Be Heard!

Be Heard!

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Contextualizing Political Involvement of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness
















Contextualizing Political Involvement of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness:
“The Right to be Heard" project
Sue Ativalu, Cynnamon Davis, Emily Horton, Wendy Sorensen,
Arielle Spanvill, Josh Tipton
University of Utah






















What is the issue/problem the community has decided to focus on?
Our group has decided to focus on issues of voting and political involvement among individuals experiencing homelessness.  Our three main goals are to connect with the homeless population in Salt Lake City in order to gain an understanding of the issues that they are concerned with, to identify current city, county, state and national issues that affect this population, and to create an opportunity to raise awareness of these issues and facilitate ways for the homeless population to make their voices heard.  We can further understand the context of our focus by identifying key stakeholders, actors, and individuals important to the political participation of individuals experiencing homelessness.  We are looking at this problem from a variety of angles to help us better understand the situation in its entirety and comprehend the barriers that may inhibit political participation.  Individuals experiencing homelessness appear to be under-represented in elections; however this is difficult to track statistically as a fixed address is required in order to vote.  Our preliminary research reveals that homeless individuals are also less likely to make their voices heard through participation in non-voting political action.
For our macro group project we plan to meet with homeless individuals and other stakeholders in the community to understand the issue of political involvement from their perspective.  Key questions include: What barriers to political involvement are faced by the population?  What changes do they feel would benefit their community?  How would the population like to be involved in the political process?  And, what intervention(s) could our project use to help facilitate political involvement?  We are still in the beginning stages of meeting with the community and stakeholders.  We have a meeting set up later in December with the Fourth Street Clinic consumer advisory board, and are exploring the benefits of organizing a focus group and/or distributing and collecting a needs assessment survey to gather further data about the issue.  Once we have gathered sufficient data from the community we will create a plan driven by the feedback we receive from the target population.  The input we gain from the homeless community and other stakeholders will guide the focus of our macro project next semester.
What is causing the issue/problem?
Some of the underlying issues that are causing this problem are due to previous voting barriers that have been put in place throughout United States history.   Historically, voting laws have been a way of disenfranchising certain populations.  These populations including ethnic minorities, women, poor and even young adults have all had to fight for their rights to participate in one of the the foundations of American democracy, public elections.  Originally, only white male citizens who owned property were eligible to participate in elections.  Qualifications of who could be considered a citizen, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” (U.S. Const. Amend. XIV) came through the 14th Amendment.  Restrictions on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude" (U.S. Const. Amend. XV) were outlawed through the 15th Amendment in 1870, which essentially meant non-white men were legally allowed to vote.  Men of color still faced harassment, intimidation, economic reprisals, physical violence and regional restrictions enforced through “literacy tests” which famously asked “how many bubbles are in a bar of soap” (Daniels, 2008).  Women were not allowed to vote until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920.  The 24th Amendment declared the “right of citizens of the United States to vote… shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.” (U.S. Const. Amend. XXIV)  Poll taxes, a fee for service which purportedly generated the funds to cover the costs of running polling stations, helped to keep marginalized poor white and black Americans from participating in elections.  A senator from Mississippi was quoted as saying, "If the poll tax bill passes, the next step will be an effort to remove the registration qualification, the educational qualification of Negroes.  If that is done we will have no way of preventing the Negroes from voting" (Daniels, 2008).  The Voting Rights Act of 1965 created new laws in effort to prevent any “voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote.” (2006)  While the use of poll taxes in national elections had been abolished by the 24th Amendment, the Voting Rights Act directed the Attorney General to challenge the use of poll taxes in state and local elections.  In 1971 the 26th Amendment further expanded voting rights stating that “the right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.” (U.S. Const. Amend. XXVI)  This was in reaction to protests against the Vietnam War and how the draft was making soldiers of 18 year olds who were not allowed to vote in a country they could be sent off to die for.  
