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5 Misconceptions about Homelessness

5 Misconceptions about HomelessnessHomelessness affects every corner of the world. In 2019, it was estimated that 150 million people are homeless, while more than 1.6 billion lack access to adequate housing. Despite its prevalence, many have inaccurate perceptions about the nature of homelessness. The homeless population has exceedingly high barriers to overcome their circumstances. To uplift people suffering from homelessness, others must first educate themselves on the many misconceptions about homelessness. Here are five common misconceptions about homelessness.

5 Misconceptions About Homelessness

  1. “Background does not affect homelessness.” The circumstances surrounding homelessness are widespread and cannot be pinpointed. However, certain sets of conditions make homelessness more likely. For example, causes of homelessness could involve displacement, conflict, natural disasters, mental illness, family strife, gentrification, rapid urbanization and lack of affordable housing. Millions of people in Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia and elsewhere are displaced by terrorism or natural disasters. These conditions are largely uncontrollable and unavoidable. Homeless people can be put in this situation through no choice of their own. Unfortunately, the cycle of poverty may continue because of a person’s social, economic or geographical background.
  2. “Most people are homeless because of addiction.” While drugs can be a cause, it is more likely that addiction develops after one becomes homeless. People suffering from homelessness can fall into alcohol and drug abuse to numb their reality. A study conducted in Australia concluded that only 3% of homelessness was caused by addiction, while the major cause of homelessness was a lack of housing at 45%. Addiction can become a coping mechanism for people in negative situations, like homelessness. The stigma about substance abuse and homelessness make treatment for addiction less likely for people in this difficult situation.
  3. “Homeless people should just find a job.” To find and keep a job, people usually need to have a resume, reliable access to transportation, clean clothes to wear and have a means of contact like a cell phone. Homeless people often cannot fill out job applications without these requirements. Even with all of these resources, it may not be fixing the underlying issues of the cycle of chronic homelessness. Securing a job might happen, but recurring issues might deter people from stabilizing any income source. It is a definite misperception that homeless people are lazy and should find a job. The fact is, simply finding a job is harder than it may seem.
  4. “There are enough services to support the homeless.” The majority of services created for serving the homeless are pinpointed to shelter and food. While these services are valuable, they do not address larger institutional barriers to break a poverty cycle. Job support, healthcare, affordable housing and family services are a few less obtainable amenities. Solutions to homelessness must include temporary and long-term services for rehabilitation. In addition, urban centers are more likely to have services for the homeless, while access is particularly limited in rural areas. To create more permanent methods of relief, organizations must approach homelessness holistically.
  5. “Homelessness cannot be solved.” There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but community responsibility for the homeless can have a great impact. Finland is an excellent example of community change causing a decrease in homelessness. In the past 15 years, the numbers have decreased by about 40%. From individually tailored solutions, affordable housing, policy changes and local support, Finland is building strong networks that are creating tangible results. Prevention will also be a crucial step in solving global homelessness. By tackling causes of homelessness through intervention programs, a decrease in global homelessness is likely. It is a clear misconception about homelessness that this problem is inevitable and unfixable.

After challenging these stereotypes, people can begin to humanize the homeless population and do more work to solve this epidemic. Abandoning these five misconceptions about homelessness is a great way to start to challenge stereotypical beliefs. If people learn more about truths concerning homelessness, society can reshape and redefine the solutions to this problem.

– Eva Pound
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About Homelessness in Ukraine

5 Facts About Homelessness in UkraineUkraine, a former Soviet Republic, currently has the 112th largest GDP per capita in the world. However, Ukraine’s economy has lagged behind those of other European powers and is considered to be a developing country. Experiencing wars and widespread poverty, Ukraine’s homeless population has grown in recent years, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are five facts you need to know about homelessness in Ukraine.

