I recently had two experiences which crystallized why I think that so many Americans, particularly younger ones, do not understand the importance of the federal government to a progressive agenda.

Our non-profit was working with a group of high school students. We visited a homeless shelter in St. Louis, hopefully in a way that was not intrusive to the residents. As we were leaving, we asked the public information official who had given us the tour what suggestions for solving homelessness in America she might give to Senator Claire McCaskill, if she had an opportunity to speak directly to the senator.

The official thought for a moment and then said that she would tell Senator McCaskill that homelessness is a serious problem and more people need to care about it. I found the answer to be disappointing because caring without a strategy can only get us so far. American history has shown us that charity can only put a dent in solving safety net issues. Local governments do not have the resources and states have neither the money nor in many cases, the inclination.

Following the tour, we returned to the school and I mentioned to the students that I was somewhat disappointed in the shelter official’s response. I asked them what suggestions for solving the homelessness problem would they have for Senator McCaskill.

Having looked at other charities over the course of the year, they were convinced that the answer meant government involvement. But then when we pressed the issue, they said that local government would be best because those officials would best know the community. When we cited that St. Louis is poor and would probably not have the money to successfully address the issue, they then said that homelessness would best be solved by the state of Missouri.

Knowing how resistant the state of Missouri has been in recent decades to being part of a solid social safety net for the less fortunate of its citizens, I was initially disappointed and even frustrated. Didn’t these students know that the programs that have come closest to addressing the needs of those in poverty have come from the federal government? The ability to think with compassion and to provide resources has historically been much greater in Washington, DC than Jefferson City, MO.

But as I thought about it, why should these students know it? When in their lives have they experienced a national government in Washington that is fundamentally committed to promoting economic as well as legal justice? Perhaps a few were born in the waning days of the Clinton Administration so their only real experience with a Democrat in the White House has been Barack Obama.

They know that Obama fought for racial, gender and ethnic tolerance. They know that he accepted climate change, that he was not bellicose in foreign affairs. But they know little about his economic policies. If they began to research what steps he had taken to improve the economy, they would find that his legacy is largely framed by big bailouts; first for Wall Street and then for the automobile industry. While the auto bailout saved and even increased blue-collar jobs, the Wall Street measures basically made the rich wealthier, kept the middle class stagnant, and put those in poverty at a further distance than ever from top earners.

They did not hear Barack Obama proposing the creation of a huge safety net as FDR did in the New Deal. They did not hear him calling for the expansion of that net as LBJ did with the Great Society. They did hear Obama advocate affordable medical care for all Americans, but they knew that the final product was riddled with inadequacies.

In short, they had no idea what progressive government would look like.

It’s not just the students. A teacher has to be close to seventy years old to have lived through the Great Society with awareness. Educators don’t like for history or social studies teachers to be challenged with the question of “how can teach about something that you never experienced?” Obviously, all teachers, all human beings are limited by how much they have personally experienced or witnessed in life. But why is it that so many teachers and students are acquainted with the story of the Star-Spangled Banner than they are of the fight for workers’ rights?

We have a myopic view of the world that those who are not progressives are happy to see us have. What students can’t imagine is hard for them to desire or advocate.

How do we solve this? The easiest, but highly unlikely way, would be for America to elect another Bill Clinton or Barack Obama and once in office, have them turn from moderate to progressive. Better would be to elect the likes of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warner (although about twenty years younger for both). In the absence of that, all who are progressive need to do all that they can to expose students and teachers to the New Deal and the Great Society. And don’t do it in a boring way. Make it fun and meaningful. It’s a tough chore, but our backs are against the wall and we have to act with that knowledge in mind.

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Great news from the humanitarian ideas department. In 2006, Doug Sharp, of Des Moines IA, put together a team of architects with the goal of designing a sturdy home, made of  lightweight materials, that would be easy to ship and could be built in one day by one family. All this for as little money as possible.

