Homelessness
“As Secretary of Housing, I do have to express alarm, signal the alarm if you will, that the potential for homelessness to grow is there”. Henry Cisneros, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 1993-1997
Current Programs for dealing with homelessness
Homelessness like the other problems discussed in this book continues to get worse even though more programs and money are invested in ending it than ever before. Over $10.95 billion (This doesn’t include the amount spent on housing and housing assistance which totaled $40.5 Billion in 2008.) (#27R) is spent every year on the homeless and yet 3.5 million people experience homelessness over the course of a year with 671,859 of them homeless on any given night(#14R). This amounts to $3,128.57 being spent on each and every person who becomes homeless during a year(#28A). Due to the fact that the 3.5 million represents those who are homeless for a day the same as it does those who are homeless all year, it is more accurate for us to discuss homelessness in terms of 671,859 men, women and children that will need shelter at any given time. When using the train of thought that 671,859 people will be homeless all year we realize that one persons homelessness for a year (or many persons homeless experiences totaling a year) costs society $16,298.96 (#29A). The amount spent on one persons homelessness is above the poverty line for a family of 2. Despite 42% of homeless people being unsheltered(#14R), all this money being spent on them and over 40,000 programs(#28R) the number of homeless people continues to grow.
As with the rest of our problems most of our current solutions have proved themselves miserable failures. We currently have a rate of one homeless program for every 17 homeless people (#31A) (See Figure 3-1 for a list of some of our current programs). This makes it unlikely that failure is due to a lack of programs or money and leads one to believe it’s due to the way in which the programs attempt to end homelessness. A great deal of these programs and their costs are aimed at providing shelter to those in need in return for nothing. When one loses their home through their own personal choices and circumstances and society gives them shelter it would only seem likely that society will always need to continue to provide said shelter as the person was not taught to build their own house or how to keep one. But instead they were given their needs and at some point the same person who found their way to homelessness will be given the same opportunity to fall back into this desperate situation.
People in families cite lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment as the most common causes of their homelessness. Individuals on the other hand have substance abuse, lack of affordable housing and mental illness as their most common causes of homelessness (#29R). Although some programs go after these causes of homelessness, too many others focus on the end result - the homelessness. Even with these programs there still remains 7.7 million households fighting for access to 6 million affordable homes leaving an affordable housing deficit of 1.7 million units (#14R). To make matters worse, waiting lists for affordable housing are often years long with thousands on the list and only 1 in 4 people who are eligible for housing assistance receive some type of housing subsidy (#14R). These problems are a great part of the reason why the homeless population increased by 19,805 people from 2008 to 2009 (#14R).
We cannot afford homelessness. It’s been proven through many studies and methods that it is cheaper to end homelessness than to allow it to continue while funding services to deal with it (See figure 3-2). Not only does homelessness create a world of problems and costs but it complicates and multiplies existing ones. For example, homeless people are more susceptible to being without identification due to theft or loss and lack of an ability to pay to replace it and/or have an address to have it sent to, which in turn makes them ineligible for many services which could include food, shelter, healthcare, clothing and financial assistance. Also the lack of a phone number and email address further complicates this issue as well as hinders potential employers from contacting them. They are often prone to reduced wages as employers are aware of their situation and know they will work for less money. Homelessness also inhibits healthcare, as housing instability often detracts from regular medical attention, access to treatment, and recuperation. Without stable housing, access to clean water, bathrooms, refrigeration and food the likelihood of taking medications on a regular schedule is severely impaired (#14R). This inability to treat medical problems can aggravate these problems making them both more dangerous and more costly (#14R).
Figure 3-2
Another Study done between 1996 and 2000 found that upon being sheltered there was a 58% decrease in emergency room visits, a 57% drop in the number of inpatient days and a 100% drop in the use of residential mental health facilities (Corporation for Supportive Housing, 2000)(#28R).
