Above: In a shabby inner London suburb a homeless man is selling copies of The Big Issue in an effort to raise money and escape from destitution. In an example of the widow’s mite, one of the few people to stop and give him money is a young mother (who couldn’t have had all that much spare money herself). Most people just walked past without looking at him.
Henry Mayhew, in London Labour and the London Poor, wrote extensively about the homeless in Victorian London. Although he studied them as a category, he also integrated them into his great anthropological study as an extension of the poor, rather than as a class apart. I think this graduation of poverty is an important concept.
Because the homeless live in inhuman conditions it does not follow that they are less human than the rest of us. Homelessness is the logical extension of poverty, and homeless people should be seen as individuals who have failed to cope with the stress of extreme poverty. Most people do not look at homeless people because they are afraid of seeing someone like themselves, in need of help (obviously once that need has been acknowledged there is a concomitant obligation to give all the help you are capable of).
Above: the Big Issue is a weekly magazine published on behalf of, and sold by, homeless people throughout the United Kingdom. It is a way of overcoming the embarrassment most people experience when giving money to homeless people (it also has a cover price, so the “donation” is fixed in advance at £1.80). Unfortunately it is not a very good magazine, and so I usually give the money without taking the magazine.
Above: Arlington House in Camden. Once a famous hostel for the homeless. This institution (one that worked) has been closed and is being “redeveloped”.
Above: Jack London continued the work of Henry Mayhew. People of the Abyss is very well-written and deserves to be better known. For instance: “…how can I make you know what it is to suffer as you would suffer if you spent a weary night on London’s streets? Believe me, you would think a thousand centuries had come and gone before the east paled into dawn; you would shiver til you were ready to cry aloud with the pain of each aching muscle; and you would marvel that you could endure so much and live.”
Above: I also plan to read this biography of Jack London.
5 comments:
That was an interesting, thoughtful post, and I think that you're spot on about not wanting to look at homeless people properly in case we recognise ourselves.
From a Christian perspective it's really clear what we should do - give because it's asked: 'When I was hungry you gave me to eat', but I find it hard to do, even when I have the money - sometimes I think it's because I'm afraid that I will have to go on giving.
Thanks Quatrefoil. I think it's down to us to do something - if you wait for others to "come on board" nothing is going to get done.
I agree - I'm not shirking responsibility, although I think that responsibility also extends to more organised giving and to political action. However, I think that giving can involve an acknowledgment of guilt - 'how can I not give when I have so much and this person has so little?' which leads to a logical end of giving everything I have. Which is precisely what we're asked to do, and resist.
I think "giving" can be done in other ways rather than just money (although money is important). Encouraging others to help. Talking to homeless people and encouraging them (but with caution, as many homeless people have problems). Integrating discussion of homeless people into areas under our control (for instance, shops and companies could provide "outreach" if rough sleepers are using their doorways etc).
I think political action is a waste of time - most money is diverted by politicians into schemes that benefit themselves, benefit their supporters or makes them look good.
The amount of money needed is so small (comparatively) but the block is the greed of the political class.
Regards,
Andrew
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