Sharp intends his Abod project to be philanthropic, rather than a personal moneymaker.

Abod’s tiny homes address an international need, says the Abod website:

The need for safe, sanitary and durable housing is global. It’s the first crucial step for improving the health, safety and quality of life for millions of people living in poverty, as well as victims of natural disaster.

GLOBAL POVERTY Today, a billion people—32% of the global urban population—live in urban slums. The United Nations projects that if no serious action is taken, the number of slum dwellers worldwide will increase to 2 billion over the next 30 years. Adequate housing is vitally important to the health of the people as well as the world’s economies. Abod is an affordable, flexible solution that could serve as a foundation for a healthier micro or even macro community to emerge.

ECONOMY 1.2 billion people in the world experience “income poverty,” meaning that they live on the US equivalent of less than $1 US per day . And in Africa, households need an average of 12.5 times their annual income to buy a house, making it a nearly impossible achievement.

Creating factories in countries and communities that adopt the Abod housing solution would not only help the housing crisis, but also create jobs for local people and boost economic development. Good housing in communities in turn attracts economic investment, contributes to potential education systems, and promotes positive community development.

NATURAL DISASTERS Natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes and hurricanes create the immediate need for housing on a massive scale, particularly in countries already plagued by inadequate housing and poor construction. Often times, when disaster strikes in a country already gripped in debt, its government is unable to help its people, leaving families to sink or swim. Since the Abod can be constructed in one day, it could help provide quick relief to some when the need arises.

HEALTH With poverty often comes infectious disease, due to overcrowding, lack of access to healthcare services, and lack of immunization. An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and millions die each year. Each year also brings 350-500 million cases of malaria, and 1 million deaths. And according to UNICEF, 24,000 children die each day . A stable micro community built of Abod units could provide just the stability and sanitation needed to combat disease in impoverished area

As reported on Inhabitat:

Highly affordable and flexible in design, each shelter can be can be customized to fit each owner’s particular needs. Everything from kitchen and toilet units to end walls, loft expansions and special doors can be added to the core structure.

Mostly constructed out of corrugated metal, a translucent plastic panel can be used to incorporate natural lighting – a boon for slums that typically lack decent access to national electricity grids. Gutters incorporated into the shelters ensure that rainwater is directed away from the tiny homes to improve sanitation and a number of the houses can be linked together to create a small community… The first Abod community was constructed just outside of Johannesburg as a test pilot.

According to the Abod website, the tiny homes have the following characteristics and advantages:

Compact and cost-effective to deliver. By truck, ship or plane, the lightweight home can be delivered onsite for quick and easy assembly. • Readily manufactured in large quantities. All components are made from stock materials. • Quick and simple to assemble. An entire single unit structure can be completed in one day by four people. •High-quality, enduring structure has a projected low cost via mass manufacturing.

Secure and permanent yet easily moved: This is especially vital where land can only be leased, not owned. The Abod is designed so that if an owner doesn’t like where it was first placed, or has to move, they can quickly and easily disassemble, relocate, and reassemble the home. • Low fire risk: The Abod is comprised of primarily non-combustible materials, so the risk of fire is minimal. • Exceptionally load bearing: The Abod is designed to reflect the catenary arch which is the most stable form in nature. • Exceptional weather shielding: Integrated rain gutters direct water away from structure.

Abod is a high-concept example of a wider, tiny-home movement. Earlier ideas for micro homes sprang more from people interested in scaling down and minimizing their lifestyles. Abod, and other humanitarian projects like it, such as one in Austin, Texas, focus on tackling the problems of chronic homelessness and slum living. Yes! Magazine recently reported on a tiny-home village for homeless people in Olympia, Washington.

As someone who is frequently outraged by politicians’ disregard for poor people, it’s nice, for a change, to find practical projects aimed at helping, rather than punishing economically down-and-out folks. They’re not necessarily government programs, but they offer an excellent model that awaits a new era of progressivism in government.

