Walking Journal #10

PROMPT: In your last two blog posts many of you commented on the amount and condition of the homeless population in Reno's downtown areas. Likewise, you noted the very different senses of place you encountered between downtown and your own neighborhoods. I would like you to discuss homelessness in our city. Jim Burklo, in his essay "Houselessness and Homelessness," makes a distinction between those who are houseless---the condition of people without a proper place to dwell--- and homelessness---the condition of people who are not entrenched in their community, though they may have a fine place to live. He suggests that those people we traditionally think of as homeless are actually merely houseless because they are more aware of the environmental factors with which they must contend than those who live in relative comfort and safety. With this in mind, I want you to revisit either the riverwalk or the casino district and to speak directly about what you observe in regards to homelessness/houselessness while you are there.

Especially in larger cities, a common sight is the hurried businessman, head down, working away on a smart phone while barely aware of his surroundings except to avoid bumping into people. These people are all too common: not aware of their surroundings, and not embedded within their community. While they may have a house, do they really have a home in the community? On the other hand, the homeless population is finely tuned into the place in which they live: more aware of the happenings that most of us just take for granted. While they may not have proper shelter or a house, do they have more of a “home” than many of us?

I considered this idea that while “houseless,” the homeless population may have more of a home in the town than the majority of people on a walk through downtown. There is a sense of distance from the community by many of the “locals”: the businessmen and everyday townspeople of Reno. They wander the streets, sometimes hurried and sometimes just groups out with friends, but how are they really connected to the town? Maybe they are connected to the town through volunteering or some other form of involvement, but the sad fact is that the majority of people that live in an area are probably not immensely involved in that place. The majority of these people probably do not go to city council meetings on a regular basis, and probably aren't all that involved within the community. Many people are quite selfish: they care for themselves and the ones that they care for, but expecting the everyday person to care for the community as well may be a stretch. But even at that, even just by living in a place, there is involvement. The people, while they may be indifferent as to many community affairs, still partake in community activities in small ways, like buying groceries from local businesses. However, while subconsciously involved, they are still “homeless” when compared to those who are merely houseless.

The difference between houseless and homeless is quite ironic: those that are at the bottom of the community are at the top in involvement, and vice versa. The sad fact is that many people living in an area just don’t care enough to be immensely involved. Those that are the most involved are the people who don’t have a proper house, and have made a home within the town.