Ordinances Targeting the Homeless: Constitutional or Cost-Effective? Negative stereotypes and dehumanization can also increase discrimination, violence, and hate crimes against people who are homeless. 8.1K Followers. A few months ago, I reported on the settlement of a lawsuit directing the California Department of Transportation to reimburse homeless people whose belongings the agency unfairly took and destroyed during encampment sweeps. This was a news you can use story, helping unhoused people understand how to file a claim. On any given night, hundreds of thousands of people are homeless in the United States.1 These people might be chronically homeless, have temporarily lost their shelter, be fleeing domestic violence, or facing any number of other issues.2 Homelessness is closely connected to declines in physical and mental health; homeless persons experience high rates of health problems such as HIV infection, alcohol and drug abuse, mental illness, tuberculosis, and other conditions.3 Health problems among homeless persons result from various factors, such as barriers to care, lack of access to adequate food and protection, and limited resources and social services.4 As each of these factors have legal underpinnings, legal and policy interventions have often been used to attempt to address homelessness, although not always from a public health perspective. Just call them homeless, that's what it is Unhoused to me seems like one of those things people do to feel better without actually doing anything. You may pass them every day on your way to work. The displaced more often than not wind up homeless or are forced to move out of Los Angeles County and sometimes the state of California altogether. The bottom line: Touting another homeless count with a very wide margin of error because thousands of people werent included cant possibly help in addressing the crisis. In recent years, advocacy organizations and government bodies have increasingly worked to decriminalize homelessness and to promote programs that provide multidisciplinary services, affordable housing, affordable healthcare, and other resources that can support homeless populations.7 The following resources give examples and recommendations from national and state level organizations and federal agencies of current efforts to both decriminalize homelessness and actively support homeless individuals. No, You Cant Build Here, Opinion: About Those Free Tickets to Hong Kong, Opinion: Late to Work? Paperwork and Documentation Challenges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. This word can be used as a verb in any sentence. Visible or not, homeless is homeless. Loss of ability and will to care for oneself. Here at Politically Speaking, when we see, we speak! There are also times when we prioritize accessibility and clarity. 4 y Read17 hours ago | The Editorial Board, Article viewed iconAn icon to mark the viewed articles The #CrashNotAccident initiative was an effort by transportation-safety advocates to stop the AP Stylebook from using accident to describe motor-vehicle collisions, which kill about 40,000 Americans per year. Now faces significant obstacles in trying to organize homeless people politically; the homeless suffer police reprisals and loss of shelter and other services as a result of their activism. Some cities have criminalized homelessness itself, as well as activities often related to homelessness, such as sleeping in public, begging in public, and camping in public.6. Eventually un-housed will be politically incorrect. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Mention that a person is homeless only when relevant. Hobo? Homeless? Or Houseless? - SpokaneFVS The correct term is Black. Homelessness as a Public Health Law Issue - CDC For decades, journalists have contributed to the over-generalization of unhoused people, and stigmas against them, by using sweeping terms like the homeless that distill someones entire identity down to the fact that they dont currently live in a house, or words like transient that carry negative connotations. It's been called the "euphemism treadmill". There are several different signs as well as different definitions for the word 'shelter' but we are going to focus on the sign for a shelter that is an establishment/place that provides temporary housing for people who are homeless and/or are fleeing from domestic and/or sexual violence. Any word for it will end up sounding perjorative, requiring a new euphemism, and the cycle continues. Well, what does homeless look like? urban survivalists, as a once homeless veteran I preferred the term "street soldier" you can call it any name you want it's all the same HELL ON EARTH. Unfortunately, it's in every state. The Unsurprising Reason More Black Americans Are Becoming Homeless, California Could House Its Entire Homeless Population in Empty Hotel Rooms Right Now, Stay Home? 500,000 Homeless Americans Cant Follow Coronavirus Advice, Why Googles plan to build a smart neighborhood failed, What its like to organize renters during a pandemic, There is no housing crisis in Animal Crossing. The answer to that can be complex, but the simplest way we can address it is as follows: Not everyone has housing, but everyone has a home--including our houseless beneficiaries at LACA. Supposedly the term dehumanizes people and adds to the stigma or something? She was previously on staff at Berkeleyside, where her extensive reporting on the legacy of school desegregation received recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal and the Education Writers Association. That's why some people use terms like unhoused or home-free to describe themselves. The language we use to refer to the more than 4,000 people in Oakland who dont have a permanent, indoor place to sleep matters. The following resources describe homelessness as a public health concern, discuss the criminalization of homelessness in some jurisdictions, and give examples of legal and policy approaches to addressing homelessness.5. The phrases can become euphemisms, sanitizing whats at stake. Homeless? Unhoused? Word choice matters when reporting on Oaklanders How do people in these communities describe themselves, and want to be described by others? More along the lines as un-housed meaning they cant afford shelter even with a job or the working homeless. