Are Storage Units Modern-Day Carboard Boxes?

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-10-29 10:30:00 UTC
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Somewhere along the line, the cardboard box became synonymous with homelessness. But today, these old stereotypes are changing as our modern-era homeless population grows and utilizes existing resources. Today, many homeless individuals and families are  taking shelter in storage units.

An article in last week's Chicago Tribune told the story of a family living in a storage unit. It's not a new phenomenon; similar stories have been reported out of Hawaii and Maryland. At $179/month, the price is certainly right. And as I wrote back in March, storage units beat the dangers of the street, the rules of shelters, and the stigma of tent cities for people who are newly homeless.

Still - it's ironic, isn't it? Storage units exist because people have too much stuff. So much stuff, in fact, that we can't even squeeze it into our houses or apartments. Yet, at the same time, homelessness is at an all-time high in many cities. What does this say about us a society, about the enormous gap between the rich and the poor?

Have we come to value "stuff" more than we value people?

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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