A Streets to Homes program in Toronto found that upon sheltering people: 87% remained housed, 91% considered their lives improved since moving into housing, 70% indicated that their health improved, 72% said their personal safety had improved, 57% felt their mental health had improved, 49% decreased or quit alcohol use, 73% decreased or quit using drugs (31% quit completely). The use of emergency services such as 911, emergency rooms, ambulance, fire, police detox and jail decreased, while there was an increase in appropriate health and community services such as doctors, food banks, job training, education, drug and alcohol treatment centers and mental health programs. When asked about their futures after being placed in housing, 82% were more positive than prior to entering housing(#14R).
To top it off, nearly half of homeless medical hospitalizations were for conditions related to living conditions and therefore preventable (respiratory disorders, skin infections, parasites/infections and trauma)(#28R).
Compared with the average adult, the homeless experience poor health at a rate about 3 times that of people at large (44% of the homeless as opposed to 12% of the general population)(#21R). Homelessness brings with it increased risks of being assaulted, arrested, hospitalized, developmentally delayed, learning disabled, left back a grade, addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, mentally ill, physically ill, infected with aids, nutritionally deficient, exposed to extreme weather, depressed, withdrawn, a prostitute, impoverished and dead (See Figure 3-3). It is also worth mentioning that almost every homeless person is considered to live in poverty and all that is mentioned in chapter 2 (poverty chapter) pertains to them as well.
Figure 3-3
Homeless children have:
As much as 1/3 of the children in foster care are there because they have a homeless or unstably housed parent(s) (#30R). That’s 139,845 children each costing over $16,000 a year and totaling over $2.2 billion (#32A). Despite all this, the foster programs in this country fall far too short for the 1 out of 4 former foster youth who become homeless after exiting foster care (#14R).
During the years immediately after the Vietnam War, the average time from discharge to homelessness was 6 years. For current veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, the average is 18 months (#33R). In 2009 the Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that there were 131,000 homeless veterans most of whom became homeless due to war-related disability including physical disability, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress, etc. - many find difficulty readjusting to civilian life (#14R). These people do not lack ambition or motivation, they are some of the most brave and motivated that this country has to offer. They have risked life and limb because their country asked it of them and now that they are missing a piece of their body or mind that keeps them from being able to function in our society, we owe them a place in which they can exist that does not involve homelessness.
Please be aware that the next 2 paragraphs contain some of the worst facts that we will need to discuss.
The average age of a homeless person in the U.S. is 9 years old (#31R). A 1998 study found that 5% (1.6 million children) of the adolescent population experienced one episode of homelessness each year and they now make up an estimated 30% of all homeless persons seeking shelter (#21R). 40%-60% (640,000-960,000) of them have experienced physical abuse, 17%-35% (272,000-560,000) have experienced sexual abuse, and 15%-30% (240,000-480,000) have had experience with commercial sex (#33A). It is estimated that 5,000 unaccompanied youth die each year as a result of assault, illness or suicide (#14R).
10,800 men, women and children die every year due to homelessness. That is over 3X the amount of people who died in the 9/11 attacks (#34A). A lack of shelter and our inability and/or lack of desire to fix this problem is killing more Americans each year than our worst enemies can. Instead of living to the average expected age in the U.S. of 77.9 years (#34R), the chronically homeless have an average life expectancy of 41-47 years old (#35R). At best that is 30.9 years of life lost on average for every chronically homeless person. That means 81,523 (1735 per year) full lifetimes are lost for each 47 year cycle of chronic homelessness (#35A). Contrary to popular belief these people are most likely to die from acute and chronic medical conditions than from mental illness or substance abuse (#36R).
These situations are so unbearable that people commit crimes hoping the end result is to be imprisoned, giving them access to food and shelter. 1 in 5 homeless women have avoided bail or committed an imprisonable offense as a means to resolve their housing problems (#37R). Another 18% have admitted spending time in accident and emergency departments for the same reason (#37R). Some endure far worse, 28% of women had spent one or more nights with an unwanted sexual partner to accommodate themselves compared with 14% of men in similar situations (#37R). Even though 92% of prostitutes stated they wanted to escape prostitution immediately (#38R) nearly 1 in 5 homeless women have resorted to the sex trade to escape a night on the streets (#37R). That’s 26,874 women selling themselves each year, just so they can have a place to sleep (#36A).
