Homelessness and Poverty

Understanding the primacy of poverty in the lives of the people who are homeless is key to offering literacy opportunities that are relevant. One American study indicated that "when given a chance to describe their own needs, people are more likely to stress first their economic problems"22 rather than education. A needs assessment of one group of homeless women indicated that finding a home was their first priority, and that gaining literacy skills was not even mentioned.23

Our own experience also suggests the inadequacy of an approach that focuses on education as the single solution to economic problems. Most literacy programs are well aware of their learners' struggles to find and keep housing and jobs. Many learners are hungry when they come to literacy programs, affecting their ability to learn. Still, as literacy programs struggle to survive in an atmosphere of cutbacks, they often have to justify their existence by stressing outcomes and speaking in the language of the marketplace. One of the few analytical Canadian articles about literacy and homelessness notes the irony of the coexistence of literacy for empowerment and literacy for global competitiveness within the same literacy program. The article lauds Frontier College, which works to provide accessible learning opportunities "whenever and wherever people congregate." Yet it points out that Beat the Street, - a pioneering literacy program for marginalized street youth - and The Workplace Literacy program, which promotes itself on the grounds of maintaining economic competitiveness, coexist within Frontier College. The article identifies this dichotomy as "clear pointer to current trends in literacy work in industrialized countries."24

Some theorists go so far as to argue that "rather than enfranchising people... (literacy) is ulterior and uniquely devoted to Western economic ends... (it) uses literacy and literacy standards to maintain privilege and parcel disadvantage."25

Whether we believe these findings or take them with a grain of salt, they do challenge us to consider why and how we want to do literacy work with people who are homeless. What are their needs and desires? How does improving their literacy skills relate to their needs and desires?

Literacy skills in themselves will not necessarily end poverty or ensure that people are housed. Literacy is, however, a tool that people can choose to use for personal and social empowerment.

A Brief History of Literacy and Homelessness Work

In Toronto

In 1995, there were at least ten drop-ins, shelters, literacy programs, and institutions in Toronto doing some form of literacy and homelessness work. Although some programs informally shared advice and support, it is fair to say that most of them developed independently and in isolation from each other. The immediate demands of working in a drop-in or shelter, insufficient funding, and a focus on work with a particular group or neighborhood all worked to perpetuate this isolation. As a result, homeless learners had a low profile in the literacy community, and a wealth of experience was left untapped.


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