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Philip Bazduh, Dalton Pearman, Kyle Tucker, and Joshua Sun

LBST 2215 - Honors Citizenship

Dr. Childers-Mckee

1 December 2017

Community Engaged Research with Helping Homeless to Housing

Significance of Study

When most people register to vote, they are placed in districts based on their permanent

residence. Behind the scenes, many of the homeless population have the belief that they have no

right to vote because they have no permanent residency. This dilemma is at the heart of the

research that we have done this semester. Working alongside Helping Homeless to Housing

(HHH), we have sought to understand how homelessness affects individuals, and what can be

done to fight against it. HHH was founded in 2001 as an organization dedicated to advocating for

the homeless, informing them about their right to vote and reforming the current system for voter

registration. Over the years, HHH has also developed a keen interest in making affordable

housing more widespread. Led by Justin Markel, they have been heavily involved in rallying the

homeless population and speaking out for the voiceless. During our research, we have learned

from the homeless community and formed assertions about what must be done to help them.

Statement of Research

We sought to understand the underlying causes of homeless in Charlotte, as well as

common stereotypes that are given to the homeless. Working alongside HHH, we investigated

what current work is being done to help the homeless. Finally, we decided what key things can

be done for the homeless, and formed a project that acts upon those principles.
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Background and Positionality

Joshua Sun

During this research process, I learned a lot about homelessness and affordable housing

in Charlotte that I have never even heard of in my 17 years living in Charlotte. My family moved

to Charlotte when I was three, and I went to a predominantly white private Christian school in

South Charlotte from kindergarten to 8th grade. While I was at Carmel Christian School, I was

very isolated from the reality of Charlotte. My family was a middle-class family; however,

everyone else at Carmel Christian School was upper class and very wealthy. Because of that

exposure, I was in an environment separated from low income families and the situations that

low-income families face every day. South Charlotte has always been the richest part of

Charlotte; being in the suburbs, poverty and homelessness have not always been visible. Even

though we lived close to Uptown, we never had any reason to venture outside of the suburbs

because everything we needed was close. The high school I went to was a drastic change in

comparison to my private school. I went to Providence High School, a well off high school that

was less than a mile away from my old school. Providence allowed me to interact with a more

diverse group of students; however, I still did not have an accurate understanding of poverty and

homelessness because South Charlotte, as a whole, does not expose people to those issues. I am

not saying that there are not any homeless people in South Charlotte - I am sure that there are -

however, it is more difficult to spot homeless people in the suburbs. Because of my past social

locations, learning about homelessness and affordable housing in Charlotte has been a new

experience for me. I came into this research process with a clean slate with no prior opinions on

homelessness in Charlotte because I never had to consider those problems. During this process, I
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was able to listen and learn, focusing on the stories, the people, and the harsh reality of

homelessness that is rooted deeply in the reality of Charlotte.

Philip Bazduh

I am a first-generation American citizen who was born to hard-working middle-class

parents. Their cultural background emphasized a strong value of education, and through their

rearing, this transferred into me. I began reading at a young age and performed well

scholastically in my journey through primary and secondary public education. Encouraged to

continue my studies at university, I proceeded to do so.

Despite being son to immigrants, I found assimilation easy, since I was born in the US

and did not face a significant language barrier. This fact, coupled with my being white and

Christian, allowed me an educational experience similar to that of the native majority, and I was

granted all of the privilege afforded that station. I had never been exposed to homelessness, my

familys residences being isolated in economically well-off locations. Having lived in suburbs

my entire life, studying the city of Charlotte was a look at a larger social ecosystem, of which the

homeless are, unfortunately, a part. I am glad to have, through this project, learned that with the

proper measures, they need not remain so.

Kyle Tucker

As far back as I can trace my family history, we have lived in America. Both sides of my

family are Caucasian, and my immediate family is middle-upper class. I have grown up living in

Charlotte, and while my dad has lived in Charlotte for most of his life, my mom has moved

around the east coast. Each of these factors play a small part in my positionality. Being white and

growing up in a majority white community, there are many issues that I am unaware of. Growing

up, white privilege was an urban myth. My family has never been rich, but by most standards,
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we are well off. I have never had any close relationships with anyone living below the poverty

line, creating a bigger haze of unawareness.