Violent acts against the homeless cost $226,346,738 in 2009 (#37A). To make matters worse, hate crimes against the homeless is a rising trend. With 117 violent acts against the homeless in 2009 including beatings, rapes, sexual assaults, being set on fire, police harassment and brutality (#39R). 43 of these attacks resulted in death (#39R).
As if the homeless hadn’t had it bad enough we as a society are outlawing the very acts that allow them to exist at the terrible state at which they do now. People who are homeless spend more time in prison often as a result of laws specifically targeting the homeless, including regulations against loitering, sleeping in cars and begging (#14R). At an ever increasing rate laws are being passed that outlaw sleeping, sitting or storing personal belongings in public spaces. Sweeps of city areas take place to drive out homeless people which frequently results in the destruction of those persons personal property, including important personal documents and medication (#11R). (See Figure 3-4) To add insult to injury people are also being arrested for feeding the hungry, poor and homeless.
Figure 3-4(#11R)
Report on the Criminalization of Homelessness by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
The report shows city ordinances frequently serve as a prominent tool to criminalize homelessness, of the 224 cities surveyed for the report:
I do not wish to defend the homeless when it comes to these laws, the righteousness of these laws is irrelevant. The real problem lies in having a society that has not figured out how to end involuntary homelessness but has already outlawed it. Here is a group of people whose existence is so terrible that we arrest and remove them from areas just so we can be spared the thought and sight of them. Many cannot secure their needs due to a lack of wages and/or work and hundreds of thousands are turned down when applying to the state for their needs. If work is not plentiful and the state can’t help, one must beg, borrow or steal for their needs. Borrowing quickly runs dry, stealing is illegal and now begging is increasingly becoming outlawed. It’s all they have left to acquire their needs. If you can understand a law that outlaws begging, feeding, sleeping, etc. because it’s a blight on society or you don’t think you should be subjected to such people or what have you, then you should be more than able to appreciate the idea that the person who is actually living this nightmare deserves to escape it. If it is your right to not be bothered by them or to have to see them, then it is their right to be given the opportunity to shelter themselves. No more waiting lists so long that you are more likely to be dead than alive before your name comes up. Homes now for those who are in need and are willing to work for them must be our goal and it can be accomplished.
We cannot afford homelessness. It’s been proven through many studies and methods that it is cheaper to end homelessness than to allow it to continue while funding services to deal with it (See figure 3-2). Not only does homelessness create a world of problems and costs but it complicates and multiplies existing ones. For example, homeless people are more susceptible to being without identification due to theft or loss and lack of an ability to pay to replace it and/or have an address to have it sent to, which in turn makes them ineligible for many services which could include food, shelter, healthcare, clothing and financial assistance. Also the lack of a phone number and email address further complicates this issue as well as hinders potential employers from contacting them. They are often prone to reduced wages as employers are aware of their situation and know they will work for less money. Homelessness also inhibits healthcare, as housing instability often detracts from regular medical attention, access to treatment, and recuperation. Without stable housing, access to clean water, bathrooms, refrigeration and food the likelihood of taking medications on a regular schedule is severely impaired (#14R). This inability to treat medical problems can aggravate these problems making them both more dangerous and more costly (#14R).
Figure 3-2
- A 1994 federal report examined the provision of flexible support services combined with permanent housing for homeless people with severe mental illness. The study found:
- A housing retention/success rate of 83.5%
- A decrease in patient hospitalization at the studies San Diego site, where inpatient days were reduced by 49%
- A reduction in inpatient costs at the Baltimore site, where costs dropped by 52%
- A reduction in annual per person inpatient costs at the Boston site, where costs were reduced by $3,800
- A decrease in emergency room visits by 50%
- A decrease in incarcerations by 50%
- A decrease in symptoms of schizophrenia and depression (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 1994)(#28R)
Another Study done between 1996 and 2000 found that upon being sheltered there was a 58% decrease in emergency room visits, a 57% drop in the number of inpatient days and a 100% drop in the use of residential mental health facilities (Corporation for Supportive Housing, 2000)(#28R).