5 Things to Know About Homelessness in Ukraine

  1. The number of homeless people in Ukraine is unknown: The Ukrainian government only counts the homeless population who qualify for government aid. As such, many NGOs, including the Ukrainian Social Fund Partnership, and other experts estimate that the homeless population in Ukraine was over 200,000 in 2015. With a 9.2% unemployment rate pre-COVID-19 and 1.5 million people in Ukraine living below the poverty line, these figures are likely understated. However, if these estimates are to be believed, Ukraine would have one of the highest rates of homelessness in Europe with a similar homelessness rate to that of countries like Peru and Guatemala. The level of homelessness in Ukraine is difficult to track due to a lack of adequate government surveillance and social services available for homeless individuals to use.
  2. The war with Russia has increased the homeless population: Since the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, 2,777 civilians have been killed. The military conflict between Russia and Ukraine has also left an estimated 1.6 million internally displaced people (IDPs) as civilians have fled conflict zones to the relative safety of Kyiv. Made up largely of ethnic minorities, the large amount of internally displaced persons within Ukraine gives the country the most amount of IDPs in the world. The United Nations Refugee Agency and other organizations have provided shelter to these refugees in an effort to prevent them from becoming homeless. Additionally, in 2019, the Ukrainian parliament passed a bill to increase funds for affordable housing for displaced persons, providing housing for 800 IDP families. Despite these efforts, the Ukrainian refugee crisis has undoubtedly contributed to homelessness in Ukraine although exact numbers are unknown. However, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) did report that in 2019, it failed to provide shelter and other needs for between 8000 to 9000 internally displaced families in Ukraine.
  3. Leftover Soviet-era policies discriminate against homelessness in Ukraine: During Soviet-era Ukraine government documents called propiska served as a form of internal passport to allow access to social services and travel within the Soviet Union. Although these documents were abolished in name by the Ukrainian government in 1997, residence permits serving the same function as propiska are still used. Ethnic minorities like Roma, displaced persons and the homeless are not issued these documents due to a lack of residency. These documents serve the same purpose as the Soviet documentation once did and as such, Ukrainians still refer to them as propiska. Without propiska, the homeless population in Ukraine does not have access to public housing, homeless shelters, unemployment benefits, food coupons, employment, childcare or the right to vote. This practice of issuing government identification only to those with homes has often been criticized by organizations like the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) for deliberately discriminating against impoverished and minority communities.
  4. Social aid has become more restrictive: In April of 2016, a spokesperson from the NGO Narondna Dopomoga revealed to the Kyiv Post that they were no longer being allowed by the government to register homeless people for propiska. Previously, a homeless person was able to register via a homeless shelter or center and would gain access to social payments from the government and employment opportunities. However, with new legislation, the homeless are required to have a place of residence (which may include a semi-permanent bed at a shelter) in order to apply for these benefits. These restrictions have been criticized for appealing to anti-homeless sentiments within Ukrainian society.
  5. Several NGOs are stepping up in the absence of government assistance: Because Ukraine is a conflict zone with one of the worst economies in the world, the Ukrainian government lacks the ability to adequately respond to the country’s homelessness crisis. However, because the country receives a large amount of aid from the United Nations and its partner NGOs, there have been some efforts to combat homelessness in Ukraine. For example, the Ukrainian Charity Fund Social Partnership in Kyiv has a center where thousands of homeless come each day. Here they receive food, medical assistance, facilities to clean themselves, laundromats and access to recreational facilities. Helping the homeless youth, ex-convicts and refugees who come through, the Ukrainian Charity Fund Social Partnership also helps these groups to find employment that does not require propiska. Other organizations like Depaul provide shelter for the homeless, especially those fleeing conflict zones in eastern Ukraine as well as homeless mothers and their children.

Due to its struggling economy and war with Russia, Ukraine has suffered an increase in the homeless population in the past few years. Ranging from the unemployed to internally displaced people, government policy often discriminates against those without homes. However, with the intervention of U.N. organizations and other NGOs, homelessness in Ukraine is being addressed. With shelters, jobs and other facilities being provided, many homeless people are being tended to although much is still yet to be done on the part of the Ukrainian government.