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“Pope Ramps Up Charity Office to Be With Poor.” That was a headline in the November 29^th St. Louis Post -Dispatch. Pope Francis is making headlines like this almost every week now. What a concept. He wants church members to use the instruction book written by people who knew or at least heard about a man named Jesus centuries ago. They call him the Christ and people who follow his vision Christians. From what I’ve read about this man they admire so much, he chose to help people in need rather than pursue an occupation that would have provided him with a comfortable lifestyle. He might even have been able to afford all the hallmarks of status like owning a sports team or building a chain of stores using tax credits and slave labor.

But he chose to do what Pope Francis is now telling his man at the Vatican who is in charge of charitable works. Go out and find the poor. The archbishop in charge of doing good for people is quoted in the PD article as saying:  “The Holy Father told me at the beginning: ‘You can sell your desk. You won’t need it. You need to get out of the Vatican.  Don’t wait for people to come ringing.  You need to go out and look for the poor.’”

Which made me think of some incredibly brave volunteers who venture into the streets and alleys of downtown St. Louis when it’s cold enough to freeze to death. A few years ago, a social worker organized these Winter Outreach volunteers when one of her clients froze to death in a bus stop shelter. I happen to know one of the volunteers and have been collecting blankets and other items for about four years, or, as they used to say in North Dakota before global warming,  “four winters.”  These are the true Christians although I’ve never asked them if they even go to church.  It doesn’t really matter. They are “religious” in the best sense of the word.

I saw on the news the other night that the Red Cross was helping a family who lost their home in a fire. That got me to wondering who helps people who lost their homes to corporate greed and bank fraud?  Who helps those people who lost their jobs because of the Great Recession?  It’s nice that a family who lost a home to fire gets help, and the Red Cross is a wonderful organization. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad they help people who need it. But there are hundreds of families without homes in St. Louis, and they survive by finding food at churches and sleeping behind dumpsters in alleys.  The city authorities don’t want them spoiling the fun of visitors to downtown going to ball games or concerts.  So they keep them out of sight.  Keep moving them around. They close a park here and a park there. They make it illegal to feed folks outdoors with no place to live. But it’s okay to feed the pigeons.

Pope Francis made quite a stir last week when he claimed that “unfettered capitalism” kills not only our bodies but our souls. Wow. That’s one brave Pope. I wonder if the cardinals who elected him are having second thoughts?   No one else at that level of authority dares to criticize the “free market.”    I had never thought about “Thou shalt not kill” quite that way before, but he’s right.  There are sins of commission and sins of omission.   Shooting someone is an obvious crime.  But what about when we let people freeze to death?  What about the children living in cars or abandoned buildings?  What kind of  life will they have?  What have we killed in their little hearts and minds?

Another story on the local news last week was about a middle aged man who had been brutally beaten by his mother when he was too small to defend himself.  He found a “family” in a gang and did some terrible things to other human beings.  After doing prison time, he now lives with damage to his body from gunshot wounds and years of drug abuse.  That wouldn’t be much of a story for television, but he now spends his time urging young kids not to follow his path.  And here’s the kicker.  His story was going to air the next night right after “Survivor.”  Really?  Survivor?  Am I the only one who sees the irony here?

When the weather forecasters tell us to bundle up because of freezing temperatures, I wonder what the people living outdoors do to “bundle up.”  I’m thankful that there are so many organizations collecting coats, food and other necessities this holiday season.  It really helps a lot.  But I wonder why we separate ourselves from those in need? The vast majority of us are glad to share our bounty as long as we don’t have to actually mingle with the poor.  This is what makes Pope Francis so newsworthy.  He himself shared meals with the homeless when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.  He sought out those who needed comforting.