A Streets to Homes program in Toronto found that upon sheltering people: 87% remained housed, 91% considered their lives improved since moving into housing, 70% indicated that their health improved, 72% said their personal safety had improved, 57% felt their mental health had improved, 49% decreased or quit alcohol use, 73% decreased or quit using drugs (31% quit completely). The use of emergency services such as 911, emergency rooms, ambulance, fire, police detox and jail decreased, while there was an increase in appropriate health and community services such as doctors, food banks, job training, education, drug and alcohol treatment centers and mental health programs. When asked about their futures after being placed in housing, 82% were more positive than prior to entering housing(#14R).
To top it off, nearly half of homeless medical hospitalizations were for conditions related to living conditions and therefore preventable (respiratory disorders, skin infections, parasites/infections and trauma)(#28R).
Compared with the average adult, the homeless experience poor health at a rate about 3 times that of people at large (44% of the homeless as opposed to 12% of the general population)(#21R). Homelessness brings with it increased risks of being assaulted, arrested, hospitalized, developmentally delayed, learning disabled, left back a grade, addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, mentally ill, physically ill, infected with aids, nutritionally deficient, exposed to extreme weather, depressed, withdrawn, a prostitute, impoverished and dead (See Figure 3-3). It is also worth mentioning that almost every homeless person is considered to live in poverty and all that is mentioned in chapter 2 (poverty chapter) pertains to them as well.
Figure 3-3
- Homeless people are:
- 3X more likely to die(#30R)
- 16X more likely to be diagnosed with HIV(#30R)
- 10-15X more likely to suffer from gangrene, gout and ulcerations resulting in amputation(#31R)
- 2-3X more likely to suffer from gastro-intestinal disorders(#31R)
- 2-4X more prone to hypertension(#31R)
Homeless children have:
- A more likely chance to get sick and go to the emergency room.(#32R)
- Twice as many ear infections(#32R)
- 4X as many asthma attacks(#32R)
- 5X as many stomach problems(#32R)
- 6X as many speech problems(#32R)
- 2X as many hospitalizations(#32R)
- 4X as many developmental delays(#32R)
- 2X as many learning disabilities(#32R)
- 2X as likely to repeat a grade in comparison to non-homeless children(#32R)
- 3X the rate of emotional/behavioral problems (#30R)
- A 33% chance of developing a serious emotional disturbance by age 8 (#30R)
- A 50% chance of showing signs of anxiety and depression (#31R)
As much as 1/3 of the children in foster care are there because they have a homeless or unstably housed parent(s) (#30R). That’s 139,845 children each costing over $16,000 a year and totaling over $2.2 billion (#32A). Despite all this, the foster programs in this country fall far too short for the 1 out of 4 former foster youth who become homeless after exiting foster care (#14R).
During the years immediately after the Vietnam War, the average time from discharge to homelessness was 6 years. For current veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, the average is 18 months (#33R). In 2009 the Department of Veterans Affairs estimated that there were 131,000 homeless veterans most of whom became homeless due to war-related disability including physical disability, mental anguish, post-traumatic stress, etc. - many find difficulty readjusting to civilian life (#14R). These people do not lack ambition or motivation, they are some of the most brave and motivated that this country has to offer. They have risked life and limb because their country asked it of them and now that they are missing a piece of their body or mind that keeps them from being able to function in our society, we owe them a place in which they can exist that does not involve homelessness.
Please be aware that the next 2 paragraphs contain some of the worst facts that we will need to discuss.
The average age of a homeless person in the U.S. is 9 years old (#31R). A 1998 study found that 5% (1.6 million children) of the adolescent population experienced one episode of homelessness each year and they now make up an estimated 30% of all homeless persons seeking shelter (#21R). 40%-60% (640,000-960,000) of them have experienced physical abuse, 17%-35% (272,000-560,000) have experienced sexual abuse, and 15%-30% (240,000-480,000) have had experience with commercial sex (#33A). It is estimated that 5,000 unaccompanied youth die each year as a result of assault, illness or suicide (#14R).