– Aidan Sun
Photo: Flickr

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5 Facts About Homelessness in Ireland

5 Facts About Homelessness in IrelandDespite being among the wealthiest countries in the world, Ireland has struggled to address its homelessness crisis. Since 2008, when the country encountered a difficult economic crisis that struck the housing market with rising rent prices and ceased construction efforts to expand housing, Ireland’s homeless population has only grown into a greater national problem. Protests have erupted across the country and the government has stepped in to address the housing crisis with its “Rebuilding Ireland” program designed to create additional housing units to protect people from homelessness. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, homelessness numbers are reflecting a decline that hasn’t been seen in years.

5 Things to Know About Homelessness in Ireland

  1. Lingering Effects of Ireland’s “Lost Decade”: Similar to the 2008 financial crisis in the U.S., Ireland had its own housing bubble which burst in 2008, setting off a decade-long housing crisis. With Ireland’s housing market dropped in price by 54%, the housing construction was forced to a standstill and Irish banks were swarmed with debt. The effects of the crisis dubbed this period of recession the “lost decade”—a time when rising rent costs turned many people to the streets, and unemployment and poverty rose. St. Vincent de Paul, the largest charity in Ireland which provides aid and shelter to the homeless, was fielding double their usual number of calls during the first two years after the crisis. More than a decade later, Ireland is still struggling to recover from the impacts of the housing crisis.
  2. Housing is Not Affordable: A report released by the Irish Homebuilders Association (IHBA) stated the time required for a potential homeowner to save a downpayment could take more than 15 years in some cities in Ireland, including Dublin and Galway. In fact, Dublin has become one of the most expensive cities in the world to pay rent. High rents that consume large portions of an individual’s income tied with limited housing availability are two factors that contribute to the challenges of saving for future home-ownership. Rising rent prices show no signs of slowing down, either, with a 17% rent increase predicted for the upcoming years. Although tenants may manage to pull together their monthly rents, homelessness does not elude all renters: The majority of people who become homeless previously lived in privately rented areas.
  3. Homelessness Rates Shows Signs of Declining Amid COVID-19: Homelessness has been rising for several years since the crisis, growing into a national concern and reality for many people in Ireland. However, recently homelessness numbers dropped to their lowest levels since 2017. In May 2020, it was reported that 8,876 people were affected by homelessness, the first time this number has fallen below 9,000 people in the last three years. This decrease is likely from the emergency accommodations recently implemented to support the most vulnerable of Ireland’s population during the pandemic. Throughout Ireland, 600 places were made available that would allow people to self-isolate and maintain social distancing. However, once COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland are lifted, it is possible these numbers could rise to even higher rates as housing construction projects are delayed even further.
  4. Young Adult Homelessness Rates are High: Young adults are one of the groups most impacted by the housing crisis In Ireland. According to Focus Ireland, an organization that helps young people out of homelessness, the number of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 afflicted by homelessness has increased by 31% since June 2015. But Focus Ireland also points out this figure is likely an underestimate. Official homelessness figures don’t account for the number of young people who seek out friends and family for a temporary place to stay rather than homeless shelters and services—“the forgotten homeless,” as Focus Ireland classifies this group. Young adults who grew up in the aftermath of the housing and financial crisis now face steep rents that hinder their abilities to save for buying a home, an emblem of adulthood.
  5. Ireland’s High Housing Demands: One of the root causes of homelessness in Ireland stems from the country’s inadequate supply of affordable housing. The percentage of households renting privately owned homes has doubled in demand over the past decade, limiting available housing and causing rent prices to climb. Construction efforts to build additional housing are not keeping up with demand either. In response, Ireland’s government installed the “Rebuilding Ireland” program in 2016, an initiative aimed at adding 25,000 housing units per year. According to the 2019 Housing Conference, the program met 74% of its 2018 annual target. However, Focus Ireland believes a solution to Ireland’s housing crisis resides in providing affordable public housing, which the country currently lacks. Public housing can give families and individuals burdened by high rents or eviction notices a humane and affordable option. Although housing, a personal right in Ireland, is slim, supporting the expansion of public housing could be the solution to actualizing this right and creating a stable future for all those who live in Ireland.

