HOMELESSNESS IS PREVALENT IN NATIVE AMERICAN NATIONS, TOO

Across the nation, homelessness is increasing. From the towering heights of a city to the long highways of the back country, homelessness can be seen. One community which also faces homelessness are the Native American nations of San Diego County. While this issue is no stranger to Indigenous people, it is being handled differently, and looks different than other types of homelessness, on Native reserves. Let me explain.

In the inner city, we may see people living on streets, sleeping in storefronts or occupying tents under viaducts or along freeways. But on my reservation — that of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel — those who live off the generosity of others while not being able to find a stable footing are seen as wanderers. They may find themselves taking on odd jobs and, because of the location of Native Reserves, this makes finding careers or other stable jobs even harder to find. All of these factors leave one living in a state of limbo and uncertainty, which sometimes leads to a disastrous cycle of substance abuse and prison.

Wanderers, as the name implies, are those who wander and hope to find a home for a single night. They generally travel from family member to family member. Most of the time we see people on the main highways near reservations simply walking with large packs and dirty clothes. It is a painful sight, knowing that these people may not even have a roof and may head to a tribal office to find a bench or some shelter.

With no real home or anyone to permanently open their doors for them, many wanderers find themselves without a shower for days or weeks on end and are willing to work long hard hours for meager pay or even a small sandwich. While many search for a home, some find shelter in older abandoned buildings or houses. This in turn leads to squatter issues among tribal members, as well as endangerment of those who squat because these buildings

often have residing faults which may be a risk to those living in these abandoned houses. If one does find stable housing with a family member or loved one, this kind of housing is almost always temporary.

From what I've witnessed in life, the door is always open to someone if they need it. In my community, this is also true. Family members living with one another is a common occurrence on reservations, but issues begin to arise when whole families move into a home that was meant for only one, leading to overcrowding and rising tensions between the homeowner and the new occupants. This can sometimes lead to arguments and in some cases physical violence, which may lead a homeowner to not want to help family members who fall on hard times.

I've also seen family members living in a spare house owned by another. While this solution may seem like a permanent home, the family members can get kicked out because the owners want to use the house or give it to their own children — leaving the person who was living inside once again without a home.

Too often the plague of homelessness is accompanied by drug abuse and broken families. Many end up losing children for the simple fact of not having a house. While the idea of living in a car is always a possibility on the reservation, some people may say, “Just find a job and save money to afford a home.” Due to the location of many reservations, it is hard to find a stable medium to be able to actually save income. Many times we see that because of how far the reservation is, the money put into gas, bills and groceries leaves almost nothing to save for a house. This can leave a feeling of hopelessness that leads people to stop seeking a home and instead find a home in alcohol or drugs.

Native housing is often overlooked but could mean the difference in ending a plague of broken homes and families. While some programs exist to provide houses for natives, these programs use an outdated point-based system that functions on the amount of years waiting to receive a home. With these systems in place, it makes it even harder to gain a house if certain criteria is not met or someone simply has a larger family. Unless changes in policies and attention to detail are met, homelessness will continue to increase.