What is social capital? We hear the term all the time thrown here and there. In fact it could be classified as one of the latest ”buzz” words. Unfortunately social capital is one of those terms that has no universal definition similar to other terms like harm reduction and community development. Depending on who is doing the investigating and why, social capital can have a number of meanings. Several researchers define social as the value of social networks, bonding similar people and bridging between diverse people, with norms of reciprocity (Dekker and Uslaner 2001; Uslaner 2001). Sander (2002 p.213) stated that ‘the folk wisdom that more people get their jobs from whom they know, rather than what they know, turns out to be true’.

     Yet, DeFilippis says Putnam’s theory fails to take into consideration the challenges of power in producing communities and it is separated from economic development. DeFilippis explains that since people who live in affluent suburbs experience a significant level of social isolation, why are those interested in economic development in low-income communities stressing the use of social capital as a viable method for moving low income people and communities out of poverty?  Good question. Perhaps in low-income communities people really aren’t as socially isolated as it seems. In this case, a  fair subsequent assumption might be, “poor doesn’t equal lonely”. DeFilippis sort of agrees and argues that low-income communities are not disconnected and have plenty of social networks including nonprofit organizations. He says what they lack is “power” and the “capital” that creates that power.

     Okay, here’s my opinion, seems communities are in dire need of community psychologists who are being taught to not just study individuals and how they affect communities, but how communities impact individuals as well. However, DeFilippis says communities really aren’t living organisms and therefore can’t impact people. Does anyone agree? I’m not so sure communities aren’t living organisms—corporations are certainly set up to be a “person” per se, and the power they wield is beyond measure. How come communities can’t do the same thing?  I think some communities are already doing this—shouldn’t we spend more time studying these communities rather than spending more time studying poor communities and the people that comprise them?

Filed under: Chicago Homeless ]]> http://homelesschicago.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/does-social-capital-create-economic-prosperity/feed/ 0 northsidehousing1 peoplematrix http://homelesschicago.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/veteran-villages-are-they-sound-economics/ http://homelesschicago.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/veteran-villages-are-they-sound-economics/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:31:40 +0000 northsidehousing1 http://homelesschicago.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/veteran-villages-are-they-sound-economics/ ]]> Community Hope, in partnership with private developer Peabody Properties in Parsippany, New Jersey has been awarded conditional approval by the Veterans Administration to develop Valley Brook Village. This “veterans village” will consist of 63 units of apartments and townhouses for homeless veterans and those at-risk of homelessness as a result of post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and physical disabilities incurred in combat (Community Hope, 2011). The development is planned for 9 acres of land on the Lyons VA facility in New Jersey. There are also a number of cities around the nation who have plans for land use development of veteran villages around VA facilities including Edward Hines in Maywood, west of Chicago.

A reasonable question regarding housing developments such as Valley Brook and the one proposed at Hines is, what is the economic impact? One way to find out is by using an economic impact analysis. Economic impact analysis predicts how an initial change to to an economic event will impact the greater economy (Tuck, 2008). For example, say the current demand for affordable housing is at an all time high–which it is! Thus, the increase in the construction of affordable housing affects the demand and supply for materials to build the home, labor of contractors and architects, and electricians, among other needed labor and materials. This process continues and what is known as the “ripple” effect started by the increase in the construction of homes continue as well. Tuck further explains that the sum of the ripple effects related to an increased demand for supplies is called the “indirect” effect. Thus, the initial effect, plus the indirect and induced (sum of ripples associated with spending by the laborers building the house), added together produce the total economic effect. It is not hard to see that the total effect is positive even in its most simplest form.

So, another good question might be–then why are we not building more affordable housing for veterans and everyone else if they are economically sound? The reasons vary, but answers are rooted in high prices for land, impact fees, zoning requirements and pricy carrying costs. Pair this with community residents and groups who assume that affordable housing equals a myriad of negative impacts including increased traffic and subsequent demise of a community and continously, demand far exceeds supply. Low Income HousingTax Credits (LIHTC) offered to developers have been 90% successful in helping to increase the supply of affordable housing when used, however it’s become almost impossible to find willing developers who will use tax credits because they are complex and require inordinant amounts of time to acquire.