10,800 men, women and children die every year due to homelessness. That is over 3X the amount of people who died in the 9/11 attacks (#34A). A lack of shelter and our inability and/or lack of desire to fix this problem is killing more Americans each year than our worst enemies can. Instead of living to the average expected age in the U.S. of 77.9 years (#34R), the chronically homeless have an average life expectancy of 41-47 years old (#35R). At best that is 30.9 years of life lost on average for every chronically homeless person. That means 81,523 (1735 per year) full lifetimes are lost for each 47 year cycle of chronic homelessness (#35A). Contrary to popular belief these people are most likely to die from acute and chronic medical conditions than from mental illness or substance abuse (#36R).
These situations are so unbearable that people commit crimes hoping the end result is to be imprisoned, giving them access to food and shelter. 1 in 5 homeless women have avoided bail or committed an imprisonable offense as a means to resolve their housing problems (#37R). Another 18% have admitted spending time in accident and emergency departments for the same reason (#37R). Some endure far worse, 28% of women had spent one or more nights with an unwanted sexual partner to accommodate themselves compared with 14% of men in similar situations (#37R). Even though 92% of prostitutes stated they wanted to escape prostitution immediately (#38R) nearly 1 in 5 homeless women have resorted to the sex trade to escape a night on the streets (#37R). That’s 26,874 women selling themselves each year, just so they can have a place to sleep (#36A).
Violent acts against the homeless cost $226,346,738 in 2009 (#37A). To make matters worse, hate crimes against the homeless is a rising trend. With 117 violent acts against the homeless in 2009 including beatings, rapes, sexual assaults, being set on fire, police harassment and brutality (#39R). 43 of these attacks resulted in death (#39R).
As if the homeless hadn’t had it bad enough we as a society are outlawing the very acts that allow them to exist at the terrible state at which they do now. People who are homeless spend more time in prison often as a result of laws specifically targeting the homeless, including regulations against loitering, sleeping in cars and begging (#14R). At an ever increasing rate laws are being passed that outlaw sleeping, sitting or storing personal belongings in public spaces. Sweeps of city areas take place to drive out homeless people which frequently results in the destruction of those persons personal property, including important personal documents and medication (#11R). (See Figure 3-4) To add insult to injury people are also being arrested for feeding the hungry, poor and homeless.
Figure 3-4(#11R)
Report on the Criminalization of Homelessness by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
The report shows city ordinances frequently serve as a prominent tool to criminalize homelessness, of the 224 cities surveyed for the report:
- 28% prohibit “camping” in particular public places in the city and 16% had city-wide prohibitions on “camping”.
- 27% prohibit sitting/lying in certain public places
- 39% prohibit loitering in particular public areas and 16% prohibit loitering city-wide
- 43% prohibit begging in particular public places; 45% prohibit aggressive panhandling and 21% have citywide prohibitions on begging.
- All of these laws are on the rise
- Another trend is increased city efforts to target homeless persons indirectly by placing restrictions on providers serving food to poor and homeless persons in public spaces.
- 71% of cities surveyed reported a 6% increase in request for emergency shelter, 16% of these requests went unmet and 32% of emergency shelter requests by homeless families went unmet in cities surveyed.
I do not wish to defend the homeless when it comes to these laws, the righteousness of these laws is irrelevant. The real problem lies in having a society that has not figured out how to end involuntary homelessness but has already outlawed it. Here is a group of people whose existence is so terrible that we arrest and remove them from areas just so we can be spared the thought and sight of them. Many cannot secure their needs due to a lack of wages and/or work and hundreds of thousands are turned down when applying to the state for their needs. If work is not plentiful and the state can’t help, one must beg, borrow or steal for their needs. Borrowing quickly runs dry, stealing is illegal and now begging is increasingly becoming outlawed. It’s all they have left to acquire their needs. If you can understand a law that outlaws begging, feeding, sleeping, etc. because it’s a blight on society or you don’t think you should be subjected to such people or what have you, then you should be more than able to appreciate the idea that the person who is actually living this nightmare deserves to escape it. If it is your right to not be bothered by them or to have to see them, then it is their right to be given the opportunity to shelter themselves. No more waiting lists so long that you are more likely to be dead than alive before your name comes up. Homes now for those who are in need and are willing to work for them must be our goal and it can be accomplished.
