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Friday, February 10, 2012
River People
by T De Herrera, published on January 20, 2010 at 5:21 PM
Storyline: Sacramento Stories
I never really understood it before, but to live in Sacramento is to be surrounded by water. That may sound ludicrous, but I have lived here most of my life, spent a lot of time by the water, but not until I saw more of the world did I understand how much water is a part of where I grew up. The water around here either collects or seeps or flows into our space, and can be seen all around town and really anywhere in the region. So I like water, I like spending time by it. Even when I am out in a high desert, I will find water to be near. Here in town, I will spend a lot of time by the water on a bicycle, fishing, or just standing.
Lately, as I have been bicycle commuting, I have noticed the River People. They will be walking along the trails or standing by camps, smelling of smoke and maybe a little dirt. You may have guessed by now I am talking about the homeless people that populate the riverside in Sacramento. To see them is to feel maybe fear, disgust, or envy. The fear can be either fear of them or fear that someday you may be one of them if economic factors will make you lose everything but your life. The disgust can be that you think they may be lazy, dirty, laden with alcohol, drug, or behavioral problems, but I sometimes feel disgust that our world can create people like the river people. The envy is that they may not have many worries about jobs, rent, bills, social disgrace, health, and the million things that can make us crazy. Their worries are probably different than mine.
I am not going to offer a solution, I will only offer observation. I often think how a lot of people were without a permanent address, wandering and living in tents, huts, sheds, or out in the stars, in times past before we developed the need for permanence. I wondered if those people were happy? Do all the things we have make us happy?
This story is one of trying to feel compassion that can overcome all the other feelings. That would be my own goal in writing this down and contemplating what I have written. Take what you will, and I apologize if I offend some people. I am only trying to understand and maybe absorb some lesson from what I see. Happy.
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I don't think you have come at things, observing objectively, as your last paragraph implies was your intent.
Homelessness is much different than the stereotypes, and has changed greatly in just the last few years. There are people who fit the definitions that you give, but like any group, individuals vary greatly.
Life in Homeless World Sacramento is frustrating and time consuming. The social alienation is a burden and while the constellation of worries is different in nature from what the person had when "housed" or from what you have, there are still many worries and stressors that are more immediate and dire.
Mental illness is very common in Homeless World because our society, and homeless-help agencies, have abandoned ill people to the streets. Use of alcohol and substances is common among the homeless and addiction very difficult to overcome in this world.
It is likely the case that you have family support and don't have the character traits that would make you very suseptible to becoming homeless. People differ. Work on that compassion thing. People in Homeless World would rather be somewhere else.
"... you tend to feel at the mercy of events that threaten to overwhelm you. This creates intense fears that have a negative effect on the immune system. Studies have placed groups of rats in enclosures that give them mild electrical shocks. One set of enclosures allows the rats to stop the shock by turning a wheel or pushing a lever. The other enclosures give the rats no control whatsoever. The results of such studies invariable show that the rats with no control suffer many more health problems.
"Other studies have compared people in high-powered, stressful jobs with lower ranking employees of similar age and health. These have found that despite the pressure of their jobs, top executives tend to have a significantly lower mortality rate than their subordinates. The most important variable between these two groups is the control they have over their environment.
"Executives tend to perceive themselves as in charge of their destiny, whereas employees usually feel much more at the mercy of decisions made by others. Greater control appears to mean a more robust immune system and greater protection against stress-related disorders like high blood pressure.
"But the sense of control must be subjectively perceived or there is no benefit. ...
"If science has uncovered one important technique for managing fear and stress it is this: Try to avoid, whenever possible, circumstances in which you feel helpless and vulnerable. If this cannot be done, then, despite the circumstances, try to maintain a subjective attitude of optimism and reasonable control."
Now, consider the homeless, the people at the very very bottom of the totempole with huge obstacles in the way of affecting their destinies. THEY, THEY have the very very least control over their lives and circumstance. They fear more than they should be feared. They are the ones with greatly foreshortened lifespans and that are beset with health difficulties OR have their health difficulties worsened because they resulted in making them homeless.