There still exist various voter registration laws which complicate who can participate in elections.  Having been convicted of a felony restricts the voting opportunity for nearly six million, or 2.5 percent, of the US voting age population.  The de facto consequence of this law is that almost 8% of adult African Americans are ineligible to vote because of convictions, compared to 1.8% of the rest of the adult population (Pilkington, 2012).  In thirty one states there are voter identification laws requiring some form of identification at the polls.  In order to vote in Utah, one must be: at least 18 years old on or before Election Day, a United States citizen, a resident of Utah for at least 30 days before Election Day, and have not been officially declared mentally incompetent.  Proof of residence documents, which include the voter’s name and current residential address, are required at the polls for all statewide or municipal elections.  Acceptable documents include; a current and valid driver license or state identification card; other official identification card or license issued by a state governmental body; real estate tax bill or receipt for the current year or the year preceding the date of the election; university, college, or technical college identification card, which includes a photo; a utility bill for the period commencing no earlier than 90 days before Election Day; a bank statement; a paycheck; or a check or other document issued by a unit of government. (State of Utah, 2014)  Many of the above listed requirements can be difficult to provide if you are unemployed, not a student, or homeless.  In fact, most of the above listed acceptable documents are directly associated with having an established place of residence where you pay bills.  
In addition to the existing regulations that make it more difficult for homeless individuals to vote, there are many additional barriers to political engagement for this population.  Many homeless individuals may lack transportation to polling places or to community meetings about issues that affect them.  They may also lack resources to educate themselves about political issues and the exact requirements to vote, so may mistakenly believe that they can not vote because of a past criminal charge or because of their current living situation.  Additionally, “due to the transient nature of this population, it is often difficult to determine where an individual was last registered” (Miller & Gonzales, 2002) leaving the individual confused about where to vote.  Another barrier is that the homeless population “have so often experienced systematic disenfranchisement that they have little reason to believe that their vote matters.” (Miller & Gonzales, 2002).   
Another important barrier to political involvement among homeless populations is that individuals are often focused on much more basic needs such as securing food, shelter and safety, and thus may not feel that political or community involvement is a priority at the moment.  This can be illustrated by an experience that one of the authors, Emily Horton, recently had while working as a case manager for formerly homeless individuals who are in supportive housing programs.  Emily was helping a client fill out an application for Medicaid benefits. The application prompts the applicant to choose to register to vote at their current address.  Emily read the question aloud and the client responded with a very firm “no,” and stated that she had too much going on in her life to care about voting and that she did not believe her vote would make any difference.  The client had recently lost custody of her children, was having difficulty meeting basic needs such as food, and transportation, and had a severe toothache she could not access medical care to address.
What are the effects/consequences of the problem?
Low income and homeless populations consistently “vote at a lower rate than people with higher incomes.” (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2012)  At the same time homeless individuals are impacted by decisions related to economic and social issues that higher income individuals do not face.  When issues such as living wage, affordable housing, affordable health care and social welfare programs are discussed, the homeless population does not have easy access to voicing their position and are therefore silenced by the political process. (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2012).  Lawmakers continue to effectively criminalize homelessness creating and implementing discriminatory laws under the banner of maintaining public safety, and improving municipal image. (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2013).  Often legislation that disrupts the lives of homeless populations occurs without the input of the affected population.  
David Rosendorf an attorney with expertise in homeless issues asserts, “Voting is the one fundamental right essential to the preservation of all other rights.” (Devlin, 2009) While many people take this right for granted, for homeless individuals this fundamental right is often not even a choice and lack access to having a voice in the political process produces a lack of self-worth and dignity. (Devlin, 2009)  According to Cardinale (2004) the inability to participate in our democratic process fosters alienation and distrust in disenfranchised individuals. It only makes sense that when we weaken civic involvement we weaken the systems that strengthen us as a country thereby creating anger and resentment amongst a group of individuals that have been abandoned by the process.  Cardinale reports that the individuals in his report said they felt like “outsiders” and “rejected” by society. They reported having feelings of apathy and loss of dignity as citizens of the United States.  If we continue to alienate segments of our citizenship population, we will continue to exacerbate mistrust of our federal and local governments. The report highlights issues concerning negative feelings about citizenship, alienation and distrust, and anger and apathy (Cardinale, 2004).  If a population is not represented in the fundamental process of how our country operates then we continue to perpetuate the distance between the “haves” and “have nots.”