As reflected in Ireland’s recently reported figures, homelessness is on the decline. If the “Rebuilding Ireland” program fulfills its established mission of building additional housing, homelessness in Ireland could be combatted even further. Combined with Ireland’s successful response to sheltering the homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic, homelessness in Ireland is showing promising signs of being a resolved issue throughout the country.

– Grace Mayer
Photo: Flickr 

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6 Facts About Homelessness in Estonia

Homelessness in EstoniaIn the mid-90s and early 2000s, Estonia, a country in Northern Europe, oversaw a housing reform. This reform sought to improve the living conditions for Estonians and reduce the number of people who were experiencing homelessness in Estonia. Here’s the situation today:

6 Facts About Homelessness in Estonia

  1. A small percentage of Estonians are homeless – The Institute of Global Homelessness reported that around 864 Estonians were homeless in 2011, which amounts to 0.06% of the population. However, in 2018, the European Journal of Homelessness estimated that 1.5% of Estonians are homeless, which amounts to between 1,900 and 2,100 people.
  2. Unemployment can be a major influence on homelessness in Estonia – A 2014 study in the European Journal of Homelessness found that 5.5% of Estonians are unemployed (2% of which reside in Tallinn, the capital.)
  3. Alcohol dependency can inhibit self-subsistence – The percentage of Estonians who are homeless with mental health issues is increasing, and some of these issues may result from alcohol dependency, alongside other factors. Alcoholism can make it more difficult for people who are trying to gain self-sufficiency.
  4. Testing (for respiratory diseases such as COVID-19) is insufficient for homeless shelters in many European countries – People in shelters who test positive for airborne illnesses must be isolated, according to a report by members of the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless (FEANTSA), yet self-isolation is not always easy in shelters. In an Estonian shelter, after one individual in the shelter tested positive for COVID-19, testing was made available for the other residents, and 56% of those who lived in the shelter tested positive as well. FEANTSA argues that “housing must be reaffirmed as a human right” in order to help those who are experiencing homelessness in Estonia.
  5. Certain shelters and programs provide the homeless with residential services – Shelters like the one in Nõmme District in Tallinn provide the homeless in Estonia with a resocialization plan where residents work on gaining work skills to be able to afford residential spaces of their own. Half of the shelter’s residents pay their own fees that they gained from employment to stay in the shelter, and if a resident cannot pay, the city pays on his/her behalf. This plan lasts for six months, though residents are allowed to stay for longer if they aren’t able to afford their own place of residence at that time.
  6. Housing has improved for Estonians since the 90s – In 1989, there were more households in Estonia than there were residences. From 1994-2004, a housing reform took place, and by 2011, the number of residences was 16% greater than the number of households. Though factors such as rising rental costs can still make it hard for a struggling family to afford to live in their own residence, living conditions have improved overall.

As Estonia’s government has been working to reduce homelessness, programs that have helped reform housing have been effective in reducing homelessness in Estonia since the 1990s. Yet there is still work to be done – lessening the situations which cause homelessness is imperative.

– Ayesha Asad
Photo: Unsplash

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Everything You Need To Know About Homelessness In Norway

Homelessness in NorwayNordic countries have been historically renowned for their social security and high living standards. They are seen as a safe haven and an aspirational goal among the international community. Norway is no exception, and a prime example of the exceptional Norwegian welfare state is the condition of homelessness. Here is everything you need to know about homelessness in Norway.

How Norway Defines “Homelessness”

The Norwegian government has defined homelessness as an individual or family that is unable to independently maintain a safe, consistent and appropriate housing arrangement. Norway has one of the smallest homeless populations in the world, with only 0.07% of the total population being homeless as of 2016. This proportion is less than half of that found in the United States where 0.17% of the population is homeless.