“Individual liberty and interdependence are both essential for life in society.” Gandhi
Eden - A Plan to End Homelessness
Eden’s housing program like the other Eden projects will involve giving those who are without a need the means and ability to secure that need. It will cost far less than what is being spent now, has the potential to end homelessness and all the suffering associated with it. The cost of Eden’s housing plan over time can be reduced to $0 with a worst case of $ 10,546.72 per person, per year and a total cost of $7,085,908,752.48 if we were to assist everyone out of homelessness (see figure 3-5 for a cost breakdown )(#38A). That’s a savings of $5,752.24 per person, per year and a total savings of $3,864,091,247.52 per year (See Figure 3-6). With this plan it is possible to actually solve the problem and save $5-11 billion a year. We will be able to cover all of ones needs including food, money, doctors, housing, etc. for less than what a bed costs in a shelter (#40A).
* Costs of Eden can be reduced to zero as it will be shown later in the chapter that people will be able to provide all their needs and have enough to repay their costs at Eden, making the savings of using Eden as high as 100% of what is now being spent.
This program will combine the 1st two Eden programs already discussed and add to them the building of homes as well as many other items and services. For those who only need housing this program should be made available to them minus the food and money aspects or any variation of these programs based on ones needs. Since most homeless people are in need of food, money and work in addition to housing all figures will assume that we are to be covering all of these needs.
Conventional homes require far too many resources in terms of money and skilled labor to be effective at ending homelessness - as many of our current programs have already proved. Also the idea of buying rv’s, travel trailers, motor homes, manufactured homes or the like undermines Eden in its attempt to make people productive in securing their own needs. However, extremely strong and beautiful homes can be built using natural building materials. There are many types to be built using everything from dirt to bales of hay. These homes (See Fig. 3-7 for homes, costs and estimated construction times) are so simple to build that most people build them with no prior knowledge of construction, carpentry or related fields and complete construction within a month. If need be we could hire people to teach us or send those who are to be building homes to one of the many classes and workshops offered all over the country for as little as a few hundred dollars to learn how. My personal favorite is the hobbit house which looks like the hobbit homes from the Lord of the Rings movies. It can be built below grade with a heavily insulated roof and walls made of dirt and grass on the exterior which does a great job of moderating temperature inside the house especially during extreme hot and cold weather. When factoring costs for this project we will use the straw bale house instead of the hobbit house. The purpose of this is the straw bale house is one of the most expensive homes to build and using it in our figures will only go to support just how cheaply homes can be obtained.
Overall costs and labor hours can be greatly reduced by making investments in items like backfill tampers, bobcats and rammed earth brick makers, depending on which types of homes we build.
The homes we will build are estimated to be 400 sq. feet, about the size of a small apartment or 2 to 3 times the size of an average room. Contrary to most of our lifestyles and beliefs this is plenty of room for a person or small family, especially if their last home was a tent, car or shelter.
A basic process for someone who is homeless would start with them contacting a current service that recommends them to Eden or they can contact Eden directly. A screening process would take place and if accepted arrangements would have to be made to get the person or family to Eden, be it by their own means or Eden paying to bring them home. An area would be designated for newcomers and depending on funding it could be a tent city or temporary trailers/homes. This area will need at the very least to be able to provide food and basic needs to all newcomers until they are established. People would be processed and oriented by office clerks, caseworkers and those in charge. As soon as possible people will enter a work program to build homes one of which will become their own. There are many ways to decide who gets each house as they’re completed and it should be a democratic decision made by those doing the building that decides. It could be 1st come 1st served or a raffle system in which all who are building a particular home get to enter and the more work invested the more chances one gets to put in for the raffle. Any other methods could be used so long as they are fair, agreed upon and ensure that those with a lot of time invested get a house before those with little or no time invested.
