We all do it. Use space as an indicator of social power and status. That close talking boss that places you in the socially awkward situation of trying to evade them is probably the most obvious example of this social dynamic. And if they do confront you your ability to escape them is dependent on your own social status. So for most, the human equivalent of cowering with your tail between your legs is to stand at the entrance of your cubicle and taking an olfactory tour of your boss's breakfast.
But there is another aspect of sociological status and space, extreme distance. We can see this in action when watching short films like Lullaby, linked below, that shows how the homeless are avoided at the cost of social presence by the passer by. This aspect of social dynamics raises many questions about how we treat the poor as a whole.
What activities are occurring in this space? How are actors acting? What practical and symbolic significances do these activities and actions have in relation to each other? Further, how do these activities and actions constitute and reinforce the status, class, and social positions of the people in the film? For example, viewers might consider the different activities occurring in this space (e.g., sleeping vs. completing a bank transaction) and the different ways actors act in this space (e.g., laying on the ground, stepping over a sleeping person, turning back around, etc...), and how these different activities and actions shed light on the multiple statuses, classes, and positions—or social distance—actors occupy relative to one another in the film. Does the film succeed at illustrating, in Kossakovsky's words, "the social distance between most people and the homeless people they encounter"?
Like the mythological Black man lurking in an alley, the homeless are perceived as a danger by the simple exigent of existing.
This dynamic is not only seen on a level of stranger to stranger though. In the following study it is shown that the homeless not only see this in close interpersonal interactions but with their interactions with the very same bureaucracies chartered to help them. The methodology may differ but the end result is the same. Alienated and unsupported humans when they need help the most.
Chronic Homelessness Defined by Participants
Chronic homelessness was experienced similarly across the participants, with emphases placed on the extreme deprivation of one’s stability, freedom, and dignity. Speaking to the constant feeling of instability, Alan C., a 53 African American male had this to say:
“Having nowhere to go and no options, nothing to get out of the rain or the cold. No other options...Stand on the corner and wait for the time to float by. Hopefully, when the night comes, you wake up safely in the morning.”
Additionally, multiple speakers described how they experience chronic homelessness as lacking personal freedom. For instance, Todd A., a 43-year-old African American male, equated spending evenings in noisy shelters as spending a night in jail:
“It feels like you’re in jail, but you’re free. So you get up trying to be positive, [but] you just slept in jail! You get up in the morning knowing that at the end of the day you have to go back to jail, and do it all over again.”
Even during the day when night-time shelters have to be vacated, the participants talked about feeling criminalized and wrongfully judged by domiciled people while passing their time in public spaces.
Some of the participants shared how they at times contribute to the paradox of this predicament by turning anger onto themselves, feeling self-pity and dejected given their harsh realities. And with regards to dignity, Sam R. stated that he is constantly reminded of stereotypes that that were unmercifully bestowed upon him by society:
“When people see you as homeless, then you’re a bum, you collect cans, you have no pride, you’re an addict, but that’s not the case.”
Likewise, Mary D. stated this: “
You feel less-than, you feel like nobody wants you. They’ll look at you like you got two heads. You’re stupid or you get too high. You drink too much.”
Other participants stated that their self-confidence and determination to move ahead had long been weathered away by the unrelenting and menacing stigma against those who are homeless.
Overall, the psychological toll that being homeless takes on individuals underscored every aspect of the participant’s definition of chronic homelessness, often exacerbating existing mental or physical health concerns. Many talked about feelings of depression, hopelessness and frequent thoughts of suicide, and low self-worth. Tania G., a 42-year-old African American female, spoke to the permanent effects that homelessness has on individual’s personality, alluding to the cyclical patterns found in chronic homelessness:
“I know a lot of people that get their housing, but they still come here [to the day shelter] because they’re used to being around a lot of people. They’re not used to being by themselves.”
These comments indicate that homelessness is marked not just by a physical, but by a psychological displacement as well. Speaking to all these aspects of having to be without a home, Margie L., a 53-old- year-African American female, had the following to say: “When you’re homeless you feel like the world [doesn’t] care about you. And you feel less than a whole human being.”
Extreme poverty in itself takes on a life of its own. By seeking help through family and friends the homeless alienate themselves from the very social networks they need the most. This creates a feedback loop preventing the homeless from seeking help elsewhere not only out of despair but in hopes of keeping a resource available for a future catastrophe.
In seeking out assistance from agencies the homeless found this social alienation carried over to how much effort they were willing to devote to accessing benefits. With many attempting to access benefits and finding they must restart the application process more than three times on average it is difficult to see how this alienation is not institutionally fostered.
Micro-system. Bronfenbrenner (1977, 1994) defined the micro-system as patterns formed by the activities, social roles, and interpersonal relations individuals have in an immediate environment (e.g., family, peer groups, and institutions). It is thought that the experiences within the micro-system gradually and consistently influence the behavior of the individual or groups of individuals. With regards to navigating through resources such as the disabilities application process for the participants, having limited family and social networks, while also having to manage their mental and physical health concerns seemed to have a negative impact on their ability to complete tasks or engage in programs successfully. It was noted that not having social supports contributed to a diminished sense of self-worth and self-efficacy.
The majority of the participants stated that asking for help from family members made them feel ashamed of their homelessness, forcing them to dissociate or dissolve family ties. A few with intact families felt strongly about not wishing to burden loved ones with their personal problems, which included their applications for SSA benefits.
Additionally, many connections made with the professionals in agencies and homeless support programs did not feel genuine to the participants. While the more formal relationships made with social workers, case managers, medical doctors, therapists, and other helping professionals were mostly tolerable and positive; these relationships did not seem to be without their own set of frustrations. Tania G., who has been homeless since age 17, asked:
“Who cares? Name one person or place that cares. I’ll sit down and bow down to them because I’m tired [of] being out here.”
Aside from feeling unfulfilled interpersonally, the majority of the participants mentioned feeling “betrayed” by their bodies, both physically and mentally. For many of the participants, symptoms of serious psychological struggles were disclosed as both causing and maintaining homelessness, with alcohol and substance abuse as concomitant conditions. While all had access to state-subsidized medical care in the state that this present study took place in, many stated that the chronic pain they live with often makes it difficult for them to sustain their self-motivation to “do the leg work” required to not be homeless anymore. Applying for disability benefit was often seen as a stepping stone towards ending their homelessness.
Meso-system. The meso-system, as conceptualized by Bronfenbrenner consists of interrelationships between two or more micro-systems in which the individual is in contact with (e.g., shelter or SSA office). Experiences in one micro-level system or direct interaction (e.g., shelter) may influence another (e.g., SSA office). Many of the participants spoke about the lack of access to reliable and accurate information about the resources available to them, feeling put-off by the heavy bureaucracy they perceived in asking for and receiving help from public agencies. These barriers were said to create toxicity in the environment, causing some to avoid rather than to engage with federal agencies like SSA when it came to finding ways to earn permanent home.
So not only does our culture avoid the poor and homeless on a brick and mortar level in daily urban interaction. We find that the homeless are also placed at a distance through our social and safety net structures.