Yes, affordable housing is in huge demand for our veterans and low-income citizens alike, but building these units is not as easy as it might seem. Innovative approaches to getting the developments constructed include possibly blending affordable and market-rate units, combining rentals and homeownership in the same complex, using energy efficient features, creating opportunities for partnerships with nonprofit organizations and of course creative financing including using tax credits. It’s no easy task—but here’s to “villages” that can house folks while boosting our sagging economy at the same time!

Taking over an existing 50-bed interim housing program for men homeless is no easy task. But, its what making the call looks like. After initial assessments, case managers reported that 10 of the 54 guys living in the space are veterans. North Side hopes to transition these guys and others who live there, into permanent housing in the very near future. With the war in Iraq ending, available transitional and permanent housing is critical–because unfortunately many veterans returning to America won’t be going to a home! Many times veterans make the initial decision to join the military due to broken family relationships and therefore really didn’t leave for war from a stable home environment, and therefore do not return to a stable home environment. At other times returning combat veterans who do have stable home environments do not return to those homes because at the end of war, they have become a stranger to themselves and their families (Dave Rogers, personal communication, 2011). What ever the case, available housing is desparately needed–and again, this is a huge challenge–but it’s what is needed for right now. We said we would make the call and are asking others to do the same. After all you never know whose life you might be saving…and people are worth saving.

by Geraldine L. Palmer

Brody (2010) in an article written for the Associated Content online network asked the question, “When will we demand that our political leaders think ahead, instead of simply reacting when there is a crisis? We need proactive, instead of reactive government!”  Ouch! Who thinks he has a point? Brody used the Katrina tragedy as an example of reacting rather than being proactive.  He argued that our government knew that there were serious structural defects in the levee system and that the “perfect storm” would cause devastation. However, instead of correcting the defect beforehand, the government took the, “hope, pray, wait and see approach, and unfortunately, the ”denial” method.  He doesn’t stop with Katrina but also discusses the Haiti earthquake tragedy as another example of “waiting to exhale” —sharing that our government also knew that Haiti is built on the Port of Prince fault lines–a disaster in the making. Mmmm, in the case of the epidemic of homelessness in our country, another ongoing tragedy of signicant proportion, it seems that our government has been in the reactive more than proactive stage. Otherwise how can we account for veteran homelessness being the massive issue that it is?  After all, the need for adequate veteran housing didn’t start yesterday.

By the summer of 1946, nearly 10-million men and women were released from the armed forces and faced a severe housing shortage. Many veterans “doubled-up” living with family and friends. Housing construction had come to a screeching halt during the war–which exacerbated the issue during this time.  Additionally the majority of existing housing was substandard and deemed “slum dwellings”.  The government looked to private housing developers who came through only to a certain degree. Developers did construct pre-fabricated housing in the suburbs–for as little as $7,000 per house (Lustren, 2011), but this action created another crisis—residential segregation (That’s another story).

In any case–certainly not enough housing of any kind was built and this factor still exists today. So, if we know that as far back as World War II, housing for veterans reached a crisis level—isn’t it reasonable to think after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, housing is going to be needed?  Yet, the VA just decided in October of 2011 that a concerted effort needed to happen to end veteran homelessness?  Now, I’m not anti-VA. In fact I support the VA totally and have no problem becoming a soldier in “the good fight” to end veteran homelessness. I know it takes a community ( governmental agencies, community and faith-based organizations, individual leaders, etc.)  to solve social challenges. Yet, the “wait-see” approach does leaves me perplexed and an inclination to agree with Brody about being reactive versus proactive. We couldn’t think that homelessness is going away without intervention–that somehow housing is going to magically appear–or do we?

I don’t know, but back when I was a young girl, growing up in those created south suburbs of Chicago–my mother had an old saying that I carry in my arsenal and use to this day. She did a fine job of teaching me to be proactive. She simply said, “It’s better to be safe, than sorry.”

 by Geraldine Palmer

Have you ever wondered why there is veteran homelessness? Todd DePastino professor and author of “Citizen Hobo: How a Century of Homelessness Shaped America” in an interview with Michelle Norris of NPR news stated that,”The reason veterans become homeless has little to do with their military service but a lot to do with their background. The military draws disproportionately from poor and working-class communities, which are the very communities most susceptible to homelessness.” 