After one obtains a home they will vacate their temporary residence to make way for another newcomer and the cycle of ending homelessness will continue. A surplus or deficit of housing, food and/or other needs will determine if one is able to choose their daily work or if it will be chosen for them. Ideally people will be able to choose their work and it should always be possible at the least to the extent that those with seniority can.
Similar to Eden’s other programs, this can cost $0 over time and even become profitable for those involved through organic farming. 1.6 acres will need to be farmed by each person to earn the $10,546.72 needed each year for all their necessities to bring the cost of this program to zero. Another .75 acres will be needed for firewood (home heating and cooking) and 1.7 acres will be needed to grow and raise all of ones food needs. For a person costing society $0 and totally maintaining themselves they will need to farm 4.05 acres a year and any land farmed above that would be worth about $6500 per acre.
Costs can be reduced and profits can be increased by:
Some decisions are easy to make and come with obvious reasons. For example, we should not plant nut trees near our houses as the trees grow extremely tall and can become a falling hazard in time as well as the falling nuts being hazardous. Instead we should plant our fruit trees near our houses to make for easy and convenient harvesting as well as the houses will not shade them as much as smaller plants and the area will not need constant tilling and weeding like vegetables and other plants will. The trees would also serve as a pretty visual and sound barrier for privacy between homes.
Other decisions can be much more complex and the only true way to find out what works best is through trial and error. Decisions such as these will need to be made from time to time and they will include but not be limited to questions such as do we…
Imagine homelessness as a thing of the past, no more shuffling people from place to place. No more suffering from a lack of necessities and services. The homeless deserve an opportunity to secure their own shelter and Eden can help them accomplish this. The homeless can be given the chance to prove if their situation was caused by laziness, addiction and the like or if it’s that they are victims of circumstances. For those who are willing to work for it, the ability to acquire shelter must become their right. We can give them the opportunity for a fraction of what is now being spent on them. We would be condemning them to homelessness and ourselves to paying for it if we let this opportunity pass. We must act, there is nothing to lose and the world to gain.
The homes we will build are estimated to be 400 sq. feet, about the size of a small apartment or 2 to 3 times the size of an average room. Contrary to most of our lifestyles and beliefs this is plenty of room for a person or small family, especially if their last home was a tent, car or shelter.
A basic process for someone who is homeless would start with them contacting a current service that recommends them to Eden or they can contact Eden directly. A screening process would take place and if accepted arrangements would have to be made to get the person or family to Eden, be it by their own means or Eden paying to bring them home. An area would be designated for newcomers and depending on funding it could be a tent city or temporary trailers/homes. This area will need at the very least to be able to provide food and basic needs to all newcomers until they are established. People would be processed and oriented by office clerks, caseworkers and those in charge. As soon as possible people will enter a work program to build homes one of which will become their own. There are many ways to decide who gets each house as they’re completed and it should be a democratic decision made by those doing the building that decides. It could be 1st come 1st served or a raffle system in which all who are building a particular home get to enter and the more work invested the more chances one gets to put in for the raffle. Any other methods could be used so long as they are fair, agreed upon and ensure that those with a lot of time invested get a house before those with little or no time invested.
After one obtains a home they will vacate their temporary residence to make way for another newcomer and the cycle of ending homelessness will continue. A surplus or deficit of housing, food and/or other needs will determine if one is able to choose their daily work or if it will be chosen for them. Ideally people will be able to choose their work and it should always be possible at the least to the extent that those with seniority can.
Similar to Eden’s other programs, this can cost $0 over time and even become profitable for those involved through organic farming. 1.6 acres will need to be farmed by each person to earn the $10,546.72 needed each year for all their necessities to bring the cost of this program to zero. Another .75 acres will be needed for firewood (home heating and cooking) and 1.7 acres will be needed to grow and raise all of ones food needs. For a person costing society $0 and totally maintaining themselves they will need to farm 4.05 acres a year and any land farmed above that would be worth about $6500 per acre.