Causes

While only 0.07% of the Norwegian population is homeless, certain groups are at greater risk than others. Four key causes of homelessness in Norway include insecure housing markets, economic hardship, addiction and mental illness. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 54% of homeless people are reportedly drug dependent, 38% suffer from mental illness and 23% are under the age of 25. Additionally, migration poses a challenge to homelessness in Norway, with 20% of the homeless population being immigrants.

Government Initiatives to Fight Homelessness

Norway’s success in regards to having a low homeless population is not random or coincidental. Instead, it is thanks to targeted, effective and long-term policy initiatives. One of the first major policies announced to combat homelessness in Norway was Project Homeless. Project Homeless was launched from 2001 to 2004 and led a collaborative effort among multiple government departments to develop effective methods for combatting homelessness. After Project Homelessness ended, the Strategy Against Homelessness was announced in 2005 and ran until 2007. This strategy built upon the success of Project Homelessness and aimed to:

  • Reduce eviction petitions by 50% and eviction itself by 30%
  • Prevent individuals recently released from prison or a treatment institution from requiring temporary housing
  • Improve the quality of overnight shelters
  • Limit temporary housing stays to less than three months

Most recently, the Norwegian government launched a strategy in 2014 that in many ways furthers the work of the Strategy Against Homelessness. This new strategy specifically targets families with children and young people up to the age of 25. This is a long-term strategy that will last through 2020 and aims to:

  • Ensure safe rental housing for families with children
  • Limit temporary housing to exceptional circumstances, with these arrangements not exceeding three months
  • Reduce and prevent homelessness among families with children and young people

The 2014 strategy plans to achieve these goals by providing assistance to individuals shifting from temporary to permanent housing, assistance in obtaining a suitable home within an insecure housing market, preventing evictions and social innovation.

Repeated reassessment of needs and continued support has been key to Norway’s success in reducing poverty through effective policy. These methods are not unique to Norway, they can be seen across the globe in countries with similarly low homeless populations. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that the insights gained from Norway can be used to inform policies and initiatives against homelessness in countries that are currently struggling.

– Lily Jones
Photo: Pixabay

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Peruvian Food Markets in the Midst of COVID-19

While it may have been one of the first nations in the Americas to take significant preventative actions against the coronavirus, Peru is still reporting over 208,000 COVID-19 cases, and is now ranked as the second most impacted South American country behind Brazil. After the implementation of stay-at-home orders, curfews and boarder closings, it is strange to see both the number of cases and deaths continuing to rise. One explanation as to why Peru is continuing to deal with more cases is that Peru’s poor do not have the luxury to stay at home and Peruvian food markets can be a hub for spreading coronavirus.

The Necessity of Food Markets

Why venture out? Work, food and banking transactions are all done on the streets of Peru and not in the comfort of one’s home. Only 49% of Peruvian households have access to a refrigerator or freezer, meaning that daily excursions to Peruvian food markets are necessary in order to keep food on the table.

Furthermore, the Peruvian food markets provide another challenge, maintaining social distancing. On April 14, CNN affiliate TV Peru captured images of a Lima food market where shoppers waited for hours in lines or in masses while wearing masks but not practicing social distancing. This scene was then replicated outside of banks as people queued up in an attempt to access coronavirus relief funds. Peruvian food markets have quickly become hot spots for contagion, not just for shoppers but also for vendors.

Proving to be an Issue

In a local market, just outside the San Martín de Porres district, “163 merchants tested positive for the virus, after 842 rapid tests.” In response to the rising cases, the Peruvian government implemented more bans and lockdowns to try and stop the sudden influx of cases and extended the state of emergency until June 30. This solution, however, does not address all circumstances across Peru. The fact still remains that the nation’s poor often have no choice but to venture out daily to access the resources they need.

Entrepreneurs feel Economic Strain

Despite the dangers surrounding vendors and shoppers, Peruvian food markets are only half of the equation. The global pandemic has also wreaked havoc on small producers and entrepreneurs.

