriotism that such an observance might muster, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday. The Pilgrims had nothing to do with it; not until the 1890s did they even get included in the tradition."  Moreover, he notes that all foods typically included in Thanksgiving meals "are exclusively indigenous to the Americas and had been provided by the local tribe. This notion that 'we' advanced peoples provided for the [Native Americans is] exactly the converse of the truth...."

Apparently San Francisco Chronicle columnist C.W. Nevius is unfamiliar with the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees the right to an attorney.

With an estimated 10,000 "quality of life" violations a year in San Francisco for crimes such as camping, blocking sidewalks, and drinking in public — a number that is likely to rise with the recent passage of San Francisco's sit-lie ordinance — it is hardly surprising that city courts are having trouble keeping up. Denying the poor and homeless the right to counsel is no way to solve the problem, though. Everyone deserves an attorney. In fact, it is a right.

That hasn't stopped Nevius from faulting law firms for defending homeless clients whose crime is, in his view, "open and shut." In a recent column, Nevius seems to suggest that if you are homeless, and have been ticketed for urinating on the street, panhandling or public drunkenness, you are clearly guilty and should pay for your crime. No attorney for you.

Unfortunately Nevius is completely missing the point. The problem is not that pro bono attorneys are successfully fighting the charges. The problem is that the tickets were issued in the first place — a message the San Francisco Board of Supervisors needs to hear loud and clear.

Yes homelessness is a growing problem in San Francisco, but ticketing those who have nowhere to live and no means to pay is not going to solve the problem. And it is public money that could be put to productive use to provide services for the homeless such as housing assistance, emergency shelters, job training and substance abuse programs.

On Tuesday, residents of San Francisco will go to the polls to vote on the Sit-Lie Ordinance (Proposition L). If passed, it will be illegal to sit or lie on a city sidewalk between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.

We argue that, if passed, this ordinance could potentially criminalize a person just for being homeless as the unhoused often become the target of such laws. Taxpayer dollars could be better spent creating and providing more affordable housing, supportive housing and services to assist these vulnerable individuals. With very few options, homeless people often have no other choice than to be on the streets and sidewalks. Outlawing them will only move them, not make them any less homeless. Stop the Sit-Lie Ordinance in San Francisco!

Meet some allies fighting for the fall of Prop L: the Sit/Lie Posse, a group of artists who have done some guerrilla activism and taken over billboard and bus stop ads with their own artwork to urge voters to say no to Prop L. The ads can be found throughout the city, including where there is strong backing of the proposition, around City Hall, the Haight-Ashbury district and others.

Officials in San Francisco are looking into the ads since they were put up illegally. The anonymous ads weren't paid for and they cover up other paid ads. The Sit/Lie Posse asserts they are artists who have liberated the ad spaces. Their spokesperson, Jim Rawley, said in a press release that "Prop. L ignores due process and criminalizes people based on appearance. If you look like you're homeless, you can be arrested while tourists and the wealthy get a free pass with first class treatment."

Portland State University has a homeless problem. A recent opinion piece in the student newspaper, the Vanguard, laments the intrusion of so-called "transients" into the university's libraries and other buildings. The author of the piece, Janieve Schnabel, fears that "as the weather gets colder and the rains come, the problem is only going to get worse."

Indeed, Portland State has a homeless problem. It seems their student newspaper is grossly insensitive toward the homeless. Tell Portland State's newspaper to retract these stereotypes of the homeless!

Schnabel tries to excuse her bigotry by writing, "Don't get me wrong — this is not about inherent prejudice directed at the homeless."

She's right. Her prejudice is not inherent; it is learned. She probably picked it up from the same sources that so many people do: inaccurate media portrayals of the homeless. The media seems fixated on a stubborn adherence to the misnomer that homelessness is almost exclusively the result of "mental illness or the direct consequence of substance abuse."

Ironically, the author argues positive representation of homelessness in the media paralyzes Portland State University from cracking down on the nefariously unhoused. She writes, "The media has long glorified the plight of the homeless, from such depictions as the 'wise vagabond' character in many shows to the story of Nathaniel Ayers, a schizophrenic cellist who dropped out of Julliard and lived on the streets. These people are portrayed as humble, worldly and misunderstood."

So apparently the homeless are instead arrogant, small-minded and simple?

Does Hollywood imitate life? Or does life imitate Hollywood? For the most watched television soap opera in the world (with 26 million+ viewers), the answer is, both.

Beginning tomorrow, Oct. 28, The Bold & the Beautiful will begin airing episodes featuring real homeless people. According to TV Guide, B&B producers went down to LA's Skid Row and hired 25 homeless people for the show. They filmed them telling their stories and plan to air the interviews as part of a plot line that has one of the soap opera's characters, Stephanie Forrester, who is battling terminal cancer, reaching out to the less fortunate.

CBS shouldn't have to do it all. Urge NBC and ABC to incorporate realistic portrayals of the homeless as well!

Executive producer and head writer Brad Bell says it's not a one-time thing. He has hired an additional 30 homeless people to appear as extras and says he doesn't want to drop the storyline anytime soon. He plans to make it part of The Bold & the Beautiful's holiday season. He also said that the whole experience changed him.

"This has been a huge awakening for me — I now have a real appreciation for the pillow under my head and the roof that's over me. So many people are just a paycheck away from homelessness or living in a shelter," he said. "Our entire production company has been changed by this experience. Hopefully, so has the audience. To be a great country we need to take care of these people. As they say, we're only as strong as our weakest link."

Homeless advocates should be thrilled to learn of the creation of the new National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, the first resource of its kind for this population. This is important for homelessness for two reasons: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are more susceptible to homelessness and seniors are increasingly ending up without a permanent home. Put the two together and, well, grandma and grandma are vulnerable. In fact, the number of homeless senior citizens is expected to rise by a third in the next ten years and jump 54 percent by 2050.

