Blog Post #4, Homelessness

            I recently read on article in the New York Times titled “In New York, Having a Job, or 2, Doesn’t Mean Having a Home” about homelessness in New York City.  It is becoming an increasing problem, with a record high of 50,000 in shelters. 28% of the families that live in the shelters have at least one person who is employed, and 16% of those who are single have jobs as well. What I found to be the most interesting is that most of the homeless in the shelters are females trying to support themselves and their families.

            

            These women must show high responsibility at their jobs every day, and then return to the shelter where they have a curfew, have to prove they are on the lookout for housing, and show they are saving part of their paycheck every time they get paid. With cheap housing being around $1000/month, and most of them getting paid $8/hour it is basically impossible for them to be able to support themselves and their family while in the shelter, let alone save enough to pay that kind of rent every month. Most of these women are so ashamed that their colleagues have no idea that they are homeless because they want to look as professional as possible to their peers.

            

            In 2004 Mayor Bloomberg came up with a plan to decrease the homeless population, then 38,000, by two-thirds in five years by shifting money from the shelters to create more low income housing. They even went as far as not giving homeless families’ priority in entering the shelter, and made it more difficult for people to return.

This plan has obviously not worked for the city. The homeless population has risen by 12,000, with 21,600 of them being children. There needs to be a different plan of action taken to ensure that these families have a secure place to live. The Bloomberg administration has this idea that by giving more benefits they are just attracting more people to the shelters, but what are those 50,000 who do need assistance supposed to do?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/nyregion/in-new-york-having-a-job-or-2-doesnt-mean-having-a-home.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Observation: The Young Conservatives of Texas held an “Affirmative Action Bake Sale” on campus to show how unfair they think Affirmative Action is to them. 

Blog Post #3, Being the Minority

           In my foundations of social justice class we have been given an assignment in which we are supposed to put ourselves in a position, for half an hour to an hour, where we are the minority. It must be somewhere that makes us feel nervous or uncomfortable, but should not be potentially dangerous. We also have the option of going with someone, like a fellow classmate.  

          When we were first assigned this my initial thoughts were that it would not be difficult to find a temporary place to visit where I was the minority. It seemed easy to me to be able to find a place where I was the only female on campus or in the surrounding area. What I was struggling with was what place would make me feel vulnerable or uncomfortable. I realized, as a white female it has not been an issue for me to feel comfortable and accepted in a majority of places all around Austin. It made me wonder how potentially more difficult it can be for other students in my class. This assignment has made me realize how much I take for granted by being able to go somewhere without getting looks or having people wonder why I am there.   

Observation: When running downtown I notice the nice buildings and well-dressed business men and women walking among the homeless people on the streets. 

Blog Post #2, Power

            Power. What does it look like to us and how do we determine who is in control of it? This was a recent topic of discussion in communities and organizations. We were asked as a class to go one at a time, putting the chairs in any formation, while leaving one chair in a position of what you thought was power. It was interesting to see the chairs move from having one surrounded by the others, to it being isolated away from the rest. There were subtle changes made, from just lifting the arm of a chair to turning a chair around.  

           

            I live in a cooperative, and I found this exercise to be very similar to this kind of living situation. We have officer positions held within the house, and they are allotted to a handful of the people living there. It made me wonder how we manage to come to a decision of who is deserving of each position and who is not. Why do some people run for multiple positions while others run for none? It is true that most of the people who gain a position of power have lived in a cooperative for the longest amount of time, but does that mean experience alone makes someone more capable of that job? As a society everyday we pick and choose who we believe to have power. Is there a set definition, or does it change from person to person?

Observation: I was recently asked on the street if I supported Planned Parenthood. I noticed that a majority of people being asked this question did not stop to acknowledge or answer the question. 

Blog Post #1

        We recently watched a Ted Talk in class with Dan Pallotta, an activist and fundraiser, who has created many charities and raised millions of dollars for those charities. It was about the double standards that are held for non-profit organizations compared to the rest of the economic world. It was surprising to me that I had never considered of some of the points that brought up throughout the talk. It definitely made me think of philanthropy in a whole new light.

        I realized that every time I have heard about an organization giving only a portion of the money raised towards the actual cause it would upset me, just as it upsets many others. If I would have thought to consider what goes into running non-profit organizations, such as paying the employees, maintaining the work space, and advertisement, I may not have judged certain organizations so harshly. That’s what you get when you take things as they are and do not question them. Sadly, there are plenty of people who do not think to fact check what is being told to them, with me included. This is why it is extremely important that we keep ourselves informed and educated on serious issues such as this one. It becomes increasingly difficult to move forward if you do not constantly think of things in a different perspective.

Where would we be if we never thought to question what was being told to us?

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong.html

Observation:
I was asked to donate to the children last week at Subway.