What is a Home?
This year, a home is not what you traditionally think of; it is not a necessarily a house. Though a house is an important part of having a home, it does not stop there. A home is an environment where someone can feel safe and stable and able to thrive. Not everyone in our community and in our country is able to obtain a home because of lack of a stable income, mental illnesses, disabilities, lack of resources, etc.
This year, my class will dedicate time to learning about one of America's most pressing epidemics: poverty. We will also dedicate time throughout the year to volunteer with NOAHH, or New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity, to build houses for people who are trying to pave a path towards a better life. So far in my experience with this organization, I have learned that 51% of renters paid unaffordable housing costs in New Orleans (2013) which means that people were using more than 40% of their income on housing costs. This is unacceptable in our country today because we have enough resources for everyone to live in a home in a community of united people.
One way our class looked into this epidemic was by taking a step back and looking at our homes personally. Each of us had to take our neighborhood and look at it from a resource perspective. Some things we had to find were groceries stores, hospitals, schools, restaurants, and jobs, amongst many other things. This assignment put our own lives into perspective because it showed us how different we would live if we did not have the resources that we are living with.
This summer, we read Evicted by Matthew Desmond, which followed many people through their different experiences with eviction and housing- from both a landlord's point of view and a tenant's point of view. The experiences range from a woman dealing with domestic violence and being dependent on her abuser, several people being dependent on drugs, a war veteran with a disability who is unable to find work, etc. This book greatly shaped my view of poverty because I took into account an idea that I had never explored before: government involvement.
How much federal government involvement should be allowed in this epidemic has been widely discussed in America. Whether or not housing should be a right is one question amongst many circulating in our government system today. Each of us in my class will form our own opinion on this issue.
I personally believe that the government should provide resources for people who did not receive a fair shake or cannot obtain/maintain a home by themselves. That being said, it is essential that, that person meet the government half way. In order for the government to step in, you should have to really want to make a better life for yourself and take advantage of each opportunity you find.
Kelsey Pembrook (Class of 2018) working on a Habitat for Humanity home. Photo by Maria Martello.