Solving Homelessness...?

In class we watched the first three parts of "On Skid Row" by Sam Slovick. His exploration into the issue of homelessness on Skid Row in L.A. gives us a peak into a world most of us would rather not know about (or at least we live comfortably not knowing about it).

Homelessness is a huge issue in the U.S. and with the housing epidemic over the last few years, a new community of homeless has surged in numbers: families. But homelessness is an issue that most people choose to ignore, that most people believe is unsolvable, that most people are apathetic to. Why? Because if they weren't ok with being homeless than they would do something about it. Right?

Perhaps it's not that black and white. Like any issue dealing with marginalization there are plenty shades of gray involved which ultimately make dealing with or solving the problem/issue twice as difficult. Needless to say, it is a challenge. However, consider the possibly that the problem of "fixing" the problem lies in that people believe it takes only one persons solution to fix a problem. One solution; one right way to do things.

This mentality was in part used after the oil spill in the gulf, and now with the rescuing of the 33 miners in Chile, the world zooms in on the collaborative efforts that Chile put together with several other nations in order to come up with a solution. Is there something to be learned in this problem solving strategy?

In the last two video parts of his documentary learn about two other solutions to the problem that Slovick learned about while living on and documenting the community on Skid Row. In your blog, discuss your reaction to the issue on Skid Row and what other possible solution could be looked at to help solve this issue; because at the end of the day, whether you realize it or not, or want to accept it, homelessness does affect all of our citizen's lives, particularly our pockets.


Good Magazine: Skid Row Part 4: God
Good Magazine: Skid Row Part 5: Afterword

If you want to see what happens to a child who grows up in these sorts of environments check out Brenda Ann Kenneally's "Back on the Block: Andy & Tata". Brenda is a Miami native who moved to NY pursuing a masters in Photography and in this piece she follows Andy over the course of several years documenting his life through photography & video recordings.

And if you're interested in the report by Anderson Cooper on Hospital Dumping, click here
and if you want to see what others like yourself have done check out Enoch Magazine and their crew of young documentarists and what they've been doing on Skid Row as well as with prostitutes.