I am both happy and sad to report that academia has discovered vehicle dwellers. Researchers at Seattle University recently published the first ever study of people living in vehicles. The study focused on the anthropological aspects of vehicle dwelling in the Seattle metro area and was published last year.
This interview with the study’s lead researcher and homeless activist Mark Hovarth is very interesting and reiterates many of the points we have been making about vehicle dwelling. I am happy that this issue is receiving some serious attention but I am concerned about some of the impacts this could have on the very people that the research is supposed to help.
First of all, I am concerned about the use of the six criteria that the researchers developed for use in the annual homeless count. Although I understand that they came up with these criteria to help insure that the people living in vehicles were included in the count, these criteria can and probably will be used to harass and intimidate people living in their vehicles. These people are already the subject of ongoing persecution and are forced to hide from law enforcement and “do-gooders” who don’t want these people besmirching their neighborhoods. The last thing people in vehicles need is a check list to help people find them because as it stands, living in vehicles is illegal in most jurisdictions.
Secondly, I don’t think we need to quantify a problem that we know already exists unless we have solutions in place. Right now, we don’t. With the exception of the very successful Safe Parking Program in Santa Barbara, CA and a few others, there is no safe place for people to live in vehicles. I am happy that the City of Seattle and the study’s author are interested in creating a safe place to park, but until they do, people in vehicles are now even more vulnerable to persecution than they were before this study was published.
As alluded to in the video, when vehicle dwellers are identified and ticketed by law enforcement, eventually their home will be towed away and impounded. Unlike a typical parking violator who has a nice place to live until they get their car back, vehicle dwellers are out on the street. Not only that, but everything they own is gone with their vehicle as well. In a matter of days, the fees for towing, impoundment and fines far exceed anything anyone without shelter can afford. So now, we have a family or an individual with no home rather than just an inadequate one.
I hope that the publication of the study will spur solutions quickly. Otherwise, more suffering will ensue for those living in vehicles. In the past, a study like this may have produced solutions quickly, but with the diminishing resources now available, it is more likely that it will result in more harm than help. However, I believe it is best for people to know the truth, so that at least those who wish to help can do so.
We have been working on a program to address the needs of vehicle dwellers – the Homes On Wheels Program. It began in 2009 when we received an RV which we rehabbed and gave to a homeless family. The program has three main components:
- Distribution of RV’s to people without shelter
- Repairing vehicles and RV’s that people call home
- Finding and/or creating safe places to park and live in vehicles
Although we have been working on this for quite some time, we have not made as much progress as we wished. We have had difficulties obtaining suitable RV donations, identifying people and facilities to donate repair services and locating suitable places to park. Also, we have not raised enough money to help us accomplish these things. However, we have partnered with the Safe Parking Program in Santa Barbara and direct people there as appropriate. We are also reaching out to people in vehicles, counseling them and referring them to others who may help. In addition, we are serving as an informal hotline for people who have been contacting us for help..
I believe that the answers to the issue of homelessness and the need to live in places like vehicles does not lie in creating more programs. The answers lie in our hearts. Individually and collectively, we need to open our hearts to those around us who need help. We need to give up our judgments about ourselves and others. I know this is easier said than done, but what other choice do we have? We have spent millions of dollars on assistance programs and what has been the result? More suffering and more homelessness. Why has this happened? Quite simply, because of fear. So long as we fear each other and use our judgments to separate ourselves from each other and even from ourselves, no amount of money will solve the issue of homelessness. Let us each do what we can where we are right now. If enough of us do that, things will change and the experience of being alive will transform.