DePastino went on to say, ” It’s  a very old story that goes back hundreds of years, at least to Elizabethan times, when demobilized soldiers and sailors really contributed mightily to the first modern crisis of homelessness in history. This phenomenon was so novel that Elizabethans came up with new terms to describe it. They called them vagrants and vagabonds.  The soldiers and sailors tended to travel in great gangs and eventually they became politicized. Additionally, they contributed enormously to the English Revolution of the 1640s, which overthrew a monarch and set up a republic. So, it’s not an exaggeration to say that–our modern ideas of citizenship really come from the experience of coming home from war and placing unique demands on the polity in the state.” Mmmm, very interesting. As Pastino concludes the interview he shared that a solution for reducing the disproportionate number of veterans homeless to the general population of persons homeless is to recruit from a cross-section of America. However,  he does not leave out, that instead of working to reduce the disproportionate number of veterans homeless to the general population, how about we work to end homelessness in general through anti-poverty efforts similar to the G.I. Bill? Something for us to think about.

The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans says, that in addition to the complex causal factors of homelessness such as a lack of affordable housing and access to health care, veterans become homeless when they do not get treated for the challenging issue of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse. Furthermore, the struggle with PTSD is compounded by a lack of family and social supports. Speaking of PTSD,  it’s only been recognized as a formal diagnosis since the 1980s. Sadly, some doctors and medical personnel regarded veterans suffering from PTSD as a personal weakness of the soldier or behavior unbecoming to a soldier. This makes me think that while the struggle was taking place to identify this as a formal chronic illness and find appropriate treatments, veterans were becoming homeless by the droves.  Fortunately, the Viet Nam War brought much light to PTSD and doctors sometimes dubbed the disorder as “post-Vietnam syndrome”.  Viet Nam veterans pushed forward the notion that PTSD was a serious disorder and both the military and medical communities took note.

While less than 10% of the general populations will suffer from PTSD, it is expected that 1 in 6 soldiers returning from the Iraq war will struggle with it. And, as a factor that leads to homelessness—I expect we should be prepared. So, in conclusion does the reason why there is veteran homelessness matter? I say, “Yes, it matters.  How can we fix a problem if we don’t know where the heck it comes from?” I know right now as I write this I am feeling a bit sick. How can I fix it?  Well, I know I have eaten way too many Tootsie Rolls and Smarties—so it seems reasonable I can solve this problem because I know why I am feeling ill. Therefore, if I really want to end this problem, I won’t eat anymore. We know some reasons why veterans are homeless: their backgrounds, politics, a lack of affordable housing and health care, and struggles with PTSD. Okay, so that tells me we can fix this too—but wait, that’s if we really want to.

President Obama declared in a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room on October 20, “Today, I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. The war in Iraq will be over.” Good for President Obama to keep his promise to American families! I do understand and agree that the end of the Iraq war is a huge turning point for the U.S. While I do not have family members that I know of in Iraq, I do have a son and therefore can imagine the anguish and sleepless nights many families are experiencing as they anxiously await the return of their loved ones. Yet, and this opinion is certainly not meant to take away from the forthcoming joyous occasion of our troops returning home, I can’t help but think about the gigantic task looming in front of housing providers. Today, one in five persons homeless in the U.S. is a veteran. Therefore, I am mighty afraid that when record numbers of veterans returning from the Iraq war hit U.S. soil—many will need combat skills they haven’t been trained for—skills to live on the streets. Sad, yes. True, yes.