John Lennon encouraged us to “Imagine.”  That’s not easy for an old cynic like myself. But I’m going to imagine bishops and other leaders of faith communities going out on a freezing cold night with the St. Louis Homeless Winter Outreach volunteers. Their Facebook  page tells when they will be heading out and where to meet. If you have a van, that would be nice. I wonder how many church vans sit idle on cold nights? I wonder how long before we decide as a society that every human being deserves food and shelter without having to beg for it. We are caught in a trap of our own making. We run each other down to get the lowest price on a flat screen television and call that “holiday shopping.”  It’s going to take someone with a lot of clout to turn our attention back to what’s really important.  That might just be the new Pope.  Imagine that.

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Tragically, we have become accustomed to seeing pictures of deplorable living conditions in many parts of the world:

We pity the people subjected to the hunger, disease and degradation of those places. We thank whatever deity we may believe in, or the stars, or the luck of the draw that we’re not in those pictures. We tell ourselves that, if we ran the world, such places would not exist, and we occasionally fork over a few dollars to international organizations who are doing something about it.  And, of course, we believe that, because we live in a country touted as “the greatest in the world,” we wouldn’t let that happen here.

But we do.

Fresno, California–the American city with one of the highest per capita rates of homelessness in the U.S.–is our own, homegrown poster child for the kind of pitiful living conditions we mistakenly think are reserved for third-world countries.  Recently, Fresno city officials began evicting homeless people from encampments that have sprung up around the city. They are fewer in number than the homeless and displaced populations living in tents and shacks in other countries, but they are, in fact, our own economic refugees. Some are being relocated into subsidized rental apartments, but there’s not enough city,state or federal funding to help everyone. The next stop for most is…who knows?

The world has a homelessness problem. And let’s not pretend that America is the exception to that rule.

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Check out below the first sentence of an article in the Aug. 13, 2013 St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

ST. LOUIS • The city has received an additional $1 million in federal money for homeless services.

Could that million dollars have come from the state of Missouri?  No, it doesn’t work that way.  Only the federal government has the resources to address domestic issues and we would be wise to remember that.  Time to forget the states’ rights stuff.

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On December 7, along with 26 other women from Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice, I had the privilege to help serve dinner to a group of women who reside at Shalom House. Located in St. Louis, Missouri, Shalom House is a non-profit organization specializing in working with single, homeless women with mental illness and chemical dependency to help them stabilize and rebuild their lives. Shalom House provides emergency shelter for 90 days to 25 women at a time, a 24-month transitional housing program for an additional 12 women and an ongoing “aftercare” program. It will soon be expanding its services by offering permanent supportive housing.

A resident of Shalom House tells her story:

On the night we visited, we provided the women in the emergency shelter with a dinner of fresh salads, breads, and desserts and a bag of small gifts for the holidays. But the gift given to us in return was a chance to talk to these women one on one, so we could better understand the complex problem of homelessness. Some things we learned: Women who have grown up in unstable homes, who have drug or alcohol problems, learning disabilities and/or psychiatric issues, or who have been in abusive relationships are especially vulnerable to ending up on the street with no where to go. Although many of the women who come to Shalom House are poor, homelessness occurs across the economic spectrum. Psychiatric problems, substance abuse, and domestic abuse combined with difficult economic times have led middle class women, even some with Ph.D.s, to end up in Shalom House.

Although churches and other organizations generously offer shelter for the homeless, single night shelters cannot provide the stability and services that many of these women need to stabilize their lives. Typically, a woman will spend the night sleeping in her clothes on a cot and then have to be out on the street with her belonging at 6:45 AM. Because her every waking moment is dedicated to survival, she does not have the space or support to address her problems. Having no money, she may have to walk five miles in one direction for a meal at a soup kitchen, and then walk another five miles to another facility to stand in line for another meal and hope she will be there in time to make the cutoff. At the end of the day, she has to walk back to a shelter, exhausted, for another night on a cot sleeping next to strangers. She cannot care for her personal hygiene, her mental and physical health deteriorates, and she spirals downward.