While each of these factors affect my positionality, the biggest factor is without a doubt

my religious convictions. I am an evangelical Christian, and I am a member at a southern Baptist

church. While there are many different viewpoints on how Christianity can affect positionality, I

think it has opened my eyes to many things that I would never have known. For instance, I have

learned about global poverty, and the drastic need for larger distribution of medicine. I was

taught from a young age that racism is vile because it defies Gods given structure for humanity.

I have been taught to love the needy and outcast, even if I disagree with their worldview. All of

these things make up my positionality.

Dalton Pearman

Coming from a white, middle class family homelessness never seemed like a real issue to

me. I always had food to eat and somewhere to sleep. We always went on family vacations at

least twice a year and enjoyed more than enough gifts on Christmas. I was able to do well

enough in school to receive a significant scholarship to go to college and lucky enough for my

family to pay for the rest of my expenses. I come from a hard-working family where working

50+ plus hours a week is expected, and that family always comes first. I always saw poverty but

only through my window and never knew anybody who suffered with this issue.

Growing up I believed the common misconception that almost all homeless where

mentally ill or just lazy. Through this research project I have learned that this simply is not true.

Once you become homeless there is no easy way to get out of it. Especially because most of

these people do not have family that can help them or a support system and are completely on

their own. Once someone has nothing it is so hard for them to find food and shelter much less
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find a job. There were so many things that I never thought off until I started this project like how

do the homeless register to vote? I thought some of the solutions HHH had were very creative

but had their own problems. This is unfair because your income or better yet lack of income

shouldnt determine if you have the right to vote. Also, if you have no home how do you apply to

jobs or file information for taxes if you have no mailing address? Therefore, I now believe

affordable housing allows the homeless to become re-engaged with the community and secure

jobs to put back into the community.

Research Questions

What is causing homelessness in Charlotte?

What are stigmas surrounding homelessness, and how does this affect the homeless

population?

What is being done to help the homeless population?

What key action steps can we take going forward to aid the homeless?

Literature Review

In our work with HHH, we were able to determine that the primary issue in Charlotte that

contributes to homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. Despite the prevalence of various

organizations that have been established in order to help the homeless obtain housing as a part of

the Housing First Initiative, the collective agency of their efforts is limited by the increasing

home prices in the area. Our aim was to explore the extent of the decrease in housing

affordability in Charlotte in the recent past. We found that housing prices have risen a rate faster

than that of personal income, that certain governmental policies help ameliorate the prevalence

of homelessness in Charlotte while others exacerbate it, and that an interesting solution to the

lack of affordable housing is the idea of inclusionary zoning.

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Over the past 15 years, housing prices in Charlotte have risen at a faster rate than wages;

the great increase in Charlottes population during this time has contributed to the citys

gentrification (Portillo, 2017). The median house/condo value has increased by over $57,000,

from $131,500 in 2000 to $188,800 in 2015, while the median household income has only

increased by less than $7000, from $46,975 in 2000 to $53,919 in 2015 ("Charlotte, North

Carolina (NC) Income Map", 2015). The graph below shows this disparity.

Figure 1. Comparison of the rise in median home sales price (MHSP) with that of per capita personal

income (PCPI) from 2000 to 2015. The rate of increase of MHSP was 3.21 times that of PCPI during this period.

Some homeowners benefit from the associative rise in their homes value and the

security of a fixed mortgage, which allows them to maintain residency. On the other hand,

renters, who are more likely to be lower-income individuals/families, experience rising rents that

match the rising value of rent units, making them most susceptible to the recent affordability

trend. When an individual loses everything and becomes homeless, this often implies a lack of an

ability to maintain an adequately-paying job. Thus, finding affordable housing in Charlotte for
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the homeless in the housing-first approach has been more taxing on nonprofits and government

programs. To directly address the issue of affordable housing, there exist three primary means of

increasing affordability: 1) lowering the price of housing, 2) increasing the minimum wage,

and/or 3) increasing governmental subsidization of housing assistance programs. The first option

is not readily possible in a capitalistic economy and the second is likely to only provide marginal

relief. Thus, the third option is the best goal toward which Charlotte should work.

