As we settle into 2010, poor people, and homeless people in particular, are getting their collective asses kicked, and the gap between perception and reality only seems to widen. As someone who thinks, talks and writes about this stuff ad nauseum, I find myself continually asking: why? Here's my idea.
Perception: The major institutional players are building the political will to end homelessness. Led by the top levels of local and federal government, big philanthropy, powerhouse service providers with multimillion-dollar budgets, and even downtown business interests, there is a deep buy-in toward the shared goal of ending homelessness. Slowly, incrementally, this goal is being achieved. Housing and services, strategically targeted to the "chronically homeless" frequent flyers who are the biggest drain on public resources, will eventually lead to the end of homelessness. The influential and powerful are aligned toward a common lofty goal. This is how social change occurs. We're all on the same team.
Reality: The neoliberal social policies that flow from the fundamental reality of globalization are determinative. Inequality is widening, as it has for more than 30 years. The numbers of poor are growing and the resources to mitigate their growing suffering are declining. We are witnessing the End of Empire Fire Sale, in which our political process shovels money to the rich at the expense of the poor for as long as possible before the whole damn thing collapses. Meanwhile, the incarceral society has trumped the welfare state, and the economically disenfranchised are being dehumanized, criminalized and contained. All of this is hidden in plain sight. Yet, somehow, most of us don't see it. Whatever possibility for change that exists in this hell will be brought into the world, kicking and screaming, by those with the most to lose. Our only hope is in movement building, with those who are most affected in the leadership
Like the song asks, "Which side are you on? This question, I think, is where strategy begins. One's point of view begins with where one stands. Here at Real Change, we know where we stand.
Here's somewhere to begin. Real Change has recently combined our various communications on the newspaper, our organizing, and upcoming events into one weekly email. Sign up. Go to realchangenews.org and click "Join Now."