Veterans have recently been dubbed the “new face of homelessness” and The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that approximately 75,000 to 100,000 American veterans are homeless on any typical night. A fair question to ask is why are veterans homeless? More specifically, why are they homeless in America? The answer does not rest in one single variable, but several. Of course there is a lack of affordable housing in urban cities across our nation, while at the same time equitable and fair living wages for all is still a distant dream. And then a lack of access to quality health care is a contributing and causal factor of homelessness at the same time. For veterans, becoming homeless can be attributed to the factors mentioned, but also to a persistent struggle with substance use and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I have a friend, Dave Rogers, who is a veteran and the executive director of VetNet, who says, “When the vet comes home from war, he is a stranger to himself and his family.” You may say, “Doesn’t the VA care?” Yes, they do, but with all social problems, the government can’t solve social problems alone.  I went to the veteran summit the VA held last week in Chicago. The summit’s purpose indicated a concerted effort by the VA to end veteran homelessness by 2015. This will be no small feat. One of the representatives at the Chicago summit shared that I believe either Chicago or maybe just the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center received only 75 HUD VASH rent subsidies for veterans who are homeless!  So, if you care…call your legislative representatives, support your local VA centers and join in the “good fight” to help end veteran homelessness by 2015!

Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric K. Shinseki said it best when he remarked, “Those who have served this nation as veterans should never find themselves on the streets, living without care and without hope.” I concur without reserve.

A Bull, a Blackhawk and a Sox

by: Arthur Touchot

The U. S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs has launched a national outreach program to end veteran homelessness. The Obama administration has set a goal to end the problem by 2015.

Maureen Dyman, a Chicago-based spokeswoman for the VA, says former pro athletes have lent their names and star power to “One Team Chicago,” a local push to help. Dyman says it’s up to anybody who could encounter a homeless veteran – a police officer, a soup kitchen volunteer, or anybody else – to help homeless veterans get connected to help.

877-4-AID-VET (877-424-3838)

For the eighth year in a row, Bridge Communities, a not-for-profit transitional housing program, is organizing a county-wide event to raise money for and awareness of homeless families in DuPage County. On Saturday, November 5, approximately 2,000 of DuPage residents will sleep outside during “Sleep Out Saturday”. This year’s event will feature approximately 75 outdoor sleep out sites in DuPage yards and parking lots, with adults and students sleeping in boxes, tents and cars. The 22-year-old organization hopes to spread the message that even one “sleeper” can make a change in the life of a DuPage family needing a place to call home.

“Sleep Out Saturday” will kick off with an outdoor rally featuring NBC5 personality Rob Stafford in downtown Glen Ellyn (505 Crescent Blvd.) at 7 pm. The rally will feature music, video, and live testimonials from Bridge Communities clients. The rally is free and open to the public.

Last year, “Sleep Out Saturday” raised over $100,000 for Bridge Communities’ programs which serve more than 100 families annually in their transitional housing and shared-equity homeownership programs. The organization’s services also include life-skills mentoring, an auto program, financial counseling and employment training. With clients having an even harder time staying employed and making ends meet, Bridge Communities has increased the services it provides to them.

Anyone is invited to participate in Sleep Out Saturday or to make a contribution. Just one person is powerful enough to make a change. Please text the word “Bridge” to 20222 to donate $10 which will be added to your next mobile bill.

For more information on Sleep Out Saturday, to participate, or to sponsor a “sleeper”, call (630) 545-0610 or visit. www.sleepoutsaturday.org. Check out Sleep Out Saturday on Facebook too.

Zoe shares in her spread, “Today I’m putting myself through Northwestern University, and I devote all my free time to my business. I’ve sold more than 300 one-of-a-kind pieces—enough to pay for most of my tuition. But my business isn’t what I’m most proud of. I donate clothes to fashion shows for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. Ticket sales raise money for people who grew up like I did. I know there’s a girl out there who dreams of designing but can’t afford a sewing machine. If I can show her how to make a better life for herself, then I’ll know I’ve succeeded.”

A graduate of Whitney M. Young Magnet School in Chicago, Damacela challenged herself as both a student and an entrepreneur. While the rigorous curriculum prepared her for academics at Northwestern, she found her niche in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship program at Young. The program, which seeks to give low-income students access to lessons about business and entrepreneurship, gave Damacela the core, practical skills she needed to round out her business. She learned to how to develop her entire brand, and took valuable lessons from her novice mistakes. That $13 dress she sold in high school, she realized, would be worth at least a couple hundred dollars. (North NorthWestern)

Damacela has had the opportunity to meet with President Obama, appear on the Tyra Banks show, and many other opportunities. It is non-profit organizations like North Side, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and the numerous others that offer a chance to start again for so many people no matter the age, gender or color.