The Reagan Effect?

As More Americans Slip Under the Poverty Line, HPR Looks at the Cold Reality of Homelessness

On a sunny evening in October, two students from Minnesota State University Moorhead run frantically around the kitchen of the Dorothy Day House.

“Is the meat done yet?” 19-year old Natalia Delgado yells to her friend while she quickly finishes making the onion gravy. “I really wanted this to be perfect for them, but we are already 30 minutes behind schedule.”

In a dark room, ten men sit patiently, huddled on sofas while watching a 32-inch television, eagerly waiting to see what meal has been planned for them tonight.

A co-worker of the Dorothy Day House comes into the brightly lit yellow kitchen and says, “We have to serve the food now; is it all ready to go?” Natalia and her friend look at each other with eyes full of worry.

“I suppose so,” said Natalia. “It’s not going to be perfect; the meat is still a bit bloody.”

The co-worker smiles at the two students, and says, “For a homeless person, any meal is a good meal, they are just grateful to receive anything.” She grabs a bowl of the now cold roast potatoes and places it on the dark oak table, then calls the homeless men for their dinner. The homeless men and the workers at the Dorothy Day House combat the effects of homelessness everyday.

The Reagan Effect?

There are many different causes and outcomes for homelessness. Some people believe that the main reason for homelessness emerged when President Ronald Reagan took office in the 1980s, as he restricted the monetary contributions to cities and public institutions. In light of these reduced contributions, some public institutions were unable to remain open, and people with mental and dependency problems had to be discharged, leaving many with no place to go but the streets.

There were some attempts at establishing treatment programmes, but with economic downturns and ultimate misfortune, many people ended up not having a roof over their heads. As a result, many writers credit the homeless problem to the Reagan administration.

With a mandate to reduce federal spending, President Ronald Reagan came to office in 1981. He slashed funding for domestic programs that assisted the working class (especially the poor), declined the wages for the average worker, and caused the homeownership rate to fall. Subsequently, the economic growth that came from his two terms in office only benefited those already well-off in society.

During his term of office, 60 percent of federal assistance to local governments was cut, resulting in a massive decline in funds. This had horrific effects on cities that depended on federal aid, as many support organizations were forced to close. His most dramatic cut was for low-income housing. In his first year in office, the budget for public housing was cut by half, and he tried to eliminate federal housing assistance for the poor. Reagan believed that minor organizations could support themselves in their mission, without government help.

Unfortunately, this proved to be untrue. By the late 1980s, homelessness in America had risen to the point that on any given night 600,000 people, many of whom had been laid-off from various jobs, were homeless. More than 20 percent of these 600,000 people had full or part-time jobs, but due to the rise in housing costs, they were unable to keep up with their bills. Reagan constantly denied the assertion that he was responsible for the sudden occurrence of homelessness.
“They make their own choice for staying out there.” Reagan stated on “Good Morning America” in 1984. “There are shelters in virtually every city and shelters here in Washington, these people still prefer to live out there on the grates or the lawns rather than staying in one of these shelters.”

The Cold Hand of Homelessness

To this day, organizations are still trying to repair the damages that these cutbacks had on the homeless. To date there is an estimate of over 9,200 homeless people living in Minnesota alone, 30 percent of whom meet the federal criteria of chronic homelessness.

It is also believed that 52 percent of the homeless population suffers from some form of mental illness, making it extremely difficult for them to find housing and a stable job.

Jeanne Watkins, 49, was formally employed at South East Human Resources, a state-run organization. She worked directly with the homeless, mentally ill, and the chemically dependent. At the time of her employment she worked with 36 clients who were either on the brim of becoming or already were homeless. She gave examples of her clients.

“John* jumped out of the window on the second story!” Watkins said. “He was put in the state hospital and was taken care of with everything done for him. Because of his desperate situation, he thought: here is what I’m going to do…jump out a window, I’ll be fine.”

For most homeless people, everyday is a battlefield. Living life on the streets for a week, let alone a lifetime, will wear one thin as they try to find somewhere to sleep, go to the bathroom, wash their clothes, and even to wash themselves. Even the strongest of people soon get broken-down and make drastic mistakes.

Sarah* was in her mid-20s when she started to meet with Ms. Watkins. Sarah suffered from a case of schizophrenia. Her movements were erratic, yet you could still see the kindness in her worn eyes. She had gotten into some form of trouble and, due to state orders, had already lost two of her three children.

To keep her third child and her home, she had certain expectations to meet. One of these was to attend regular medical checkups and check-ins with her worker.

One day Sarah went for HIV testing, resulting in the discovery that she was positive for the virus. Panicked, she started to wonder what the point was anymore: Why was she keeping this kid? Why was she keeping straight? Why was she taking her medications? Why was she doing anything? In the end she gave up all hope and ran away, leaving her child behind for social services.

Sarah train-hopped from city to city. She smoked pot and used various other substances; she soon befriended a group of males. These men brutally gang-rapped her. She begged and pleaded for them to stop, calling out to them in despair that she was HIV positive, but her pleads fell on deaf ears.

Several months after Sarah had run away, she reappeared at Ms. Watkins door. She got retested for HIV and found out some mortifying news. The results were wrong the first time; she never actually had HIV. Sarah was devastated, frightened and alone. She had destroyed everything and had nothing to go back to: no home, no job, no money, no children, nothing.

Sarah soon found herself living in the industrial park on the north side of Fargo in a culvert (a large cement tube that goes under the roads so that water can flow into the ditches). Here, she found a group of friends who supported each other like family. Sarah had never felt safer in her life; she was finally becoming happy again. Ms Watkins constantly fought to find Sarah a job and a place to live, but she continuously refused the aid. When the industrial park closed in 2001, Sarah disappeared and was never seen again.