People who work in small scale production don’t always have easy access to local markets which can lead to two things:

  1. The producers are unable to sell their products in the cities and thus receive less income than they normally would.
  2. Markets will begin to see a decline in produce and goods, which will result in crowded markets and higher prices.

Although Peru is starting to grant transit permits to these small producers, the process has been slowed down due to the coronavirus. While numerous solutions have been proposed by the Peruvian government, only a few actions are igniting real change in providing help for citizens living below the poverty line.

One such solution is being enacted through the German partnership program: Welthungerhilfe. The international relief program focuses on ending food insecurity across the globe. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, it has dedicated relief efforts to communities most heavily impacted. In Peru, this can be seen in the community of Húanuco. Working with the Peruvian Institute of Development and Environment (Instituto de Desarrollo y Medio Ambiente), Welthungerhilfe implemented a delivery service, to connect local farmers and producers with markets and consumers in more urban areas. This effort will keep locally owned farms employed during the crisis and fight the food scarcity affecting local markets.

For the Peruvian people living in poverty, COVID-19 has uncovered many of the nation’s shortcomings including food insecurity. Producers, vendors and shoppers alike are struggling to operate within new health regulations and provide for their families in the crowded streets of Peruvian food markets. As a result, international relief agencies, like Welthungerhilfe, have been emerging to help those in need.

– Elizabeth Price
Photo: Pixabay
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Best Ways to Help the Homeless

How to help the homelessThe most recent global homelessness survey was conducted in 2005 by the United Nations. It estimated that about 100 million people were homeless worldwide. According to Habitat for Humanity, as many as 1.6 billion people around the globe lacked adequate housing 10 years later, in 2015. The United States is pushing to provide adequate housing for all of the poor in the country, but what are some other basic ways that everyone could help the homeless globally?

 

Top 3 Ways to Help the Homeless

 

  1. End stereotypes and stigma. The first step in helping the homeless is understanding who they are. You can help the homeless by dispelling the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding homelessness and learning about the reasons why people become homeless, remembering that everyone and every situation is unique. According to the National Coalition to End Homelessness, the top five reasons that people fall into homelessness are a lack of affordable housing, a lack of a living wage, domestic violence, medical bankruptcy and mental illness. Many people have a difficult time getting past the many negative stereotypes that burden the homeless population. They also have trouble sympathizing with the homeless population because of these stereotypes. Educating others is as simple as correcting someone who expresses a homelessness stereotype, or talking with local publications about the problems homeless people face.
  2. Support nonprofits. To help the homeless, you can also support nonprofit organizations by donating money and clothing that will aid their projects and their missions. This is usually the easiest way to help. It ensures that social workers and professionals who best understand how to help the homeless will have the resources necessary to do their important work. Donating used items or new items is another easy way to help. These items can be donated to local organizations that house the homeless or otherwise support them. Additionally, you can always support your local homeless population by donating items directly. If you can’t donate money or goods, you can sign up to volunteer with a nonprofit organization. You can also encourage local publications to publish information about shelters. Many people are unaware that there are shelters for the homeless in their communities. To help the homeless, contact local papers, religious institutions and the editors of local civic group newsletters and ask if they would consider running a weekly or monthly listing of local services available to the homeless.
  3. Be an advocate. To help the homeless from a political standing, you can support mental health services. Mental health problems can be both a cause and an effect of homelessness. One of the best ways to make a difference for homeless people is to encourage and support access to free or low-cost mental health services and make sure that your politicians are encouraging other countries to do the same and discussing it at summits.You can support affordable housing initiatives, free and low-cost health care, day shelters and local libraries where people can research jobs and places to find help. Basic medical care is also a huge problem for homeless people. They are more prone to serious health problems but are stuck in a position where they cannot afford help. Day shelters are another service which can help homeless people get back on their feet. They give people a safe place to stay and store their things. Day shelters are uncommon, so if your city doesn’t have one, talk to your local city councilors or mayor about establishing one.