Who is the population most affected by these issues?  
Although many marginalized populations are affected by a lack of participation in the political process we are focusing specifically on the homeless population.  In Utah in 2013 over 15,000 adults experienced homelessness, which is about one half of one percent of Utah’s total population.  The homeless population in Utah is quite varied, and does not necessarily fit typical stereotypes about people experiencing homelessness.  Nearly half of the homeless population in Utah is comprised of parents and children, while single men make up only 29% of those experiencing homelessness.  Three percent of this homeless population in Utah experience “chronic” or very long term homelessness while most only stay in homeless shelters for less than two weeks.  A popular myth is that the homeless population is transient, migrating to cities with the best services, however 88% of Utah’s homeless population lived in Utah when they became homeless. (Wrathall, et al., 2013)  
Homelessness exposes individuals and families to traumatic events which often aggravate their current circumstances and challenge their ability to access needed resources and regain self-sufficiency.  Homeless persons often utilize emergency services such as emergency rooms, police and ambulances more than the stably-housed and tend to have more jail stays due to their increased exposure to outdoor elements, violence, and other unsafe or unhealthy environments.  About 73% of all homeless persons experience mental illness, domestic violence or other barriers to stable housing. (Wrathall, et al., 2013)  Additionally, many homeless individuals have “experienced oppression through acts of racism, sexism, ableism, harsh working conditions,highly bureaucratized medical care, being shamed by family and friends for their economic conditions, being pressured into prostitution, and turning to drugs and alcohol to cope with deep emotional pain.” (Brubaker, Garrett, Rivera, & Tate, 2010)
Who are the other stakeholders/actors?
The most important stakeholder in the issue is the homeless population that we are hoping to partner with in working toward change.  Additional stakeholders are other low income populations who may be affected by the same policies around housing and social services, agencies that serve the homeless population, government officials including political candidates and city and state governmental bodies, and all citizens who live near to or interact with the homeless population in Utah.  Any of these stakeholders may face barriers that cause a lack of involvement or enthusiasm for this issue of political involvement from the homeless community, but also have much to gain if it is achieved.
We are planning to reach out to stakeholders, particularly homeless service agencies including the Fourth Street Clinic, Volunteers of America, the Veteran’s Administration and The Road Home, to engage them in our macro project.  The National Coalition for the Homeless has done work nationally to promote engagement in voter registration and education by homeless service agencies.  They have found that many agencies have not previously engaged in this work because they think that they are not allowed to assist with voter registration, staff believe that clients are not interested or they do not have the resources. (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2012)  Agencies with limited resources may be more focused on providing basic needs services as opposed to tackling social justice issues.
There are many benefits to be gained from increased political and community participation among the homeless population.  While “homeless people are often overlooked, misunderstood, and marginalized...the homeless community can collectively form a voting block to help shape the laws that most affect them, especially when small vote margins decide elections” (Miller & Gonzales, 2002)  This voting block could make a big difference in creating social policy that would affect lives beyond the percentage of the Utah population that is experiencing homelessness.  Political and community involvement can help homeless service and government agencies learn what the needs of the homeless population truly are and become better able to meet them.  Finally, this involvement can help entire communities increase “their awareness of society’s stigmatization and marginalization of homeless” (Fisher, 2012) with potentially far reaching effects.
Conclusion
Gaining a greater understanding of the issues and challenges regarding the homeless population voting, taking part in political processes and having a voice in decisions that affect them is just the beginning of our macro project.  We have explored a variety of causes and consequences to our problem  which is giving us a better scope of the issues at hand.  A part of the work we are doing as social workers is to objectively look at our own biases and agendas, so it does not negatively influence our decision making when choosing an intervention.  We continue to gather information from all stakeholders, specifically from homeless individuals, to ensure we have the necessary information we need to formulate  an effective intervention that is informed by the needs and concerns of the targeted population. Overall we hope this may help in our goal towards supporting the homeless population in having their voice heard; because everyone deserves this right.