As the winter approaches and the temperature drops, the demand for support for the homeless will increase. Many homeless people will begin moving south to escape the wind chills (which are at times the same temperature as those in Alaska). For the ones left behind with only a sleeping bag to keep them warm, it is likely that they won’t survive the brutal season. Hundreds of organizations in the state are pulling together to improve the situation.

A Dorothy Day in the Life…

At the Dorothy Day House they offer 10 homeless men the chance to stay at the shelter. Around 75 percent of the residents suffer from mental illness or chemical dependency problems, and around 25 percent of them are veterans. On average, the men will stay at the house for 14 days, but there is no time limit.

The house is always full of people needing help, meaning the rooms are limited. For example, in 2006, 1477 people applied to have a room in the house; due to a lack of space, they could only accept 605 of those who applied.

“Our operating budget is very small, and we probably get half our donations through individuals and from the community,” said Sonja Ellner, 25, the assistant director of the house. “We receive plenty of donations, but as costs go up, the need goes up as well.”

On opening the door to the Dorothy Day House, one is greeted by Doc, an 89-year-old man who radiates warmth and kindness.

Doc is one of the founding directors of the house and has worked with the organization from the very beginning. Doc, due to his age, struggles daily to combat ailments and failing mobility, but he puts his own problems aside to work at the shelter. He talks of the shelter as being his life. He is willing to put himself second to help improve the standards for people in need.

The Dorothy Day House also offers services at its food pantry to people who have an income of $20,000 a year or less. Those who qualify can come in every month and receive an emergency food basket. The food basket, on average, will only supply an emergency amount of food to last around three days.

Ninety percent of their food is donated from the public and around 25-35 families receive their aid every day. The food pantry is open four days a week and is always looking for volunteers. Brandee Freitag, 30, is the food pantry coordinator, and and claims to have the most rewarding job in the world.

“That’s what I look forward to everyday when I come to work,” she said, “in the evenings knowing that there is that one person that I’m really going to touch and help during that day.”

Help is Out There

There are many more organizations like this trying to help the homeless and those nearing despair. These organizations vary in the help that they offer people, including: counseling, housing advice, and even legal services. One organization which plays a huge part in supporting those in need is the church.

“I don’t give them any advice.” said Pastor Paul Nynas, 32, from Hope Lutheran Church. “What we try to do is walk beside them and hopefully help them to identify what core issues lead them to homelessness and then help them to get connected to resources to get them out of the situation.

I believe that what they need more than anything is for someone to love them and to walk with them to help them rise out of homelessness and poverty, to fight addiction, to fight mental illness, to find a good job, or whatever it might be.”

The church involves its youth in many organizations, as they are the ones who will shape our future state image. At Hope Lutheran Church, in North Dakota, they often take their youth through the streets of Fargo during the evening with bags of food and blankets to give away.

This helps the youth to interact with the homeless and helps to show the youth that homeless people are normal people who have just had bad luck. The churches throughout the state are constantly trying to spread awareness and help causes by doing food drives and holding fund raising events.

The churches of the Fargo-Moorhead area were recently involved in the third annual Homeless and Hungry event. They invited people of the area to sleep in cardboard boxes and to fast for 30 hours. This was done with the hope that they would understand the lives of those less fortunate and to raise their awareness of the plight of homelessness.

All volunteers are encouraged to raise $365 to participate in the event ($365 being the annual costs to keep a homeless person alive). During this event there were guest speakers and service projects. Every year the event receives more coverage and volunteers; this year they had more than 600 participants and raised over $201,000.

There are various organizations that specialize in helping veterans in their time of need. Unfortunately, due again to the lack of affordable housing and access to health care, they’re not getting the support they deserve. It is disheartening to hear that with an average of 523 homeless veterans in Minnesota alone, only 23 beds were funded in 2005 by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Every Effort Counts

Organizations need more funding and manpower to find and help those who need their care. It is often hard to believe how many people are homeless in one state, let alone in the whole of America, the so-called land of dreams and a place
full of lights, glamour, power and money.

The Reagan administration attitude toward the homeless may have been the loose thread in the fabric of the city that slowly unraveled into the situation it is in today. Yet it is hard to simply point and hold blame. All we can do now is come together and work as one to solve this situation, serving and giving to those people to help achieve their goals.

“Its simple for someone to say it’s not my problem, I’m not homeless and I don’t know anyone who is homeless,” said Minnesota Senator Kevin Dahl. “This is a very naïve attitude to take. It is still a major issue, and we should make every effort to help our fellow citizens. I think that any way we can raise awareness and reach out to them will make a positive effect.”

After the meal at the Dorothy Day House, Natalia and her friend helped gather the plates. The plates were scraped free of food by the patrons, making the need for washing them seem unnecessary. In the kitchen they were greeted by one of the homeless men; he had just finished running the luke-warm water in the sink and was holding a grubby looking dishcloth. He kindly took the plates from Natalia and gave her a warm-hearted smile.

“I can do it; I made the mess,” Natalia said. The man shakes his head and briskly starts the washing up without her.
“It’s one of my chores,” he mumbles. “We rotate.” Natalia turns around and notices all the men around her are wiping down the tables, sweeping the floors and doing various other chores. Suddenly, she gets a glowing feeling as she dwells on how these patrons are trying to show their appreciation. She picks up her personal items and says goodbye to the men in the house.

Natalia and her friend leave and walk the cold, dark walk back to their dorm. They left high-spirited and selfless, knowing they had done a good deed. Natalia turned to her friend. “We should make this a monthly event,” she says. “One day isn’t enough to make a difference. It’s a life-long commitment to help these men, and the more we put in, the more they will get out. I will call up tomorrow and schedule us to cook again.”

* Name changed for protection.