Being LGBT presents many financial challenges as people age. They're much less likely to have the financial security of a marriage or family relationships and more likely to face discrimination when it comes to housing and dealing with an ailing partner.

Recently the oldest advocacy group for LGBT seniors, SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders), revealed the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services and several foundations. Ten other groups, including the American Society on Aging, are also contributing.

The hope is that it will become a clearinghouse for information, personal stories and services for seniors and the organizations devoted to them. But no one knows yet exactly what it is they want and need to know. Filling in the blanks, as the New York Times put it, will take place over the next year. Do your part to make sure it includes information for LGBT seniors who are homeless or facing homelessness — take a few seconds to tell the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging to include info on homelessness!

Is party girl Paris Hilton giving up her rock 'n' roll ways for a simpler life of community service? If her tweets are to be believed, then perhaps so. Known more for inspiring gossip rather than generosity, Paris lent a helping hand this week, along with her sister Nicky, by serving shepherd's pie to homeless youth at the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles.

Never one to shy from the public eye, she also tweeted about her visit: "Spent all day with the kids downtown at The Rescue Mission Shelter. We had had such a great time."

Now, before we start retweeting about a complete celebrity conversion, I should point out that Paris' volunteerism comes as a result of a judge's order to complete 200 hours of community service following a recent cocaine bust. But to be honest, I care less about why she's helping out, than the fact that she is actually doing it and sharing it with the public (including her nearly three million Twitter followers).

Paris' nightlife antics might not make her an ideal role model, but her notoriety has the potential to heighten awareness about homelessness and hopefully inspire fans to emulate her positive pursuits.

Volunteering at homeless shelters seems to be the positive publicity booster of choice lately, with Paris joining the likes of Lindsey Lohan, Kanye West and Megan Fox. As fellow blogger Josie Raymond points out, if politicians joined along for the PR bender, we might begin to see some dramatic legislative action take place.

Regardless of the intent of those who recently posted images of homeless men using laptops, a discussion has emerged around the more-common-than-one-might-think bewilderment at how a homeless person could possibly (1) acquire a technological device and (2) benefit from one.

To many, a homeless person with a laptop might evoke the assumption that the laptop was acquired through illegal means (stolen, purchased on the black market, etc.). But Moore's Law would suggest otherwise. The exponential rate of technological improvement has yielded $50 cell phones and $150 laptops — and that's just retail price. In addition to charities that give away electronics, wholesalers and secondhand stores often sell used computers and other items for pennies on the dollar. (Of course, computers and other gadgetry can also be among what little is "left over" for people who were recently housed.) Beyond being affordable, technology can even provide an income stream for the homeless.

Technology's benefits to the homeless are even more apparent than its affordability. The advent of email, cellular phones and blogs has helped improved the plight of many homeless individuals as they attempt to move off of the streets and into permanent housing. Although providers of homeless services sometimes furnish mailbox and/or telephone services to their guests, email allows homeless individuals to have a permanent means of contact no matter their housing situation. Free computer and internet access at local libraries allows for reliable, written communication even without a permanent address (just ask some bloggers and commenters on this site). For things like obtaining food stamps, inquiring about housing, and understanding other essential services, cell phones have proven to be extremely useful tools.

David Muniz is a homeless man in Colorado. Not so long ago he made the front page of the local Greeley Tribune because he was pushing his grocery cart and all his worldly belongings over a mountain — several mountains really — on his way to a job at Walmart in Steamboat Springs. He was also unintentionally raising awareness of homelessness. And guess what?People chipped in to buy him food, help him set up camp and supply firewood. People felt inspired by him, not sorry for him.

Another homeless man, Kevin Clarke, ran for mayor in Toronto — and had more police charges leveled against him than when he was actually a criminal. He wanted to make a statement and he did.

In Richmond, Virginia, a couple dozen homeless men and women ran a 10K last spring and are all now training for their first marathon. Hundreds of people stepped up to pay for shoes, to donate clothing and to provide food and opportunities for them.

A New York City high schooler named Rosa Bracero didn't let being evicted on the day she was supposed to take her high school graduation tests deter her from pursing a career anyway. She aced her entrance exam into Lincoln Technical College, but couldn't get in without the high school degree. People rallied around her and the city quickly backtracked, giving her the diploma.

I could list dozens, even hundreds, of examples of homeless people who don't let being homeless stop them from going after what they want. They kick the victim mentality to the curb. And guess what? People step in to help. They may not step in right away, or in the exact way we want, but trust my experience, when you work hard enough and long enough someone will notice.

Rena Moran is on the verge of breaking ground in Minnesota. The 50-year-old looks likely to become the first African-American woman in the state's legislature when voting tallies are counted on Election Day. There's another reason to root for her success, though; Moran is formerly homeless.

Ten years ago Moran moved from Chicago to the Twin Cities with a college education and four children, but no home. Now, after orchestrating an upset in the August Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party primary, she's likely to replace Rep. Cy Thao in the diverse District 65A.

She says she came to Minnesota because she always heard it was family-friendly. When she got there, though, she started hearing other things, like "'You're black, you have four sons, you're from Chicago and you want to find a home?' Forget it.' " Many locals blamed crime rates on blacks who'd moved from Chicago.

She and her children lived for four months in the Sharing and Caring Hands homeless shelter (now in its 26th year and in need of donations). With caring volunteers and state financial assistance, Moran found an apartment and a minimum wage job. Now she holds a day job with Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota and owns a home. Her activism started with a quest to get her street repaved. Along the way she formed allies with local white and Hmong families and began to think of politics.