References
Brubaker, M. D., Garrett, M. T., Rivera, E. T., & Tate, K. A. (2010). Justice Making in Groups for Homeless Adults: The Emancipatory Communitarian Way. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 124-133.

Cardinale, M. (2004). Triple-decker disenfranchisement: First-person accounts of losing the right to vote among poor, homeless Americans with a felony conviction. The Sentencing Project

Daniels, G. R. (2008). A Vote Delayed is a Vote Denied: A Preemptive Approach to Eliminating Election Administration Legislation that Disenfranchises Unwanted Voters. University of Louisville Law Review, 57-112.

Devlin, S. (2009). "I lost my home, don't take my voice!" Ensuring the Voting Rights of the Homeless Through Negotiated Rulemaking. Journal of Dispute Resolution.

Fisher, C. (2012). Transforming Communities: Faith Based Social Justice Group Work with Homeless. National Association of Christians in Social Work.

Miller, J., & Gonzales, P. (2002). Symposium Constructive Disenfranchisement: The Problems of Access and Ambiguity Facing the American Voter: "I Matter! I Vote!" Overcoming the Disenfranchisement of Homeless and Formerly Homeless Voters. Temple Political and Civil Rights Law Review.

National Coalition for the Homeless. (2012). Voting Rights: Registration Manual: You Don't Need a Home to Vote. Washington, DC: National Coalition for the Homeless.

National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. (2013). Cruel, inhuman, and degrading: Homelessness in the united states under the international covenant on civil and political rights. National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty: Submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Committee.

Pilkington, E. (2012, July 13). Felon voting laws to disenfranchise historic number of Americans in 2012. The Guardian.

State of Utah. (2014, December 6). Election Day Requirements. Retrieved from Vote.Utah.Gov: vote.utah.gov/vote/menu/requirements.html

U.S. Const. amend. XIV. (n.d.).

U.S. Const. amend. XV. (n.d.).

U.S. Const. amend. XXIV. (n.d.).

Voting Rights Act of 1965. (2006). 42 U.S.C. § 1973.

Wrathall, J., Day, J., Ferguson, M., Hernandez, A., Ainscough, A., Steadman, K., . . . Tolman, A. (2013). Comprehensive Report on Homelessness. Salt Lake City: State of Utah.

Monday, December 1, 2014

If you don't vote it might be because you have other complaints.


I had two conversations about voting with formerly homeless individuals today at work that I thought were interesting and relevant to our project.  The Department of Workforce Services application (for benefits like Medicaid and foodstamps) includes a question at the end that asks if the applicant would like to be registered to vote at their current address.  This must have been included at some point in an attempt to increase participation in voting.

While helping two different clients with this application I read the question out loud asking both of them if they would like to be registered to vote.  They both gave me a very firm no.  One was more vocal about her feelings and explained that she has too much going on in her life to care about voting, and she did not seem to think that her vote would make much of a difference.  Both of these clients are experiencing very significant family stressors and an inability to meet their basic needs.  One of them had a severe toothache, and repeatedly apologized to me because her mouth was swollen and she had difficulty talking.  Her primary goal in completing the DWS application was to secure medical coverage to address the toothache.  The thought came to my mind that I was perhaps asking her to concern herself with a higher order need at a time when her lower order needs were screaming out to be met.

These experiences made me think about how one of the very big barriers to political participation in the homeless community is the fact that being politically active is much higher up one's list of needs compared to food, shelter, medical care, and knowing that your family is safe.  I think this is probably one of the key barriers, and one that I do not know how to overcome.