Shalom House is dedicated to stopping the cycle of homelessness by giving these women a safe place to live for three months. First thing upon arrival, a woman will be fed because most women arrive very hungry. Then she is assigned a bed, which she will keep for the duration of her stay. Staff member Marcy Bursac, who gave us a tour of the facility and answered our questions, emphasized that everything at Shalom House is designed to maximize a sense of security and routine. After a meal, a new resident is given a twin bed with bedding, a colorful quilt, a storage drawer beneath the bed, a small dresser, a shelf, and a place to hang her clothes. She shares a small, open cubicle with another woman. Since many women arrive with nothing, she is given clothing, toiletries and other necessities.

Two showers and two toilets serve 25 women. That may seem overwhelming, but they work it out with half of the women showering in the morning, and half at night. With the safety of a warm bed and three meals a day, and the routine of daily schedules and chores, the women start to move out of survival mode and enter a space where they can address the cascade of problems that led them to being homeless. For example, 20 of the 25 women currently in the emergency shelter are on psychiatric medication for schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder or other psychological condition. Simply getting their medication on a regular basis goes a long way to helping them stabilize. Because drug and alcohol addiction is a pervasive problem among the residents, daily AA and NA meetings are held at the facility.

Within the first days, a new resident receives an assessment by a social worker and other staff members to determine her most critical needs. Working with her, they develop a plan for how she will use the 90 days and what will happen when she leaves the facility. If a bed is available “upstairs” where the transitional program is housed, and if she is a good candidate, she may move into that program where she can stay for up to two years. In transitional housing, she will buy and cook her own food, work and/or go to school, and save 50% of her salary for a nest egg when she “graduates” and move out on her own. Shalom House has a 97% success rate for the transitional housing program defined by the women being able to care for themselves for at least three consecutive years after leaving the program.

Those women who are not eligible for the transitional housing program are put in touch with other programs in the St. Louis area. One of the women I talked to was at the end of her 90-day stay in emergency housing. She had plans to move to the YMCA, get help with her learning disability and get her GED. She has struggled with substance abuse, but she seemed very bright and capable. She told me she had, at one time, in spite of her learning disability, been a department manager at Walmart. She attributed her success to having a great memory. According to her, Shalom House has helped her shed her negative habits and her negative outlook on herself and her life. She is looking forward to focusing on getting an education and a good job, and having a better relationship with her grown kids.

Besides providing services for homeless women, Shalom House is dedicated to educating the community about homelessness. If you would like to take a tour of the facility contact Marcy Bursac, Development Director, marcy@shalomhousestl.org or 314.534.1010 ext. 14.

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1,089. That’s the number of homeless people Missouri’s St. Charles, Warren, and Lincoln counties. A 2010 mini-documentary called “The Hidden Homeless” reports that  this year’s 200% increase in rural homelessness is an epidemic few are aware of.  Lack of public awareness is just one of the problems facing advocates for the displaced, while the hidden homeless in area suburbs reflect a nationwide trend towards increased need.

The Salvation Army, one of the most well-known national charity organizations, has witnessed the increased need across the country. Figures released this year show that the organization spent $3.12 billion dollars in 2009 helping people with food, emergency shelter, utilities, and other needs. That amount is up from $3.05 billion in 2008 and $2.88 billion in 2007.

Homelessness is typically viewed as an urban problem, so cities receive more financial aid to help combat it. Because urban homelessness tends to be more visual, and shelters are commonplace, it is easier to get a head count in cities. Volunteers in rural and suburban areas across the country, including in St. Charles County, conduct their own searches in an effort to increase public awareness and gain both community and political support.  One day of every year, organization volunteers nationwide participate in the Homeless Count by taking to the streets, walking rural areas, and visiting small local shelters.