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? Accommodation impaired lol. Instead, home is friends, family, and community. As homelessness is expected to spike owing to pandemic-related unemployment, each of these situations may require different terminology. How We Talk About Homelessness Is Finally Changing - Curbed Using terms like the homeless is reductive and purposely isolates a specific group, making it seem like the needs of that group are not representative of the whole of society. In the mainstream discourse and official statements, homeless has been the standard term for years. It is. The journalistic field is slowly reckoning with the power of word choice when it comes to reporting on people without permanent housing. No, it's just plain incorrect. Stop by our contact page now and join the Alliance. If you would like to take real action to end homelessness and help the unhoused members of the LA community, were just a click or a phone call away. Words Matter: Using Humanizing Language | The Fortune Society You can review and change the way we collect information below. In the '60s, political parties in the United States would debate whether actions, policies, and language were "correct," with procedural, almost clinical connotations. Two Days Mattered Most. These volunteers look under freeway overpasses, in cars and riverbed encampments, shelters, transitional housing, nursing homes, hospitals, even jails. Other movements built around making language more specific and avoiding euphemism have explicitly attempted to sway public opinion. You're welcome. Press J to jump to the feed. I don't want to take resources away from homeless people or cheapen someone else's experience or try to pretend like I need pity or something. Its still the word HUD uses in its reports. One is permanent, one is temporary. The next usage shift came in the 1990s, when "PC" began to take on negative connotations for some political parties in the U.S., even as it was wholeheartedly adopted . Changing the term changes none of that, but it is a nice way to distract from efforts to fix the problem. I want you to understand that being homeless isn't travelling around the United States, enjoying beaches and National Parks, taking pretty pictures in the world's most beautiful places, and one giant camping trip. But I am not on drugs, have a job and a college degree. Space planning is key, and less really is often more. People who are homeless must overcome stereotypes, get routinely harassed by law enforcement, and are often the victims of violent attacks. Youre not alone. Amy Farah Weiss, founder and director of the St. Francis Homelessness Challenge and a former mayoral candidate, says she's had similar conversations while working with San Francisco's homeless. Homelessness is an economic problem. Why Should I Use "Person Who is Homeless" vs. "Homeless Person" In this day-and-age of political correctness, it can be challenging to know the right way to refer to people living on the streets or in shelters. Either way, you can always reach me at natalie@oaklandside.org. Thanks to the revitalization efforts of city leaders, otherwise known as gentrification, thehood is no longer off-limits to whites who have boldly settled into black and brown neighborhoods displacing those areaslongtime inhabitants, who now find themselves thrown into a rental market where landlords and property management companies want prospective tenants that make three times the rent and hold a FICO score over 600. Terms like "ex-inmates," "ex-prisoners," "ex-convicts," "ex-felons," and "ex-offenders" are used to categorize and stigmatize people affected by the criminal justice system. White uses the term "houseless" as a way to show that giving people access to their own physical dwelling unit is, in itself, the best way to solve homelessness. That's just one . We remind everyone that houseless is an adjective. People who are homeless are 10 times as likely as people who are housed to be the victim of violent crimes. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. So it isn't politically incorrect. Traffickers are able to exploit potential victims' fear of sleeping on the street by offering them safe shelter to recruit them into trafficking. Avoid the dehumanizing collective noun the homeless, instead using constructions like homeless people, people without housing or people without homes. According to the Columbia Journalism Review, this change is part of the APs overall shift to person-first language, emphasizing the person youre describing instead of a singular aspect of their identity.Another person-first alternative to the term the homeless sometimes comes up in conversations about homelessness: people experiencing homelessness. Its not a phrase that Street Spirit uses to the exclusion of all others, noted Boone, and neither do we. LAWeekly Instagram: Featuring the culture of LA since 1978 , Relationship with the Victim* The comedian George Carlin (certainly not someone anyone would describe as "politically correct") opined thirty years ago that the term "homeless" is an inaccurate euphemism: "Home is an abstract concept. At Politically Speaking, we come together to share our views on politics and society. Some cities are starting to pass laws that make it essentially illegal to be homeless, and many already do have vagrancy laws. Numerous hard-working people are only one paycheck away from this harrowing experience, particularly in our homebase of Los Angeles. PHLP cannot provide legal advice on any issue and cannot represent any individual or entity in any matter. Homeless but not wanting for local ties, affiliations or roots in a particular community. ASL Politically Correct Sign: SHELTER - YouTube It's called not having a house yet. One reason a houseless person might not resonate with homeless is that it can have a pitying connotation. Once city leaders can acknowledge this group of homeless people, perhaps we can have a real conversation about whats needed to help them. Like unclean, unhealthy, sounds like PR bullshit. Opinion: Please, Don't Call Them 'Homeless' - The Western Journal As a newsroom, were committed to working with community members to define their experiences. Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. I personally have seen the city co-opting the language of advocates and unhoused people to create policies that criminalize folks, Husbands-Hankin told me recently. A year later, there was still no single term used across newsrooms. Unemployment, substance abuse and mental illness can also lead to homelessness. Instead: homeless people, people without housing or people without homes. Political Correction: How "PC" and "Reclaimed" Words Got Their Start With limits on stays of thirty to ninety days, this approach in theory provides immediate, short-term shelter for the homeless.