Costs can be reduced and profits can be increased by:
- Applying for government rebates for green building and living. - Thousands of dollars are given to people each year for green building and living.
- Building homes of recycled materials like grain silos, tires, cans, bottles, etc. - We will be pressed for time in that a great deal of us will be homeless and in need of immediate shelter and work, making this more of an idea for the future. As a great deal of time could be wasted searching for these materials. Maybe in the future we could send people to look for materials or set things up with those in great supply of these items. To hold up the construction of homes to go dumpster diving will be a huge time consumer and thorn in the side of progress, at least in the beginning.
- Renting or selling homes on the property to those who don’t need the help but want to live there. - This has potential so long as it is being done by Eden and not by an individual. People should not be able to sell their house when leaving, it should become the communities and given or sold to whoever is ready. For 3 reasons:
- The person might be selling their home to acquire drugs or other wants and in turn be in need of a home again.
- It was the community who owns the land and paid all the money to build the house, it was a gift of shelter to be given to one in need, not a gift of profit.
- If someone is buying the house they are most likely in a financial class above those we are attempting to help.
- Buying items in bulk - None of the costs associated in figuring out Eden’s final cost accounted for the usual price breaks given when buying things in bulk. For this reason we may have to rent, buy or build a warehouse to store things while building - maybe onsite, maybe somewhere close by to hold windows, toilet bowls, etc until they are needed. We could also potentially use storage containers so the materials can be onsite and moved later. This of course depends on how much of a discount we receive for buying in bulk. Or ideally, companies might give us a discount if we buy all we think we’ll need up front and then they could send us what we need when we need it so we don’t have to store anything long-term (a backorder).
- Achieving Self-Sufficiency - We could hire people to come to us or send some of our people out to learn about different aspects of self-sufficiency. This could include making cloths, furniture, soap and so on. This should be a serious goal as it will ensure that everyone will have access to work and necessities.
- For other ways to make money, see the section titled plans for generating income (p. )
Some decisions are easy to make and come with obvious reasons. For example, we should not plant nut trees near our houses as the trees grow extremely tall and can become a falling hazard in time as well as the falling nuts being hazardous. Instead we should plant our fruit trees near our houses to make for easy and convenient harvesting as well as the houses will not shade them as much as smaller plants and the area will not need constant tilling and weeding like vegetables and other plants will. The trees would also serve as a pretty visual and sound barrier for privacy between homes.
Other decisions can be much more complex and the only true way to find out what works best is through trial and error. Decisions such as these will need to be made from time to time and they will include but not be limited to questions such as do we…
- Have small tight-nit dwellings of people in the same area that work separately on different projects most of the time and collectively only when necessary on bigger projects like harvesting crops? Or should we work collectively all the time?
- Have many different villages in different areas each specializing in different tasks? One could make cloths for all the villages another could make the furniture and so on. Or should each village provide all of their own needs?
- Rent or sell vacant homes to the highest bidder to generate money to help more people? Or do we give the home to someone in need?
- Have separate living areas or villages for the sober as opposed to the addicted? Or should we all live together?
- Have a recreational area? Or should all resources be used to end homelessness?
- Buy heavy farming equipment so only a few will do the farming so the rest of us can build homes and provide other needs or do we all farm the land with basic tools?
Imagine homelessness as a thing of the past, no more shuffling people from place to place. No more suffering from a lack of necessities and services. The homeless deserve an opportunity to secure their own shelter and Eden can help them accomplish this. The homeless can be given the chance to prove if their situation was caused by laziness, addiction and the like or if it’s that they are victims of circumstances. For those who are willing to work for it, the ability to acquire shelter must become their right. We can give them the opportunity for a fraction of what is now being spent on them. We would be condemning them to homelessness and ourselves to paying for it if we let this opportunity pass. We must act, there is nothing to lose and the world to gain.
