To Learn & Inform

My name is Chuan-Xing Ho and I am currently serving as an AmeriCorps member at the South Oakland Shelter (SOS) in Lathrup Village, an area within Southfield of the Metro Detroit area. My experience thus far has been as varied as one could imagine. For example, serving in a small office necessitates the ability to wear many different hats depending upon the situation. Sometimes, I need to hunt down information for a client, at other times I need to provide a sympathetic ear, and on other occasions I need to reach into my bag of seemingly irrelevant tricks to teach clients new, but vital skills. While my efforts have primarily been focused on assisting clients to obtain housing, I have encountered many challenges which make the task at times feel daunting.

The most significant barrier to helping clients is the sheer lack of affordable housing. According to a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, for every 100 extremely low income households (0 – 30% of Metropolitan Area Median Family Income), there are only 30 affordable and available units. Thus, even if the person has a modest income, it is almost impossible to find a housing option that is affordable. Even with an affordable housing option, a client may not be willing or able to accept a possible housing option due to transportation restrictions and safety concerns. With such restrictions, independently finding housing which meets all the necessary criteria feels almost impossible. As a result, collaboration with everyone else at SOS is essential in order to find and utilize any resources available in order for housing to be obtained. In a recent case, one of our clients could no longer afford the apartment she was currently renting which required collaboration on multiple fronts from finding the accommodation, volunteer mover coordination, liaising with both old and new management companies, and making sure that the client was provided with counseling during the transition. Thus, finding an individual a housing option is perhaps the easiest part of transitioning them to affordable housing – economic, emotional, and other factors often act as additional barriers to obtaining and maintaining housing.

Although many of the barriers I encounter cannot be solved in a manner timely enough to benefit those I am currently serving, I have found that simply raising awareness about the situation to those I meet can provide short and long-term benefits. One part of advocacy is making people aware that they can aid the homeless population in ways beyond to passing out food or helping to provide shelter including. Another part is recruiting individuals who can offer workshops related to basic education, computer skills, job searching, resume preparation, or simply supporting day-to-day shelter operations. Of course, the issue in greatest need of advocacy and change is the supply of afford housing.

If overall housing costs were lower, if more landlords were willing to work with less financially secure tenants, and if there were more funds available to support those in need, the homeless population would certainly benefit and the costs associated with homelessness would shrink drastically. While improving the supply of affordable housing is beyond the scope of my service, I certainly hope that my direct service experience will make me a better advocate for the needs of such a severely underserved population. Furthermore, I am encouraged and hopeful during my daily efforts by seeing so much energy from everyone else at the South Oakland Shelter and knowing that I am part of an active, broader movement that will end homelessness.