{"id":21485,"date":"2023-07-05T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=21485"},"modified":"2023-06-21T12:40:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T16:40:04","slug":"how-can-homeless-people-get-a-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/how-can-homeless-people-get-a-job\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can Homeless People Get a Job?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><h2>The Short Answer Is: with Great Difficulty. The Full Answer, However, Is More Complex<\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Oftentimes, when a visibly homeless person is seen in passing, someone will hurl the snarky remark, \u201cGet a job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In those three words lies a rather hefty demand that, once broken down with facts, makes very little sense. After all, how can people crippled by the desolate state of homelessness find viable employment? Depending on who you ask, the answer may vary.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Answer 1: They Can\u2019t Get a Job<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">According to the\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/homelesslaw.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Homeless_Stats_Fact_Sheet.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, unemployment is the second leading cause of\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-homelessness-video\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">homelessness<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. High unemployment rates reflect a socio-economic issue that is not in the control of any person.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If someone experiences unemployment and that unemployment causes them to become homeless, it will be much more difficult for them to find another job than it would have been if they remained housed. Reasons for this are abundant. Some of the most common obstacles unhoused people have to unemployment include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Poor credit as the result of eviction, unemployment, or both<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Lack of a physical address<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Inability to maintain a hygienic appearance during the interview process due to not having access to running water, electricity, newer clothing, proper footwear, and toiletries<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Disabilities<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Lack of access to transportation<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Loss of photo identification (This can happen during the initial displacement process, such as an eviction, a destructive storm, or getting kicked out of the home. Or it can happen during subsequent displacements like encampment clearings or arrests. Having no photo identification is a serious barrier to obtaining legal employment.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Lack of access to the Internet and other job-hunting resources<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">These are just a few obstacles that might prevent an unhoused person from obtaining gainful employment, but here\u2019s where it gets more complicated. Lots of people living unhoused are already employed. This brings us to answer 2.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Answer 2: They Already Have a Job<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Research shows that\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/bfi.uchicago.edu\/insight\/research-summary\/learning-about-homelessness-using-linked-survey-and-administrative-data\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">more than half the homeless population<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0(53%, to be precise) is already employed. This statistic speaks volumes against the narrative that homeless people don\u2019t want to work hard. If anything, the fact that they continue to drag themselves to positions of employment that don\u2019t even pay them a living wage suggests their work ethic exceeds that of the average housed American.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Indeed, many homeless people have more than one job, but in a climate where\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/rental-prices-are-astronomically-outpacing-wages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">housing pricing has increased at quadruple the median wage rate<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, sometimes even two jobs are not enough to afford a home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">There is plenty of data to support this view. For instance, the hourly rate needed to afford rent in the United States in 2023 is about\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/how-much-you-need-for-rent_n_5942cc92e4b0f15cd5b9e2ee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">$21 per hour.<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0However,\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/money.cnn.com\/interactive\/economy\/us-jobs-wages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">CNN Money<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0reports that most American jobs feature a wage of less than $20 an hour. This means the overwhelming majority of full-time employment income is insufficient to meet the needs of a typical renter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Meanwhile, minimum-wage workers cannot afford the national median rental rates even if they work multiple jobs. This is a huge factor in the latest surges of homelessness, as America\u2019s working poor class continues to be squeezed out of the housing market.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Answer 3: They\u2019re Going to Lose Their Job When They Are Forced into Sanctioned Encampments<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">There has been a subtle shift in the political landscape of American homelessness. Lately, politicians are pushing to prioritize sanctioned encampment residency over housing-first strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This means that many working homeless people will soon lose their jobs due to sanctioned encampment policies. Why? Because sanctioned encampments tend to feature hours of operation only viable for people with \u201ctraditional working hours,\u201d i.e., a 9-5 employment position.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If an encampment has a closed-door policy that starts at 9 pm, second and third-shift workers will be forced to quit their jobs thanks to policies created by the same people who keep telling them to get jobs. This is one of the most abhorrent examples of taking a negative stereotype and forcing it into existence.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Getting a Job is NOT a Fits-All Cure to Homelessness<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The most unnerving aspect of this snarky comment isn\u2019t the demand but the implication. By telling an unhoused person to \u201cget a job,\u201d the speaker implies that employment would completely fix the housing issues that devastate the country one person at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In today\u2019s economy, nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, there\u2019s a surplus of job openings across the United States, but most of those \u201cemployment opportunities\u201d are still open because\u00a0<\/span><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">they\u2019re not paying a livable wage.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Imagine the hard-working laborers in America\u2019s tent cities who are ironing their uniforms in the back of a van with a dead battery. They are missing the line for the warming shelter and sleeping on the streets because they work the graveyard shift in a hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">We want to believe these are the exceptions, but with more than half of homeless people being active members of the labor force, it\u2019s safe to say they are the norm.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Urge Your Local Representatives to Make Housing a Human Right<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/poverty-profiteering-exploitation-creates-cycles-of-homelessness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Homelessness is becoming ever-more profitable<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0for the elite class, which means we will likely see more of it in faces that are more familiar as time passes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Even so, there is still hope that we can turn things around by acting immediately. Urge your local representatives to make housing a human right for all today.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Short Answer Is: with Great Difficulty. The Full Answer, However, Is More Complex Oftentimes, when a visibly homeless person is seen in passing, someone will hurl the snarky remark, \u201cGet a job.\u201d In those three words lies a rather &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/how-can-homeless-people-get-a-job\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":21486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[410],"tags":[770,7536,253,11903,11043,832,7559,515,508,11041],"coauthors":[8785],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21485"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21487,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21485\/revisions\/21487"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21485"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=21485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}