Week 2:
The Cost of Homelessness

June 6, 2020

Writing on the walls of the Cedar Rapids Public Library.

I’ve been filming a lot of personal moments. A man losing his job for being unhoused. A man newly released from jail wondering which parking lot to sleep in. Someone taken to the hospital for severe mental health issues.

The lives of the homeless in Cedar Rapids are intense and, as one man told me, “guided by the day-to-day.” Many of these day-to-day stressors come from the immediate need to find food and shelter. Others come from the city itself; occasionally through the form of the police. The chronically homeless find themselves in between jail, emergency rooms and various service providers. This liminality comes at an expensive price – for both homeless residents and Cedar Rapids. A study conducted by Kasperian Kittredge, a Willis Dady AmeriCorps Vista researcher found that eight homeless people cost $1.2 million over the course of five years. The total cost for all eight participants with stable housing was $9,469.

But the real cost of homelessness is incalculable. Willis Dady clients often suffer from the trauma of being homeless. Riding along with the outreach team, I hear stories of clients whose homeless status has driven them to suicide. I witness mental breaks and interview clients on the streets who describe a “need to drink” in order to fall asleep outside. When clients are taken to the hospital or emergency room for psychiatric help, the homeless are often only held for a few hours – a cost most already cannot afford. This week, I met a client unable to secure inpatient treatment who has been cycling in and out of emergency rooms for three years. A staff member tells me the crisis has only worsened during COVID-19. The pandemic means hospital staff are anxious to release patients without virus symptoms. 

COVID-19 has also left homeless clients without a place to spend the day, rendering clients increasingly vulnerable to police, street crime (like theft) and the summer heat. This week I was able to film an interview with the Cedar Rapids Public Library’s branch manager, who explained the importance of library space to homeless residents. The library is one of the last truly public places, she said. Willis Dady outreach staff and clients alike recall spending most of the day at the downtown library; the library provides accessible bathrooms, air conditioning and water. To make up for the loss of the library, a local hospital has been donating bundles of water to the shelter to be handed out by staff. But there is no making up for the loss of space, space where the homeless are able to form community and easily access social services. Now outreach staff drive across the city looking to connect clients with caseworkers, deliver food, water and other necessities or sign clients up to receive stimulus checks. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has made life harder for many of society’s most vulnerable. Contrary to the saying ‘we’re all in the same boat’ Americans are in the same storm, but facing different challenges. We are not all in the same boat. 

Next week I’ll likely upload footage from this week and begin the storyboarding process. And maybe learn to edit. Can’t be too hard, right?

Thanks for sticking around. See ya soon!

 Another photo of downtown. Close to where I live on the South East Side.