Group Updates:
Since our last blog post we have all been working together to gather sources in preparation for our final paper and are looking forward to diving more deeply into our project next semester.  Some things that we are currently working on include:
-Sue is scheduling a group at VOA Detox with a specific group of clients who are chronically homeless and remain in detox for a longer period of time while they work on attending treatment and attaining permanent housing.  In this group they will do the needs assessment and have discussion around the issue of voting and political involvement in the homeless community.
-Wendy is planning to distribute the needs assessment to clients living at Freedom Landing, which is a housing program for homeless veterans.
-Josh is writing the first draft of our paper, and we will all work together to finalize it over the next two weeks.
-I looked up the 2013 Comprehensive Report on Homelessness done by the state of Utah (http://jobs.utah.gov/housing/documents/homelessness2013.pdf), which has a lot of interesting information about homelessness in Utah.  It is estimated that slightly over 15,000 people experienced homelessness in the state in 2013.






Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Latest Needs Assessment Survey

We got some good feedback from Lindsay on our needs assessment survey so I tweaked it a bit. Please let me know if you want to make any other changes. Also I changed the format of the blog because it was driving me nuts. :)  Here is the latest version.
Thanks, Sue

The purpose of this survey is to gain a better understanding of citizen concerns about voting and our community. We appreciate your help and participation.
To preserve your confidentiality please do not put your name on the survey.

Gender ?: ______________

Age Group: ___ under 18 ___ 18-25 ___ 26-35 ___ 36-55 ___56-65 ___ over 65

Education: ___Some high school ___ High school diploma/GED ___ Some College/ Trade School ___ Associates Degree ___ Bachelors Degree/Trade School Degree 

1. How long have you lived in the Salt Lake area? _________________

2. As a person who lives in Salt Lake City, please list 3 things that you feel are the biggest issues or concerns facing this community?
     1.
     2. 
     3. 

3. What do you think could be done to address these issues?

4. What barriers do you face that prevent you from voting?

5. Do you want to vote? If so why or why not?

6. Have you voted in the past? If so what motivated you to vote?

7. Additional Comments:

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

November 20,2014 (by Arielle Spanvill)

We have all be actively working on different areas of our project. Here are our latest updates:
Ø  We have continually been looking at articles and other media sources for information that may help and enrich our project. We have included one of the more recent articles that we thought was interesting.

Ø  We have a meeting scheduled with the Consumer Advisory Board at 4th Street Clinic on December 17th @ 6 pm. And are hoping to meet individually with a member of the board who seems excited about our project.

Ø  We have also completed a rough draft of our needs assessment survey: 

RECENT ARTICLE:
Enfranchising Homeless Clients: A Resource Guide to Voter Registration for Health Care for the Homeless Projects by Lynn A Martin. This article is about empowering homeless people by helping them register to vote and understanding how to use a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to organize voter registration drives.

Bill Would Expand Voting Rights for the Homeless by Jen Rini. This article talks about a Delaware Bill 378 that states that an individual has the right to receive necessary identity documentation for registering and voting. Representative Bolden identified three categories for the homeless population as: The Working Poor, Individuals on Disabilities, and Those who have drug and alcohol abuse problems.

After organizing registration assistance and transportation to polling location for the transitional and chronically homeless veterans at Freedom Landing, I discussed with my supervisor or conducting a survey for the residents to gain perspective on ideas surrounding voting for this population. I will create a survey and present it to my supervisor and to our macro group for comments and ideas.

ENFRANCHISING HOMELESS CLIENTS
A Resource Guide to Voter Registration for Health Care for the Homeless Projects
By Lynn A. Martin