In  “The Hidden Homeless: Uncovering an Epidemic,” Wentzville Mayor Paul Lambi explains, “Homelessness is very, very difficult to observe. It’s really not observable because if you are homeless, you try to remain unobserved. You want to fade into the woodwork, blend into the crowd.”

The economic boom and subsequent recession put thousands of people out of work. “So you have families without health care benefits. Somebody gets sick, it can wipe them out financially and they can be homeless in a matter of weeks,” adds Lambi.

The average age of a homeless person in Missouri is seven, and the Missouri Department of Education estimates that the number of school-aged children who are homeless is growing. There are a few small shelters in St. Charles County for specific demographics. Pregnant women, families, and children can often find temporary and/or emergency shelter, but single men fall through the cracks.

Who’s helping

Paul Kruse, founder of Missouri’s First Step Back Home, wants to help single homeless men find work and get on their feet, so he provides them with pre-paid cell phones and short motel stays. If they have a vehicle, he also provides money for gas, so they can apply for work and get to job interviews. Kruse also gets creative: He provides bicycles for people without vehicles, so they have some means of transportation.

Both Youth in Need and the Crisis Nursery help children and teens with shelter, nutrition, education, and other personal needs. Both programs focus on prevention, with hotlines and counseling available to those who need it. Neither of the groups takes in families, however, and they are typically the last resort for at-risk kids and/or families facing crisis.

Operation Food Search [OFS]collects food and personal items for area needy. More than 2 million pounds of goods go to shelters, soup kitchens, and other charity groups across Missouri each month. In order to meet the growing need, OFS has a list of events that include art sales and something called Bag Hunger. Bag Hunger is a nearly 2-month long event in which Whole Foods Markets in St. Louis sell inexpensive gift tags to shoppers; proceeds are used to purchase food that OFS distributes. Forty to 80 member agencies help put OFS food into the hands of Missouri’s poor and homeless.

St. Joachim and Ann Care Services is another advocate for low-income and homeless individuals in the St. Charles region. The Care Service helps at-need people with food, shelter, school supplies, employment, and financial assistance with utilities and medical expenses. Every the organization sponsors an Adopt-a-Family program for Christmas. In 2010, the organization expect to serves more than 700 families.

St. Joachim and Anne volunteers work with Vision, a group of educators, leaders, activists, and other professionals whose objective is to raise public awareness about local issues. According to The Vision Class of 2010, factors that contribute to the growing suburban homeless population include lack of public awareness, transitional housing, and public transportation.

“Right now in St. Charles County, the primary barrier to services is funding,” says Dottie Kastigar of Community Council of St. Charles, a clearinghouse for community networking and activism. “State and federal funding formulas are based on area media income. They don’t reflect the growing bottom portion of the community that has a need for services. Kastigar also notes that funding is much lower than in comparable areas in St. Louis, which receives $56 million in funding to combat homelessness. The tri-county area receives about $1.5 million.

In 2009, the number of homeless in the tri-county area was 830. The St. Louis census put the number of city homeless [in the same year] at 1,350. According to these numbers, the ratio of urban homeless to suburban homeless is less than 2:1, yet St. Louis receives more than thirty-seven times the funding. For further perspective, consider that the population of St. Louis County in 2009 was about 992,000 while the combined population of St. Charles, Lincoln, and Warren counties was around 440,000.

The situation is eerily similar elsewhere in the country. In order to receive HUD grants, a homeless count is a necessary part of the application process. However, HUD does not define homelessness as individuals couch-hopping or staying in motels, which is commonplace in suburban areas and skews the numbers.

What you can do

Advocacy groups urge the community to contact local and state officials about the problem. Charity organizations can only do so much, especially when they rely on the generosity of communities feeling the pinch of the recession. Legislative action is vital in order to address the hidden epidemic of suburban homelessness. The first step is public awareness.

For a listing of shelters, resources, and charity organizations in your area, visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website and click “State Info” on the top navigation bar. In Missouri, you can click here.

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