So I've been traveling for a couple weeks. I always enjoy hitting the open road by myself because it gives me time and space to process and think. It also gives me the opportunity to see natural beauty beyond my everyday life. This is an especially nurturing experience for me, as it always renews my sense of awe. As I come across breath taking landscapes and breathe in the life of the quiet bits of nature hidden away from everyday view, my faith in the miracle of life itself is renewed. It also renews an urgency within me that feels like I really need to be doing more to make the world a better place.
I am currently spending the week in and around the Portland, Oregon area. I have family here, and it truly is an interesting city to observe and experience. Traveling with my little teardrop trailer, I have been primarily stealth camping. I don't mind, and appreciate the unique perspective of the city I get from this experience. There is a large homeless population in Portland and they are clearly visible throughout the town. Embankments bordering freeways, grassy areas inside freeway on-ramp and off-ramp loops, and sidewalks in the quieter, less-frequented areas of the city are all populated with encampments. Pallets, tarps and tents are patch-worked together to create temporary shelters and habitations for the people without walls and a roof.
I was pleased to see that the city has installed porta-toilets in these areas, and seemed to be maintaining them with some regularity. The police did not seem to be over-patrolling these areas. I felt safe and welcome parking my car and trailer there. Although I would not leave them there unattended for an extended period of time, I felt confident that nobody would mess with me. The worst intrusion I suffered was someone excitedly knocking on my door at 11:30 pm wanting to know where I got the cool trailer. I did not answer the knock and they left me alone.
Not every city that I have traveled through leaves room for the un-housed to maintain some dignity. Most places I have visited are more concerned about pushing the un-housed out of town. Let them be someone else's problem. And/or move to pass laws that de-legitimize their existence. Frankly, what I have witnessed most is that the un-housed people go out of their way not to associate with people who have housing. Housed people are intimidating and judgmental. They assume that if you are not housed, you are either lazy, a criminal, or somehow less than human. Many people who are not housed ended up that way due to financial hardships, economic refugees trying to survive American Capitalism.
Although it is becoming more popular for folks (especially retirees) to sell off everything and join the nomadic lifestyle with a newly acquired RV, the reality is that most without houses didn't start out wanting to be homeless. With the exception of these more affluent transients, who see this as something akin to a permanent vacation- After a while of being homeless, folks usually go through something of a transformation. Either they get sick of it, and seek help to regain housing and all the financial burdens/responsibilities/freedoms that go along with maintaining housing - OR – They become so conditioned to the routine and daily patterns of being transient that they no longer feel comfortable being indoors. Short periods of time, to escape severe elements sure, but after a while, they cannot stay. They feel the urge to move on. Whether its down the street, or down the highway.
And this is the part that I think most housed people have a hard time digesting... Just because someone is not mentally capable of being a housed person does make them less human. It does not make them less deserving of basic human dignity and respect. In fact, I am pretty sick of the fact that our society does not make room for people to be transient. All cities should have at least one park that is a dedicated safe shanty space. All cities should have at least one park that is maintained with fruit bearing trees, bushes and other food providing plants. We tell people they cannot beg, shun them for it, and yet, they are not allowed to sell their wares on the streets. Permits are only issued to people that can prove a residence. Hell, you can't even vote in this country (legally) without having a permanent residence address. And yet all the housed people get to vote on the laws that directly affect the well being and very lives of the people without housing.
There are good people and bad people every where. There are selfish people and selfless people everywhere. There are lazy people living in houses and very creative, motivated, hard-working people who do not live indoors. Classism in our society makes no room for non-conformists. In the land of the free, we are not given the option of truly being free. If we were truly free, we would not be ostracized for not conforming to a society who's measure of individual value is based on one's ability to consume and who's measure of individual success is dependent on one's exploitation of others.
I am currently spending the week in and around the Portland, Oregon area. I have family here, and it truly is an interesting city to observe and experience. Traveling with my little teardrop trailer, I have been primarily stealth camping. I don't mind, and appreciate the unique perspective of the city I get from this experience. There is a large homeless population in Portland and they are clearly visible throughout the town. Embankments bordering freeways, grassy areas inside freeway on-ramp and off-ramp loops, and sidewalks in the quieter, less-frequented areas of the city are all populated with encampments. Pallets, tarps and tents are patch-worked together to create temporary shelters and habitations for the people without walls and a roof.
I was pleased to see that the city has installed porta-toilets in these areas, and seemed to be maintaining them with some regularity. The police did not seem to be over-patrolling these areas. I felt safe and welcome parking my car and trailer there. Although I would not leave them there unattended for an extended period of time, I felt confident that nobody would mess with me. The worst intrusion I suffered was someone excitedly knocking on my door at 11:30 pm wanting to know where I got the cool trailer. I did not answer the knock and they left me alone.
Not every city that I have traveled through leaves room for the un-housed to maintain some dignity. Most places I have visited are more concerned about pushing the un-housed out of town. Let them be someone else's problem. And/or move to pass laws that de-legitimize their existence. Frankly, what I have witnessed most is that the un-housed people go out of their way not to associate with people who have housing. Housed people are intimidating and judgmental. They assume that if you are not housed, you are either lazy, a criminal, or somehow less than human. Many people who are not housed ended up that way due to financial hardships, economic refugees trying to survive American Capitalism.
Although it is becoming more popular for folks (especially retirees) to sell off everything and join the nomadic lifestyle with a newly acquired RV, the reality is that most without houses didn't start out wanting to be homeless. With the exception of these more affluent transients, who see this as something akin to a permanent vacation- After a while of being homeless, folks usually go through something of a transformation. Either they get sick of it, and seek help to regain housing and all the financial burdens/responsibilities/freedoms that go along with maintaining housing - OR – They become so conditioned to the routine and daily patterns of being transient that they no longer feel comfortable being indoors. Short periods of time, to escape severe elements sure, but after a while, they cannot stay. They feel the urge to move on. Whether its down the street, or down the highway.
And this is the part that I think most housed people have a hard time digesting... Just because someone is not mentally capable of being a housed person does make them less human. It does not make them less deserving of basic human dignity and respect. In fact, I am pretty sick of the fact that our society does not make room for people to be transient. All cities should have at least one park that is a dedicated safe shanty space. All cities should have at least one park that is maintained with fruit bearing trees, bushes and other food providing plants. We tell people they cannot beg, shun them for it, and yet, they are not allowed to sell their wares on the streets. Permits are only issued to people that can prove a residence. Hell, you can't even vote in this country (legally) without having a permanent residence address. And yet all the housed people get to vote on the laws that directly affect the well being and very lives of the people without housing.
There are good people and bad people every where. There are selfish people and selfless people everywhere. There are lazy people living in houses and very creative, motivated, hard-working people who do not live indoors. Classism in our society makes no room for non-conformists. In the land of the free, we are not given the option of truly being free. If we were truly free, we would not be ostracized for not conforming to a society who's measure of individual value is based on one's ability to consume and who's measure of individual success is dependent on one's exploitation of others.