FINDINGS
·         This guide is about empowering homeless people by helping them to register to vote.
·         Become familiar with your states’ policies regarding voter registration
·         Ex-felons right to vote vary by state
·         All non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations are permitted by law to organize voter registration drives
·         Organize a FAQ sheet for homeless persons who have questions about registration such as eligibility:
o   A citizen of United States
o   A legal resident of your state
o   At least 18 years old by election day
o   Not declared mentally incompetent by a court (check state policy)
o   Not felon/ex-felon (check state policy)
·         In most states your home address can be a geographical description of where you live or spend most of your time. You may be able to use the address of a friend, family member, or shelter.
·         Voter ID requirements (see attached)
·         Voter Registration Form
·         Sample Cover Letter to Candidate
·         Sample questionnaire for candidates for federal office
 BILL WOULD EXPAND VOTING RIGHTS FOR THE HOMELESS
By Jen Rini (6/13/14)
1.         FINDINGS
·         House Bill 378 (Delaware) states an individual has the right to vote, register to vote, and receive documentation necessary to prove identity for voting without discrimination due to his or her housing status.
·         This bill offers protection from discrimination while individuals are on the streets and when seeking access to housing, employment, and temporary shelter
·         Rep Bolden said she sees three categories of homeless:
o   The working poor
o   Individuals on disabilities
o   Those who have drug and alcohol abuse problems

ROUGH DRAFT OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT:

The purpose of this survey is to gain a better understanding of citizen concerns about voting and our community. We appreciate your help.
To preserve your confidentiality please do not put your name on the survey.

Gender: ____ female ____ male
Age Group: ___ under 18 ___ 18-25 ___ 26-35 ___ 36-55 ___56-65 ___ over 65
Education: ___ high school ___ college ___ graduate school
How long have you lived in the Salt Lake area? _________________

1. What barriers do you face that prevent you from voting?

2. Do you want to vote? If so why or why not?

3. Have you voted in the past? If so what motivated you to vote?

4. As a person who lives in Salt Lake City, please list 3 things that you feel are the biggest issues or concerns facing this community?
            1.
            2.
            3.
5. What do you think could be done to address these issues?


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

BLOG FOR NOVEMBER 7 (By Wendy Sorensen)


BLOG FOR NOVEMBER 7

WENDY SORENSEN
I read the following article and shared with the group:

Voting Rights: Registration Manual. You don’t need a Home to Vote. A report from National Coalition for the Homeless.  This report is designed to provide ideas to help overcome obstacles that prevent homeless people from registering. It was helpful information in prompting me to organize a registration and transportation drive for veterans at the VA Freedom Landing facility. 

I also took the information I read in the Voting Rights Registration Manual and discussed it with my practicum supervisor at the VA homeless housing facility called Freedom Landing. I coordinated a program to help register veterans to vote and also coordinated transportation on the voting day, November 4, to enable veterans to exercise their right to vote more easily. Approximately six veterans took advantage of the program. 

I attended the Fall Veterans Honoring & Outreach dinner for American Indian Veterans at the Urban Indian Center. There were approximately 30 to 40 veterans and their families who were honored. They encouraged veterans to get discuss their needs and get involved in change.

ARIELLE SPANVILLE
Hey guys here are some articles:


This one talks about the fourth amendment and the homeless which maybe too far out of scope, although it has some good stats


Has anyone looked into project H.O.M.E. or the MiKinney Act or the Supreme Court ruling on Reynolds v Sims?  Also since we just discussed theories of poverty in class, maybe looking at constructive disenfranchisement as a theory. 

EMILY HORTON AND SUE ATIVALU
I would love to go meet with the Consumer Advisory Board.  Let me know when you schedule and I'll try to make it. Sue and I were working on putting together a list of needs assessment type questions to ask in a group she is planning to do at Cornerstone, related to political and community involvement.  Below are my questions, thought that might be good to include in the blog:

Did you vote in the last presidential election?
Did you vote in the last non-presidential election?
How many times have you voted in the last 5 years?
Do you plan to vote in the upcoming election?
What barriers do you face that prevent voting?
Do you want to vote?
Do you feel that your vote would make a difference?
Have you ever been to a city council meeting? Or taken political or other action to make change in your community in another way?
What community issues affect your life?  Are there any of these you would like to take action to change?  Any ideas about how you would do that?

I heard back from one of the members from Consumer Advisory Board with the 4th Street Clinic.  He is pretty passionate about the topic and wants to schedule a time to meet.  Does anyone want to join when I set this up?  Or if anyone has any questions they would like posed, please let me know.