Vincent James Baltiero – In Motion Special
When most people think of the homeless, they tend to think of someone living on the street.
They may picture a panhandler who is visibly dirty, or someone wearing old, torn up clothing, sitting on the corner. This is technically correct. Those people are, in fact, homeless.
There is, however, a different type of homelessness that is becoming more and more prevalent in millennial and Gen Z young adults. It’s what is known as hidden homelessness.
Many college students are finding themselves in a situation where, despite working more than full time, they are unable to afford housing. So they end up sleeping in their cars.
Go to any Walmart parking lot at night and do a WI-FI scan on your phone and find multiple hotspots. This is a list of those who are setting up shop after a day of work, school and other responsibilities. They use their smartphone hotspots to provide laptops an Internet connection so they can do homework, while trying to relax as much as they can. The glow of screens shining out of covered car windows, the sounds of streaming television shows playing faintly are a dead giveaway of their predicament.
These are working people, who can just afford to maintain their vehicles, phones and daily expenses. Many are working jobs through what is known as the gig economy. Services like Uber, Postmates, Lyft and others allow for independent contractor work with more than full time hours, but with none of the benefits or consistency of being an actual employee. It is easy for those working these types of jobs to get caught in the cycle of hidden homelessness.
Such dilemmas are not seen on the surface because those who are stuck in it do their best to maintain appearances. It is common for the hidden homeless to have a membership at a 24-hour gym, allowing them a place to shower. Laundromats help them to keep their clothes clean.
Still, it is a constant struggle to keep themselves presentable for work and school. HomelessHub, a Canadian organization that studies and assists the homelessness epidemic in North America, listed the definition of hidden homelessness as those who are “provisionally accommodated” or “couch surfing,” which means temporarily staying with different friends.
This is the case for a lot of displaced young adults, although many are not fortunate enough to have a place to stay periodically. To take a break from sleeping in their cars, people often utilize services like Airbnb, where they rent a room in someone’s home for a night. It can be argued that services like these are exacerbating the issue. Expenses like these, as well as the extra gas and other costs such as gym memberships, add up to essentially a homeless tax, keeping people in the vicious cycle.
Rabecka Collins is the Program Manager for the CCAMPIS Grant at DSC. She also works alongside the Center for Women and Men. She says, “Homeless students are able to apply for a tuition waiver. To prove their status, they need documentation, typically from a shelter.”
But she acknowledges that many students do not use shelters, often staying in their cars. “I often direct these students to Urban Ministries to meet with a representative and be entered into their system, which then can be used to confirm their status.”
Collins adds that, Iin addition to providing the waiver there’s also a food pantry, 31-day bus pass and laundry services.”
Many of these young people are fortunate enough to at least have a vehicle, or some other advantages to keep themselves from being stuck on the stree, or in jail. Others are not as lucky.
Michael Craig is a teacher at a juvenile prison in St. Johns County. He interacts with young offenders who turned to crime, since they has no other means of survival.
Craig explains that “Poverty greatly effects young students. A student whose family lives in poverty is extremely less likely to come from a family that places emphasis on education. Lack of education, or being behind educationally, greatly impedes career opportunity. This, in turn, keeps a cycle of poverty going and education harder to keep up with.”
Truth be told, there are different classes of the homeless. There are those living on the street, stuck with barely anything. There are those who turn to crime and end up incarcerated. Then there are the hidden homeless. Most of these situations stem from poverty and lack of upward mobility, others from mental illness.
In regards to the hidden homeless, they may be at the great disadvantage since you can’t help those who can’t be seen.