For tonight s talk, I could throw a bunch of numbers at you, like these.

Transcription

1 For tonight s talk, I could throw a bunch of numbers at you, like these. Numbers Slide And talk about general ways that libraries can serve the homeless population. These are some pretty impressive numbers, and there are a lot of them. But they don t get at what I want to share with you tonight. These numbers don t say much about who these individuals actually are. They don t reflect the 549,928 different stories out there. And that s what librarians should be paying attention to. That one person. That one story. How can we go beyond that enormous number to focus on a single individual? To see them as a person and not just a demographic. And how can we encourage our communities to do the same? That s what I m going to show you tonight. Joke Slide That s one of my favorite jokes. I heard it from a friend of mine before he left the area. He had an endless supply of jokes that are so stupid they re actually funny. I always looked forward to hearing his latest. But a lot of his fellow library patrons didn t like him. He made them uncomfortable. Patrons gave him dirty looks. Some moved away from him when he sat down. He had three outfits, and depending on the weather he sometimes wore all three at once. He was scruffy looking and sometimes he didn t smell so hot. He always carried a large duffle bag and backpack. See, in addition to being a terrible joke teller, and a genuinely nice guy, he was also without a fixed permanent residence. Homeless. And that s how his fellow patrons saw him. Not as an individual, but as another homeless guy. Stereotype slide Think about that for a minute. How demeaning it is to be seen as merely part of a group instead of an individual. What is the most unique aspect of what makes you, you? Imagine how you would feel, knowing you re being judged not by that spark of you-ness, but by a stereotype. I wouldn t be Janet following in her librarian grandmother s footsteps I d just be another librarian with glasses who shushes rowdy teenagers. Equally Individuals slide Public libraries are the perfect place for everyone to be seen as an individual, because libraries are open to all individuals and are called to provide equal service to every individual. But with the lack of acceptance other library user groups--and even some staff--have toward certain groups such as people experiencing homelessness, it s not always easy to get people to look beyond the group in order to see individuals and provide that equal service. Because libraries are what s called limited public fora, librarians cannot legally deny anyone s First Amendment right to access information. And we all know libraries are chock full of information. This means

2 we can t kick people out just because we don t like them. What we can do is create rules and require people to abide by them. When they don t, then we can ask them to leave. And we can ban repeat offenders. Not everyone understands or agrees with this though. Complaints slide I routinely field complaints about our homeless patrons, their most frequent one being Can t you just ban them all? This is my library and I don t want them here. My reply is always the same. Yeah, this is your library. And I m glad you re here. But you know what? It s their library too. And I m glad they re here. Our homeless patrons aren t breaking library rules. Other patrons may object to them simply because they re scary looking. Or they stay all day without appearing to do much. There may not even be a concrete reason. Patrons only familiar with the homeless as a group usually just want them gone. Why should we care? slide With this negativity toward people experiencing homelessness, why should libraries worry about getting to know the homeless as individuals? Because there is that negativity. A lot of those experiencing homelessness have already been let down by the health care system. Or the education system. Or social service programs. Libraries are a constant in people s lives. They bridge gaps, lessen information divides, and are welcoming to everyone. Libraries need to help their communities and their staff get past seeing people experiencing homelessness as a nameless group and view them as individuals. Remember, once you know someone, it s harder to make a sweeping judgement about them. This individual approach benefits library staff, people experiencing homelessness, and community members in general. Librarians get the satisfaction of bringing their communities together and providing information to one of those traditionally underserved populations. People experiencing homelessness gain the obvious benefit of a warm and safe place to rest for a while. They can also use library computers to keep in touch with friends and families, or find information on services that are pertinent to them, such as temporary housing locations, meal assistance, and free medical service. Plus, with all that free reading material to be found on the shelves, libraries serve as a place to forget one s troubles even if it s just for a few hours. The most important benefit is to the community as a whole. With better understanding between groups, there is a stronger sense of acceptance of one another. That sense of acceptance leads to a feeling of belonging and a sense of ownership. Ownership in turn leads to more interest in the community, which means a more connected community, which is good for everyone. What can we do? slide

