One of the most powerful things we can do as a species is to help one another. Do you find yourself offering assistance in some way?
One thing that sets us apart from other animals is our ability to collaborate. One human is not as fast as a cheetah, not as strong as an elephant, and not as tall as a giraffe. Ten humans working together, however, can neutralize any of these advantages.
This is why we have evolved to be social creatures. We enjoy spending time in groups. We swap stories, sing songs, and perform other bonding activities that makes it easier to work together.
An important part of that collaboration is asking for help, and another is offering help when asked. While some individuals might tend to be selfish, others are generous with their time and resources.
Are you one of those people who find yourself compelled to help others? Is there some voice in your head that calls to you to offer your aid? Some humans live their entire lives in service to others, choosing a vocation like teaching, nursing, or a similar occupation.
Others might do something as simple as helping a friend move from one residence to another. Or perhaps mowing a neighbor’s yard, shoveling their sidewalk of snow, or doing odd jobs that need doing.
There are many ways we help one another. Do you feel an urge to be helpful, or are you more concerned with yourself and your immediate family? If you look hard enough, you can always find someone who needs help, so how do you determine who gets your help and who doesn’t?
Related questions: How can you help? When have you asked for help? How can we encourage collaboration?
For my entire adult life, from being an activist to an organizer to my career as an advocate, I’ve been called to help people secure quality, stable housing. For just over half those 36 years, I’ve concentrated on ending homelessness. However, I’ve also worked to increase the availability of affordable housing in Minnesota and have committed a significant amount of time to expanding tenants’ rights and protections. My role has not focused on direct service; instead, I’ve dedicated my efforts to influencing the systems and policies that obstruct people from accessing and maintaining stable housing.
Despite the significant rise in homelessness during my career, I remain convinced that we can put an end to this injustice. When I started my activism, only a few thousand individuals were homeless each night in Minnesota. Unfortunately, the federal government has not only diminished its role in increasing the availability of affordable housing for our lowest-income neighbors but has also actively contributed to the destruction of much of the housing that those living on the margins could afford. Consequently, more vulnerable populations have found it difficult to secure affordable housing. Initially, primarily single adult men grappling with addictions and mental health issues, along with individuals fleeing violence or neglect (often women with children, plus unaccompanied youth), encountered challenges in maintaining their housing. However, soon after, thousands of families with inadequate incomes began seeking emergency shelter. Moreover, the number of homeless unaccompanied youth has also seen a significant increase over the past several decades.
Still, during this time, we’ve learned a lot about keeping people stably housed. However, the housing necessary to support everyone in need of a place to call home was and remains simply unavailable. As it stands today, Minnesota lacks over 100,000 units of affordable housing for those with the lowest incomes. This situation leaves some individuals permanently homeless. Additionally, it forces renters living in unstable and poor-quality housing to accept their current conditions, rather than advocating for improvements in the quality of their housing out of fear that their landlord will evict them or not renew their lease.
The answer to this problem is fourfold: First, we need to build more housing for low-income populations. Second, especially since the first solution will take considerable time, we need to provide subsidies to those who currently cannot compete in the constrained housing market we have endured for over 45 years. Third, we need to offer support for those struggling with other issues that make their long-term housing precarious (e.g., mental health supports). Providing support “sticks” more when people are housed rather than facing the additional struggle of finding a place to live or, at the very least, locating scarce emergency shelter on a short-term basis. Fourth, this issue becomes complex as we grapple with determining who should fund housing development (e.g., which level of government and what types of foundations) and where (i.e., should we invest more in low-income neighborhoods where many of those in need currently live and find community or in suburban areas that offer more jobs and better-funded education systems but includes significant local resistance to housing “those people”).
Adequately addressing these problems is not impossible. We’ve learned a lot about how to help people maintain housing and support systems that enable them to thrive. We also know many of the laws that need to change to keep low-income renters in quality homes.
I am committed to continuing my advocacy to address these problems because I know solutions exist.