A major source of federal funding is the HOME program, which provides formula grants

to states and localities for use in nonprofit organizations focused on the building, buying, and

rehabilitating of affordable housing to assist low-income people ("HOME Investment

Partnerships Program", 2016). However, it has been a goal of Trumps administration to disband

the HOME program, an endeavor founded on the argument that state, and local governments

and the private sector [have a greater role] in addressing community development and affordable

housing needs than does the federal government (Krieg & Mullery, 2017). If this were to occur,

helping the homeless to housing would not only become more difficult in Charlotte, but

throughout the entire US. Protesting President Trumps proposition is one way that people can

prevent the worsening of an already difficult situation.

Furthermore, current government funding works primarily to assist those that require the

aid of welfare and to minimize that need. The North Carolina Work First program, for instance,

helps people responsible for providing for their families to find employment and move off of

welfare. It shortens the time that families can be on welfare by making work mandatory and

limiting the duration that they can receive assistance. Additional aid with services like

transportation helps save money and allows people to get to work. In order to qualify for this

benefit program, you must be a resident of North Carolina, either pregnant or responsible for a
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child under 19 years of age, a U.S. national, citizen, legal alien, or permanent resident, have low

or very low income, and be either under-employed (working for very low wages), unemployed or

about to become unemployed ("Benefits.gov"). Although this program helps the unemployed,

which the homeless often are, a precursor for eligibility is being on welfare. Currently, however,

proof of residency is required to claim unemployment benefits, SNAP food benefits, and TANF

assistance. Thus, government aid often isnt available to the homeless, who lack a residential

address, and they who need aid the most often are not able to ask for it.

There are 180 low income housing apartment complexes in Charlotte of which 56% are

based upon income. There are 7,134 apartments without rental assistance that are considered

affordable for low income families ("Low Income Housing in Charlotte", 2016) . The table

below shows how Charlotte determines income limits according to salaries of a certain

household size.
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Table 1. Charlotte income limits according to family size

Income Limit Low (80%) Income Very Low (50%) Extremely Low

Category Limits ($) Income Limits Income Limits

Person(s) In 1 39,600 $24,750 $14,840

Family
2 45,250 $28,300 $16,960

3 50,900 $31,850 $19,080

4 56,550 $35,350 $21,200

5 61,100 $38,200 $22,896

("FY 2017 Income Limits Documentation System, 2017)

Considering, however, that the salaries of nearly half of the households in Charlotte are

$55,000 or lower and the fact that the average household size in Charlotte is 2.45, the demand for

affordable housing is much greater than the supply ("Charlotte, North Carolina (NC) Income

Map, 2015) ("Charlotte Yellow Pages").

Despite these facts, overall homelessness decreased by 36 percent from 2010 to 2016 ("

2016 Point-in-Time Homeless Count, 2016). This is likely due to the growing housing-first

approach to homelessness, an approach endorsed by HHH. There are six homeless services that

Mecklenburg County recognizes. This includes government sponsored services, like Shelter Plus

Care and Housing Stability funding, and private services like Moore place ("Homeless

Services").
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A great solution to the lack of affordable housing is the idea of inclusionary zoning. This

requires the city to plan construction in a manner that makes housing available to various

economic classes and prevents the displacement of lower income people as driven by

gentrification, thereby promoting socioeconomic diversity as well as not impeding economic

development and revitalization. In order to instate inclusionary zoning policy in Charlotte,

political action is required. Advocacy and awareness of the need for inclusionary zoning, as well

as the homeless and lower-class population that it aids, is essential for promoting political

change. Thus, our websites function to disseminate information functions to indirectly promote

this change and to alleviate the struggles of the homeless.

Research Design and Methods

Whereas the norm for research is based off a hypothesis testing and data collection, we

utilized a different research technique, Community Based Research, that combines research with

community service, engagement, with the goals of improving societal issues. In Strands article,

Origins and Principles of Community Based Research, he writes, (1) Community Based

Research is a collaborative enterprise between academic researchers, (2) it validates multiple

sources of knowledge and promotes the use of multiple methods of discovery (12/1/17 Strand

4), and (3) its goal is to initiate social action and change for the purpose of social justice. So, our

goal in our research project was to learn as much as possible about the issues of homelessness in

Charlotte. Besides finding and reading articles online, we wanted to be exposed to the homeless

community and truly see and try to understand the issues. As students, Community Based

Research allowed us to experience the issues of homelessness with a different lens. We were able

to engage and talk to members of the homeless community, confirming the information that we

researched online through articles. Throughout this research process, we strived to find ways we
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could help our community partner while our community partners taught us about the issues of

homelessness and their personal stories. This continuous cycle of learning from interacting with

the community and helping out the community with our findings is the key idea of Community

Based Research.