3 I just sort of bumbled my way into meeting my friend and he s one of the main reasons I chose to speak about this topic tonight. If you re not lucky enough to have someone like him in your life, how can you begin to break the ice between community groups and get them thinking about each other as individuals? Nobody s saying you have to trade stupid jokes like we did, but understanding where the other guy is coming from is something everyone can learn to do. The American Library Association s Policy of Library Services to the Poor suggests we purchase library materials that talk about homelessness in an open and honest manner and then build displays to increase public awareness of these materials. Librarians can also work with advocacy groups as well as individuals themselves to determine what types of services they d like to see the library provide. The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation offers quite a few engagement tools to use in our quest to foster increased understanding between vastly different groups. With understanding comes an increase in acceptance and a willingness to work together. Engagement Streams slide The NCDD s engagement streams of exploration and conflict transformation are good places to start. Exploration encourages people to learn more about others, their community, and themselves. And by focusing on improving relationships among groups, conflict transformation can help librarians, people experiencing homelessness, and other community stakeholders to begin building their own relationships. Invite selected speakers from all different backgrounds to share their personal stories. Go around the room so everyone can at least say their name and something about themselves, should they choose to do so. Make it as nonjudgmental an environment as you can. We re looking to hear each other out, not attack each other s way of life or solve someone s problems. Once they have an idea of who, exactly, is on the other side, these disparate groups will gain a better idea of where folks are coming from, what their concerns are, and how to overcome these concerns as a community and continue the work of seeing past harmful labels to the people underneath. Invite everyone slide It s important to invite as many different groups to your community forums as possible. The whole point of these forums is to introduce very different individuals to one another and help them learn about each other. So go beyond the library staff. And go beyond representatives of the homeless population. Local residents, business owners, community leaders, educators, shelter workers, and social services representatives are all likely to have very different viewpoints and concerns to bring to the table. The more voices, the more ideas, and the more people come together. Multiple locations slide

4 As long as you re thinking broadly anyway, go beyond the library as a meeting place. Hold a forum at the community center. Or the social services office. What about a local coffee shop? Some locations may be easier for folks to get to than others. Also, libraries can be unfamiliar places, and people may not be as willing to speak their mind there as they would be in, say, their counselor s office. Another possible location is the local homeless shelter. It s easy to access and familiar to those who use it, and being there gives folks who aren t homeless a look at what life is like for those who are. Librarian slide The most important thing librarians can do to help ensure people experiencing homelessness are seen as individuals is to ask them how we can help, rather than assume we know what they need. We wouldn t give a male patron a book just because another male patron liked it. We d ask our patron what do you like to read? If a student asks for homework help, we don t assume her assignment is identical to the three other students we helped earlier. We ask her what she s studying. Why should providing services to people experiencing homelessness be any different? There is no one resource that fits every member of a particular user group. Earth slide Remember, we are all human and we re all in this together. And that homeless person you re looking at? She or he is human, too. The terrifying reality is that there is no guarantee that you won t be on that other side some day. Homelessness can happen for many reasons. Job loss, medical bills, funding cuts for social programs. Any one of us can find ourselves without a roof over our heads. This past winter I helped a woman obtain a computer user card. As I was talking her through how to log on to our system, she mentioned how grateful she was that the library was there to help her. I said that s what I was here for. Because of course, to me, this is just another part of my job. And she stopped me. No, you don t understand. This is my first day of homelessness. I didn t know where to go. I came to the library because I knew you wouldn t judge me. If you find yourself in my friend s boots, or that computer user s shoes some day, wouldn t you like to know you can go to your public library and be treated as an individual? That the library will provide you with the same level of personalized service and respect as the rest of its patrons? Or--even better--to not even have that thought cross your mind, because your public library does see you as an individual and does offer everyone the same level of service. Come together slide

5 Order materials that show homelessness honestly, and actively promote these materials. Set up public forums wherever you can and invite as many stakeholder groups as you can think of. Work on getting to know your local homeless population. And talk to local advocacy groups and people experiencing homelessness for ideas on what else libraries can offer. Thank you.