If the world works together to solve our poverty problem, we can help the homeless. To do this, people around the globe must first educate themselves about each issue and push for legislation that will improve the lives of the homeless population. Continuing to dispel stereotypes and volunteering time and items for nonprofit organizations are important steps to improve lives of others and make the world a better place.

– Rilee Pickle

Photo: Flickr

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Scotland’s Eco-Village for the Homeless

Scotland’s Eco-Village for the Homeless
Eco-villages are defined as communities whose members seek to live lives that have as little impact on the environment as possible. These communities have been popping up all over the globe for years now, their inhabitants dedicated to being more socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Eco-village for the homeless can provide a safe environment for people to get back on their feet before looking for permanent housing.

There can be many environmental, economic, social and health benefits to living in an eco-village. The communities encourage local economies in rural areas and often farm unprocessed and pesticide-free produce. The villages reduce the release of CO2 and provide a natural habitat for indigenous ecosystems. The communities also promote less noise pollution and better air quality.

In Scotland, a local charity organization plans to implement an eco-village with the purpose of providing safe temporary housing for the homeless.

In 2015, there were over 28,000 homeless living in Scotland. Social Bite recognized the seriousness of Scotland’s homeless population back in 2012 and has been tackling social issues through business ever since.

The organization currently runs 5 different cafes throughout Scotland. The cafes run a “suspended” coffee and food program, where customers can pay for an extra beverage or lunch for a homeless person to enjoy later.

The non-profit Social Bite is also conscious about employing vulnerable members of the community. A quarter of their employees were once homeless and 100 percent of the business’s profits go toward solving social problems.

Social Bite’s most recent endeavor involves the construction of an eco-village for the homeless in Edinburgh. The village is set to be made up of 10 homes that are capable of housing up to 20 people. The city council spends about $21,000 annually to provide housing and food for one person at a shelter, so the village is expected to save the government massive amounts of money.

Aside from being fiscally beneficial and sustainable, the eco-village community will also provide basic social resources. This includes job training, therapy, financial advice, literacy training and basic education. The goal of the services is to help the tenants directly as they work to move onto more permanent accommodations.

Construction on the village is set to begin in early 2017 and is expected to be up and running by the upcoming summer. Aside from being ecologically friendly, the buildings will also be completely transportable and mobile if necessary.

Social Bite and their dedication to humanitarian work have attracted the attention of celebrities such as George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio visited one of Social Bite’s locations this November to help raise awareness for the organization’s cause.

Overall, the construction of Scotland’s first eco-village for the homeless will provide a frugal and effective way of combating social stigma and homelessness in the country.

– Peyton Jacobsen

Photo: Flickr

Poverty in Kolkata

Poverty in Kolkata
For a city that has produced Nobel laureates like the poet Rabindranath Tagore, physicist CV Raman, economist Amartya Sen and Saint Mother Teresa, Kolkata’s demise into poverty is both unprecedented and alarming.

According to the 2011 census, over 70,000 people in the city are homeless, even with suppression of numbers to improve Kolkata’s rankings. Most of the urban poor who drive cycle rickshaws and work on construction sites or in small, hazardous factories prefer to sleep on the streets. While living in these conditions leaves them vulnerable and unsafe, it allows them to send a few meager savings home.

Perhaps the most disconcerting example of slum formation in this ancient city can be found under the Dhakuria bridge in South Kolkata. A strange patchwork of migrant workers and poorer locals, the railway colony formed along the active train track below the bridge features over a 1,000 residents housed in bamboo shelters. With no social welfare reaching them from the government, the slum-dwellers have confined themselves to a lifetime along the railway tracks, shared with stray dogs and cows.

This extreme form of poverty in Kolkata stems from several factors. The partition of Bengal in 1947 left raw material suppliers of commodities like Jute in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and the mills in West Bengal, particularly around Kolkata which was then a flourishing port. By the 1970s, aided by the political unrest, major industries like Jute were dead, leading to the loss of jobs and livelihoods.

