Blog

Our Officer's Blog Posts!

Known Ignorance is Irresponsible

By: Adora Hsien

Maybe we can ignore others’s misfortunes because we have big cozy houses, nifty shelves, and organizers which hide away all the things we have and take for granted. It could be the fact that we don’t go home with our fellow peers, we can only see the state of our own dwelling, or is it because we don’t live in the city where garbage is left out on the sidewalks that we are able to retain our indifference towards homelessness. Maybe the fact that most of us don’t see homeless as a problem is because we can’t physically see it; it’s something at the edge of our lenses, too subtle for us kids to feel, or is it because we’ve grown used to seeing them wandering each street like a sort of disease we should keep away from. I’ve always wondered why it is for our own safety that we ignore them. It’s somewhere then that I realized how convenient it is to say it is for our own safety, that we just pass on by. We treat them as scenery, as people who have failed society when we have no right to judge someone’s circumstances before we understand how they got there. I believe that we don’t have the right to abandon their needs just because we are comfortable, and that everyone has a role in doing something to help. We have a responsibility as members of an imperfect society to help out members who fell victim to the many pitfalls of our society.

Rainier Beach: An Example of Ethnic Groups Being Unequally Affected by Homelessness

By: Aranza Medrano Guillen


Walking out on the street, seeing the old lady near the Rite-Aid holding her groceries waiting for the number 7 bus, hearing the constant hum of the working neighborhood, the smell of cigarettes and urine at the bus stop, that is what I call home. In Rainier beach, living in a low-income immigrant family, you never see poverty as anything less than common. I never grew up with the latest clothing or brand new phone, my life like many growing up in south Seattle, WA is very normal, but as the more I grew up the more I saw how different my neighborhood was compared to other neighborhoods in Seattle. Rainier beach like every southend neighborhood has always been correlated to gang violence and poverty, but I have never seen articles talking about the root of these issues.

Rainier beach is home to 34,241 residents 32% of those are black, 34% are Asian, and 7.2% are of Hispanics/Latino and can be a part of any percentage said above. When I was suggested to do an assignment about homelessness in Seattle, I was dedicated to talking about the causes of homelessnes and issues within Rainier beach because I have seen the effects of gentrification and systemic racism; factors that I think are the main causes of homelessness in my neighborhood.


Over the past years there’s been a sweep of gentrification; Rainier beach (Rainier valley) has been known for its affordable housing, making it easier for buyers to buy homes and later on sell them for a higher price. In Seattle we have seen a 57% increase in rent. Many of these residents in south Seattle are immigrants, working at hourly wages, and having to spend the majority of their check on rent. Fortunately, my parents never had to worry about having to pay for food or rent, but that’s not the case for many in my neighborhood.

While the houses in Rainier Beach increase in price, the education in Rainier Beach continues to be underfunded. In 2019 Rainier Beach High School was operating on a budget of about $8.4 million, which equates to less than 1% of the district’s overall budget of approximately $1.4 billion. As a result of the underfunding, students had to cut out history classes from their schedules. It's not surprise that Rainier Beach is the most diverse school in the Seattle public school district and has a lower budget than others schools in west Seattle, but under these circumstances, Rainier Beach High School’s four-year graduation rate has increased by more than 12% since 2014, showing that although systemic racism plagues the education of students of color, the Rainier Beach neighborhood’s determination to fight through gentrification, poverty, and systemic oppression gets them closer to a brighter future.



How Homelessness Affects Women

By: Rachel Chalissery and Pravallika Kasam

When the word homelessness comes to our mind, what do we think of? We think of men roaming on the streets with torn clothes, no shelter, no food, and a cardboard sign asking for help. Do any of us think about how women feel or how they are affected by homelessness? The common trait shared between homeless people is a struggle. The struggle to live. There are several challenges that face women. First of all, as women, we all go through our period. Yup, it is that time of the month. We are all fortunate to have the products to satisfy our hygiene but think about the number of women out there that do not have access to supplies as we do. For homeless women, just finding the menstruation products they need is extremely difficult, and they often have to use other things for their periods instead. Rags, old clothes, or socks are used as a substitute for pads, which is not only extremely uncomfortable, but it can also cause health issues, as those substitutes may not be thoroughly cleaned or sanitized. Others resort to stealing sanitary products when they need them, which can be a constant cause of stress and anxiety. And although a period occurs only once a month, most homeless women have to think about it all year long. Constantly worrying about where to find pads/tampons for the next period has detrimental effects on long-term mental health.