We were able to attend two Helping Homeless to Housing meetings, conducted one

interview with Justin Markel - leader of HHH, and attend a Homelessness Vigil that

commemorated the homeless people that have passed away in the past year. In the first Helping

Homeless to Housing (HHH) meeting in September, we were given the chance to observe the

meeting as well as ask multiple questions about the issues surrounding the organization, and

issues regarding homelessness. During the meeting, Justin led the group in updates regarding

what he has done in communicating with city officials, as well as upcoming events that HHH is

expecting to host or participate in. Justin also took the time to explain the history of HHH, the

mission statement, and talked about homelessness and affordable housing. The main point that

Justin brought up to us was that there are good programs in getting homeless people off the road;

however, there are not enough houses to support the entire homeless population in Charlotte.

At the end of the first meeting we were able to ask a few questions such as their

definition of chronically homeless, their relationship with Moore Place and Urban Ministry,

and to elaborate on issues surrounding advocacy. Overall, the first meeting allowed us to meet

the people behind the organization and dive deeper into the issues that HHH is striving to tackle.

We learned a lot about the organization and the issues they are striving to mitigate.

During the second meeting on October 26th, Justin talked about how the organization

needed to make some changes. During this observation of the meeting, we were exposed to some

of the internal issues that HHH was facing as an organization as well as events that they have
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been planning for a while. The main internal change they strived to implement was to try to

reignite some fire power within HHH. The organization was going through some leadership and

member commitment issues. Justin and the team started planning an open house that would

allow the new residents of Moore Place to come and ask questions and see what truly this

organization does, with the hope that they will join. Also, Justin taught us about how the

Charlotte government interacts with issues of homelessness. He talked about how many

affordable housing sites target individuals that earn 30 percent or more of the median income,

but the area that has the most need is the range of income below 30 percent of the median

income in Charlotte. The city of Charlotte has committed 20 million dollars to create more

affordable housing; however, 90 percent of that is going to support those who earn 30 percent or

more of the median income. Less than three percent will be supporting the people who are most

in need. Overall this meeting was just a quick update meeting that allowed members to stay in

the loop with what was happening regarding homelessness and housing. The information during

this meeting allowed us to gain a better understanding about what has been done, what has been

successful, and what needs to be accomplished in order to mitigate homelessness in Charlotte.

After that meeting, I was able to interview Justin. I asked him to tell his story about how

he became homeless, his transition out of homelessness, and the goals and accomplishments of

Helping Homeless to Housing. In summary, Justin started out as appraiser in Colorado; after a

rough divorce, Justin moved to Charlotte to work in the realtor business. However, in 2008 he

was laid off because of the economic recession. He worked for a temp agency and as time

passed, these temp jobs became scarce, and he had to start selling his possessions in order to

support himself. Justin was homeless for four years and during that time, he ended up in the

emergency room countless amount of times because he had no health care provider. He tried
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various programs to get housing and jobs and nothing would help. In 2011 when Moore Place

opened, Justin was the tenth person granted housing in Moore Place. Justin described how

transformative living under a roof was. Within the first few months, Justin was able to connect

with a physician, start cooking for himself, and readjust his life positively. Justin has been living

in Moore Place for 6 years. Now, he is part of many organizations that strives to help homeless

people find housing. In the second half of the interview Justin spends time talking about the

goals and accomplishments of Helping Homeless to Housing, which was covered in the Phase 1

Reflection. He ends the interview talking about how many people have a large misconception of

how homelessness is like in Charlotte. People think that most homeless people have drugs or

mental health issues; however, Justin says that even though there are people who are homeless

and do drugs, most homeless people are not drug addicts. There is a stereotype that homeless

people are drug addicts, mentally challenged, or beg at intersections for money; however, a lot of

homeless people blend into the general population. Justin ends with the note that even if

homeless people look homeless or they look well-dressed, they have a passion, a talent, and a

story. This interview, Justins story, allowed us to gain a deeper level of understanding at an

individual level of what homelessness and the transition into affordable housing is truly like.