In 1971, the city opened its arms to around 10 million refugees from Bangladesh after the Bangladeshi Liberation War. While a morally necessary gesture, the sudden massive spike in population led to rampant unemployment for both the 1.5 million immigrants who stayed back after the war as well as for local Bengalis. The infrastructural stagnation of the city ensured that hardly any new jobs were added even when unemployment threw masses into abject poverty.

Despite already bursting at the seams, Kolkata, as an urban metropolitan surrounded by expanses of rural land, has been a magnet for job seekers from neighboring states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Utter Pradesh and Orissa. While most migrants come in with aspirations of making it in the city and having remittances to send home to their families, they often end up trapped in a vicious cycle of underemployment and chronic poverty that compels them to stay in decrepit conditions just to make a few extra rupees. They then become the population inhabiting the slums of Kolkata.

The consequences of extreme poverty in Kolkata are felt by the most vulnerable sections, most notably Muslims and backward castes with low social capital. To battle poverty in Kolkata is as much a matter of bridging social inequalities as it is of providing stable jobs and infrastructure to the less empowered.

– Mallika Khanna

Photo: Flickr

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The Poor Find Haven In Monrovia’s Cemeteries

monrovia
Liberia has had a trying past couple of decades. Most recently, it was plagued by the Ebola virus, which killed thousands of people. Before this, it had suffered through a 14-year-long civil war, which had taken place just a few years after yet another civil war ended. Both wars killed hundreds of thousands of people, leaving many homeless and destitute. Lacking housing or money, many poverty-stricken Liberians have turned to living in cemeteries, many of which are in Monrovia, its capital.

Most go to the Palm Grove Cemetery. Many of these dwellers arrived when they were just children and after their parents had been killed. Some had been child soldiers. They were taken there by friends from the street who used the relative peace and security of the cemetery to indulge in marijuana, cocaine and heroin. They used tombs for shelter after smashing them open and throwing out their long-dead inhabitants.

Monrovians look upon the cemetery dwellers with distaste and fear. They are viewed as criminals and drug addicts who disrespect the graves of their families and are deprecatorily called “friends of the dead.” On Decoration Day, a public holiday when Liberians paint and adorn tombs, conflict always erupts between the tomb dwellers and the families of the tombs’ rightful owners.

Rather than provide an area for the homeless to live in, President Johnson Sirleaf simply put up walls around the cemetery in 2007 to keep them out. Just a few months later, however, people had already breached the walls to live in the cemetery once again. Now the walls serve to better hide the dwellers and their activities rather than keep them out.

Prostitution has also become commonplace behind the cemetery’s walls. Some women and girls are only able to survive through sex work. They are afforded no protection from the police, who often rape them themselves. Unwanted births are commonplace.

Many diseases also run rampant. Ebola was just another problem to add to a list of illnesses that included ones such as tuberculosis and diarrhea.

Hope may yet be around the corner for these cemetery residents. Last year, the British charity organization, Street Child, began to work with them, setting up counseling sessions, schools and rehab centers. However, many roadblocks stand in the way of their progress. It is extremely difficult for many residents to even consider weaning themselves off their dependency on drugs. Sometimes, drugs make them aggressive and hostile, which makes it hard for people from Street Child to engage with them.

The outbreak of Ebola also set back efforts. Schools were banned, as were public gatherings. Street Children also started redirecting efforts to the 2,000 children orphaned because of Ebola. Officials have been hostile to Street Children’s efforts in cemeteries, calling their residents a “lost cause.”

Now that Ebola has largely disappeared in Liberia, Street Children is ready to make a renewed effort to help the cemetery dwellers. To the charity organization, small successes have boosted their belief that these people can be saved from a lifetime of poverty and dependency.

– Radhika Singh

Sources: Independent, BBC 1, BBC 2
Photo: Independent