According to a survey conducted by SWNS Digital, out of 2000 women, 49 percent of women have struggled to access sanitary products, and this is in the US alone. Now, that number does not seem appalling, but if you look at the percentage, it is a big number, almost half. Results from this survey also revealed that a woman spends about $13.25 a month on sanitary products. Now if you do the math and calculate how much it would be over their reproductive lifetime (roughly from 12-52), that is $6,360, which is no small number.


Also, think about the number of women who are pregnant while they are homeless. They will not be able to afford hospital expenses to deliver the baby which could lead to miscarriages. They are three times more likely to get a preterm delivery than a household woman. And as of 2015, there were about 565,000 homeless people in the US on a given night. Women make up a little under 40% of that number and after doing the math, that is 226,000 women. Washington DC has the highest homelessness rate in the United States of 42.14 %.


Another challenge facing women is the burden of childcare. Majority of homeless families are led by women, and this creates more pressure for them to build stability in a household, for everyone, not just them. For their children to be educated, they need to juggle whatever resources they have in order to save up money for their education. Safety is also a big concern facing homeless women.


1 in 4 women reports that their main factor in homelessness is domestic violence. Rape, abuse, all of these words are familiar to use, aren’t they? About 63% of the sheltered homeless women are survivors of domestic violence. Many have reported that they feel unsafe in shelters and have shared instances where they have been abused in the restrooms which is why they avoid using it late at night. These are not the only challenges that face homeless women, the list goes on and on. We can come together and help women by donating to various local women shelters as many organizations are doing and helping out as much as we can in the community to bring in some change.

Homelessness and Covid-19

By: Olivia Meier

Have you realized that the mask which you wear to public functions is used to protect the people around you when you are sick and that the masks which they wear are the ones that protect you from their illness? Imagine what the world would be like if we expanded that idea of taking care of others into other aspects of daily life. By wearing a mask in the grocery store, you are already watching out for a countless number of people you don’t even know.

We have all learned that in order to stop the spread of COVID-19, we must follow three simple rules: wear a mask when we are out in public, wash our hands often, and maintain social distancing guidelines. We follow these rules to help protect ourselves, our families, and the other members of our community. But what if you didn’t own a mask? What if you were living through a global pandemic and you couldn’t afford to buy soap to wash your hands or hand sanitizer? Imagine how stressful and frightening it must be if you did not have access to protect yourself or your family right now. The homeless members of our community were already feeling the stress of living with limited means. In a global pandemic, they need our help more than ever. Without money to purchase these crucial resources, we must step in. By looking out for others, we have the power to drastically improve our communities. By providing resources that prevent the spread of the COVID-19, we have the ability to save many lives and reduce the strain on our local hospitals which have limited rooms and equipment. We are so lucky to have amazing hospitals in our area, but we have all heard in the news that personal protective equipment and respirators are expensive and in limited supply. We want to help prevent cases of CoronaVirus so that these limited supplies are reserved for the sickest members of our communities. These basic hygiene supplies can lower the rate of transmission of CoronaVirus among our homeless population and improve their quality of life. We are fortunate that we have access to the supplies we need and should generously share our resources with other people who need them.


How to Help the Homeless

By: Sai Manasa Kilaru

Homelessness is one of the biggest problems in today’s society. Many people have lost their jobs and are forced to live on the streets. These people do not have the opportunity to search for new jobs or find a way to earn money. Very few of them even have a chance to make their lives better. That being said, there are lots of things we, as the privileged, can do to help these people live a little bit better than they do now.


Food donation is one of the best ways to help the homeless. Donating to or volunteering at soup kitchens and food donation centers is a great example of this. Donating money is very helpful, but donating time is just as valuable. There are also many great causes you can donate to specifically for homelessness. The best way to do this is to research volunteer opportunities to help the homeless near your own communities. There are many organizations in the world that shed light on homelessness, including our very own Rise Up organization.


That being said, there are many other volunteer opportunities that raise money and help donate things like clothes and food to homeless people globally. Instead of throwing away material and valuable resources that we take for granted, it is important to realize how they can help others, and donate them to homeless shelters. Some people might not think that the little things are important, but everything matters when it comes to someone’s life. Even if your donation doesn’t impact 100s of people, at least it will make a big difference to 1 or 2. Every little penny counts. In fact, it is possible for one person to live healthily off of $3 a day. See how little it takes for you to help someone in need? Not only is it affordable, but it can also help save lives! So, go out and volunteer at food banks, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, you name it! What you do today can touch the lives of generations to come. But remember, you can make a difference. If not a big one, then a small one. But when it comes to human lives, can you really put a number on its value?