The final event that we observed was the November Homelessness Vigil. This vigil, that

commemorated the homeless people that have passed in the past year, was held at the Homeless

Resource Center on November 16th - the middle of the National Homeless Awareness Month.

Although, it was not an event planned nor sponsored by Helping Homeless to Housing, many

organizations across Charlotte came together to commemorate the lost. This final observation

was a good way in summarizing everything we had learned by simply experiencing the presence

of people who are homeless or who are working to fight homelessness.

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The main research site that we conducted our observations was Moore Place. Moore

Place, outside the northern part uptown Charlotte, is an affordable housing apartment complex

that opened up in 2011. Moore Place is the home to many of the members in HHH and

conveniently, is where the meetings take place every 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month. The

participants that we interacted with are all members of HHH and all have been homeless at one

point of their lives. Justin Markel, the leader of the organization, was homeless for four years and

has a compelling story and a passion to end homelessness in Charlotte. Overall, the people that

we interacted with and Moore Place, itself, has allowed us to fully experience how affordable

housing works, the transitions and steps that homeless people need to take to obtain housing, and

the steps we can take as a community to help that process.

Results

From discussion with HHH we came to the conclusion that the best way to help them was

to create a website. To spread information in the past, HHH depended on word of mouth and

pamphlets which was inefficient and didnt provide enough information. We designed the

website to serve as a flexible advocacy platform that HHH can adjust to whatever direction that

group is going in at the time. The website is also supposed to serve as a way for people to get

connected with HHH to learn more information about the issue or seek help.

The website is divided into four sections: Home, Gallery, About and Contact. The home

page consists of basic information about HHH. This includes the Mission Statement, Our Creed,

and talking on why affordable housing matters. This page is dedicated to explaining the main

goals of HHH and understand what they are fighting for. Under the gallery tab there are pictures

of HHH in action and of Moores place, where they meet. This can be used by HHH to show

recent events in the community and create a visual connection with its viewers. The about tab is
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divided into three pages: meet the people, meet the organization, and learn more about the issues.

The meet the people page is designed to be home of different interviews HHH can have of

current and formerly homeless. We currently have one interview on this page of Justin Markel.

We decided to add this page, so people will be able to understand that in many situations people

cant control that forces that make them homeless. Going forward we hope that HHH will use

this to give a voice to the voiceless and let their stories be told. The page titled meet the

organization discusses a brief history of HHH and speaks on the transition from focusing on

voting issues to more of a focus on affordable housing. This page will grow and change as HHH

does but will always be a reference point to show where HHH has been. The final page under the

about tab is learn more about the issue. We have decided to leave this page blank for now and

allow HHH to fill in the information they want to provide. Our thinking on this was that they will

be able to understand and express the issue better than we ever will. This will also allow HHH to

list different resources and ways to help the homeless that they think is best.

All the information for the website came from a variety of sources. The majority of

information was collected through Josh and Kyle attending an HHH meeting and an interview

conducted by Josh with Justin Markel. We were able to gather background history, goals, and

ways that HHH impacts the community. We complemented this information with ideas we

gathered from doing independent research about the homelessness epidemic. We also designed

the project and website to be continued by HHH or another Charlotte student group.

Discussion/Conclusions

As the literature sections above shows, affordable housing is lacking in North Carolina,

and government policies for the homeless often do not actually help the homeless. Much of the

data we collected showed this to be true. Individual testimonies made it clear that affordable
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housing in Charlotte is a much-needed reality, despite the stigma that it has. Our action project

helps show how all of this is connected. For government policies to be changed regarding

homelessness, the homeless must have a louder voice. For the homeless to have a louder voice in

government, they must know about their right to vote. And for the homeless to know about their

right to vote, this information must be made more accessible. Our project was dedicated to this

goal. By making a website for HHH, we have given them a tool that will allow them to more

effectively penetrate the homeless population. Going forward, our hope is that they will continue

to modify this site, updating it to maintain accuracy. Internet availability is surprisingly high

among the homeless, meaning that this project can have an even further reach.

