According to the code of ethics for health educators, “we have an obligation to act on the basis of what we know.” As an advocate who works with the homeless, and a graduate student studying the social and cultural factors that influence health in our region, I feel compelled to join the conversation that’s been going on in the Herald’s pages throughout this year on homelessness.
Much of the reporting that has been published locally, and certainly many of the comments, discusses homelessness as a problem that Durango is faced with, as if men, women and children have invaded this town. Homelessness is not a problem to be eliminated. It is a problem that belongs to us.
Homelessness cannot be solved through just one method or by just one actor alone. Heck, just about anyone in any line of work, either in the private sector or the public, would acknowledge that complex problems require collaboration.
If we aren’t united as a community in our goal, then we will have no impact.
As we argue publicly about whether to keep a camp for the homeless open, whether to fund permanent housing and whether or not the homeless population is comprised of menaces and freeloaders, have we considered the emotions and beliefs that are driving both sides?
My personal opinion, based on years of work and study, is that people who come without homes to Durango from surrounding areas aren’t outsiders invading our community and looking for free help. They are members of our broader community.
We share this land with them. What occurs in the border towns, in outlying rural areas and reservation lands should inform our policy and shape our funding priorities.
What occurs there? This isn’t breaking news. High rates of poverty, domestic violence, joblessness, trauma and bad health outcomes have persisted there for generations. These are factors driving homelessness. As a community with more resources than anywhere else in the area, we have some responsibility to address the underlying causes.
My frustration toward others who don’t share my same view of the problem is, however, senseless. As educators, health officials and journalists, we haven’t fulfilled our obligation to step up to educate the public about what we know.
How many people who have written comments on the Herald’s articles have carefully considered the root causes of homelessness? Who among us has spoken or reported about the history of poverty, of inter-generational trauma, of racism and inequality, of the lack of access to medical or mental health treatment, as driving forces of the perpetuation of homelessness?
The complexity of health and income disparities that persist throughout the rural Southwest must be discussed by us as a community, and much more often.
Before I see interviews of town residents expressing their personal views about homelessness on the front page of the paper, I want to see reporting that carefully examines the problem.
Debbie Higgs is a Reiki Master, therapeutic yoga teacher and advocate serving the homeless. She is also a Masters in Public Health candidate examining issues related to poverty and access to health care in the Four Corners. Reach her at dwilliamshiggs@gmail.com.
