Mutual Aid Networks Supporting Houselesness Immediate Needs

-

 

 

 


 

 

Houselessness is not easily attributed to a particular cause or condition. The language surrounding "homelessness" has changed within time to fit better narratives that will comfort individuals who do not want to think about their circumstances. Factors like mental illness or substance use disorder can be a contributing factor, but that is not sufficient to describe every situation. Language is important when talking about substance use disorder. Words like "addict" are dismissive, attributing to a human fault, and dehumanizing. 

 

 

Everyone has a unique situation and not reducible to a simple cause. A country with more vacant homes that account for that ratio of  31 empty units for every homeless person in the U.S is alarming. However, this contentious issue of giving housing to the homeless raises ethical, ideological, and political questions. The resolution seems simple but has its complications and bureaucratic struggles therein.


Communities have responded to support their houseless neighbor with mutual aid efforts connecting through social media to circulate their pressing needs. By following their accounts and directly donating on their Venmos or wish list, you can make a valuable contribution.  


These are just a few mutual aid networks found in the Pacific Northwest area.

 

Portland Mutual Aid Network

Venmo: @Portland Mutual Aid Network

Generic Item Wish-list


Homieshelpinghomiesseattle

Venmo+ cashapp homies4homiesseattle

 

            From The Heart PNW

             Generic Item List




By: Anahi Ortiz 


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community

-
Image
  Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community Source: Unsplash The Facts                                                                                          According to  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 233,832 are people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the United States. Of the 233,832, 50,767 are families with children.  Currently, 30% of homeless people are adult women.  (portlandoregon.gov)   Bradley Angle , which works to support survivors of  domestic violence , reported that 70% of domestic violence reports are from homeless women. ( www.kgw.com)  Homeless women are 1/3 of the fastest growing populations HUD homeless populations. ( portlandoregon.gov)   Specifically, in Por...
Read more

Understanding Homelessness

-
Image
  Source (American Addiction Centers)      Homelessness has a myriad of different reasons it can happen. The similarity between all scenarios in which a person is experiencing homelessness is that each person is human. A popular belief is that homelessness is a choice. People believe there is a set amount of circumstances that cause homelessness and that it is a choice not to fight to get out of those problems. The problems can range from mental health issues to drug addiction. There is no one size fits all, and it is not a choice.  Over the last few weeks, I have learned that there are many factors that can lead to homelessness. One big one that focuses on our class is how affordable housing, or the lack thereof, is a significant contributor to people not getting back on their feet. If you want to learn more about that subject and if affordable housing can help, click here.   This lack of affordable housing is a big roadblock for those trying to ove...
Read more

Air pollution caused by wildfires may increase risk of dementia

-
Image
  There are already more than 57 million dementia sufferers in the world, and by 2050, that figure is predicted to rise to 153 million. It is estimated that risk factors like exposure to air pollution account for up to 40% of these instances. Even when annual exposure was lower than the current EPA annual threshold of 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air (g/m3), the researchers discovered continuous evidence of a relationship between PM2.5 and dementia. The researchers discovered a 17% increase in risk for dementia for every 2 g/m3 increase in average yearly exposure to PM2.5, specifically among the studies using active case ascertainment. Despite the fact that the data was more sparse, they also discovered evidence supporting links between dementia and nitrogen oxide (5% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in yearly exposure) and nitrogen dioxide (2% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in annual exposure). According to a recent University of Michigan study, wildfi...
Read more