One of the greatest lessons learned during this research experience came from the mouths

of formerly homeless individuals. Listening to their stories, we heard about the hardships of

homelessness, including physical and psychological problems. One analogy from a member of

HHH made this point crystal clear. To describe her fight against homelessness, she compared

herself to a veteran who has fought in war. Their fight is full of pain, losses, and death, and yet

sometimes there is victory. Once the war is over, they physically return home, but in their mind,

they are still fighting for their life. This post-traumatic stress is present for every recovering

homeless individual, who has won their fight against homelessness and yet is still be fighting the

war in their mind. Learning to believe once again in the society that cast them out is an

incredibly difficult struggle.

Another big lesson learned is that ordinary people are susceptible to homelessness. While

much of the homeless population is comprised of those with substance abuse, some people just

find themselves in a situation where no work is available. As was the case with Justin, once they

enter homelessness, it becomes next to impossible to find work. Especially when the economy is
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low, hardworking people find themselves left with nothing. This transforms the way that we

view the homeless.

Another big lesson for us was learning how to work with volunteer organizations. Many

organizations, HHH included, are made up of people who sacrifice their time for what they

believe in. Sadly, this can also mean that organizations struggle with communication and

planning. For us, we had to learn how to patiently plan a project with an organization that

struggled with organization itself. Interestingly, this is actually quite ordinary, and it taught us a

valuable lesson. Being willing to wait for responses and change our plans helped us better

understand how the formerly homeless population operates. We are in no position to say that our

professionalism is the right way to operate. Instead, we have learned how to work alongside

others, even when the way that we think and work is very different.

There are two main things that must happen for homelessness to be eradicated in

Charlotte. First, the homeless population must know about their right to vote. Politics is not able

to solve every problem, but this is an important issue that has great potential. If the homeless are

heard in government, legislation can begin to change in their favor. Rather than being outcasts in

society, they can be equally heard in their communities and nation. Second, affordable housing

must be made more available. The first implication makes this second implication possible. As

previously stated, it costs roughly $39,000 per year in taxes to pay for a homeless individuals

expenses. With affordable housing, it costs only $13,985 per year to pay for their housing and

proactive medical services. From a simple economic perspective, this is a no brainer. There are

many barriers, such as Not In My Back Yard movements, and a potential danger of individuals

abusing the system, but neither of these barriers should prevent the creation of affordable

housing for those in need.

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Works Cited

Benefits.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from https://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-

details/1219

Charlotte Yellow Pages. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from

http://charlotte.areaconnect.com/statistics.html

Charlotte, North Carolina. (2015). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from http://www.city-

data.com/city/Charlotte-North-Carolina.html

Charlotte, North Carolina (NC) income map, earnings map, and wages data. (2015). Retrieved October

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FRED Economic Data. (2017). Per Capita Personal Income in Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC

(MSA). Retrieved from https://goo.gl/uizHgU

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https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/il/il2017/2017summary.odn

HOME Investment Partnerships Program. (2016). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from

https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/comm_planning/affordablehousing/programs/home/

Homeless Services. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from

https://www.mecknc.gov/CommunitySupportServices/HomelessServices/Pages/default.aspx

Krieg, G., & Mullery, W. (2017, May 23). Trump's budget by the numbers: What gets cut and why.

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programs/index.html

Low Income Housing in Charlotte. (2016). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from

https://affordablehousingonline.com/housing-search/North-Carolina/Charlotte

Markel, J. (2017, October 26th). Personal Interview.

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Portillo, E. (2017, August 28). Charlotte has enough housing for moderate-income people. Low income?

That's different. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-

blogs/development/article169882122.html

2016 Point-in-Time Homeless Count Report Released. (2016). Retrieved October 11, 2017, from

https://www.mecknc.gov/news/Pages/2016-Point-in-Time-Homeless-Count-Report-

Released.aspx?redirect=charmeck

Strand. (2017). Origins and Principles of Community Based Research. Retrieved December 1, 2017.

Trulia. (2017). Real Estate Data for Charlotte. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/rj8NLc