Facebook Publication Date: 12/13/22 0:12 AM
REQUIRED READING
NORMS APPLY
Well, wadda ya know.
The cult leader wrote a letter.
Here at Lace on Race, we write a lot of letters, and do a lot of presentations, but we wanted to share this one in particular, because it’s a good example of the work we do ‘behind the scenes’.
As much as I love writing and making videos and abiding with you all online that is not all we do. It couldn’t be. The push for racial justice and applied ethics does not and cannot end when I close my laptop or exit a zoom call.
I know, I know–writing letters isn’t particularly sexy; it’s far less exciting than marching or shouting, or throwing out pithy bon mots and zingers on the interwebs.
But see…it *is* exciting. When we talk about moving the needle, when we talk about change that is relevant and reliable and durable, we are talking about changing the conversation, which is what leads to changing laws and policies.
In 2023, along with other things that galvanize me no end, we are going to go deep into advocacy.
At the end of the day, activism is about shaping the world in ways we want to see. And the issue of homelessness and housing insecurity has deep relevance in the quest for racial justice staying power. In two ways, one of which you might not expect.
Racial justice–or, rather, injustice–is embedded in housing policy in general, and in issues surrounding homelessness in particular. From who more often gets harassed in the streets, to who gets primacy for homeless services, to where services themselves are located, all is racialized.
Not only for those currently unhoused. There is another cohort of people who are also treated as unimportant and disposable–the front line workers who do the bulk of on the ground service providing.
As you will see in the letter below, the stress, burnout, and the insulting wages make for deep compromises at every stage. Often homeless services workers find themselves in need of the very services they provide. And the bulk of these direct care providers?
Black and brown.
So read the letter below, addressed to the San Diego Regional Task Force for the Homeless. Think about the dynamics and challenges of fighting homelessness in your city, and interrogate yourself as to what you yourself are currently doing, or not doing, to lessen and mitigate harm to the most marginalized.
___________________
San Diego Regional Task Force
Sue Nines, Chair
Dear Chairperson Nines and Colleagues:
There is no question that the need for qualified front line workers, both institutional and in the field, are acutely needed if San Diego County is to be effective, compassionate, and in congruence and alignment with its stated values.
Whether conducting assessments in the streets of San Diego, coaching in life skills, or providing resources, I agree with leaders and managers in the field who sing the praises of those who are the ones who most often provide direct client care, and tout them as the backbone of California’s commitment to reducing homelessness. Mayor Todd Gloria has heralded these workers as ‘heroic’. They are correct. These workers, who provide the public face of governmental and NGO agencies, who provide both emotional and practical labor, deserve every accolade and honor. However, praise only goes so far.
There are many experts in the homeless services field who assert that while many bemoan the lack of qualified personnel, making for what looks like a labor shortage, the real shortage is in the paychecks of frontline workers, who rarely make more than $40,000 a year, which includes high cost of living metro areas– like San Diego.
Even those workers who make more (CalMatters reports that the average homelessness worker makes just under $50,000 yearly–but that includes workers who are not direct care staff, like admins, supervisors and the like) are vulnerable. The National Alliance To End Homelessness puts the national average salary for those who work in permanent and temporary housing programs make $30,000 a year, and while San Diego may fare better because of our minimum wage of $15.00 an hour, the average wage for those working in this sector (excluding admin and supervisory/management) is between $16-18 an hour, which translates to $32-36,000 yearly. In San Diego, according to an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune, frontline workers typically make about 60% of the livable worker’s salary in San Diego, which currently stands at a little over $75,000 a year.
The interactive table at The National Alliance decisively shows that this average earning of $30k is untenable even for a single person–and the numbers are even more grim in San Diego. The interactive assumed a rent of a little over $1,000 a month, which is only possible in the San Diego metro region if one lives with relatives or roommates. A single wage earner who is also head of household would find that salary abjectly impossible. Almost every article focusing on frontline homeless workers noted that most of these workers who work tirelessly to lessen and mitigate homelessnes are, all too often, in danger of becoming homeless themselves.
All of this leads to turnover, burnout, and the dire, but real, possibility of those who provide services becoming clients of those same services themselves. Burnout and turnover make for reduced quality of life for workers, and, crucially, they also make for reduced quality and reliability of service delivery for homeless and housing insecure.
Efforts to increase potential workers are a good beginning, but only if those who train to become workers that everyone agrees are needed can stay in these jobs, with fair compensation and job security, as well as a reliable path to advancement. Lisa Jones, executive vice president of strategic initiatives at the San Diego Housing Commission asserted as much in a conference held recently. The general consensus among those who have studied the issue have found, on a national level, a living wage for homeless services workers would be around $45,000–and would need to be higher in San Diego, where the cost of living, especially for housing, is already so high.
To close, there is something concerning, even galling, about a conference filled with people who make far more than front line workers, seeming to consider every possible avenue except fair compensation. The entire metro area of San Diego, including cities and those areas covered by the County, needs to consider the following elements which would make for a more stable and reliable workforce:
Training that teaches not only base skills, but also skills which will allow for advancement
Increased compensation and avenues for advancement for front line workers that allows them to stay in direct client care, rather than losing the best and most skilled and experienced workers to admin or management/supervisory roles, which limit or eliminate their time in the field
Serious acknowledgment of the severe housing and cost of living challenges in the San Diego Metro region, including a living wage for these workers so often called ‘heroic’, who are disproportionately Black and brown.
Request for Proposals that bake in living wages for frontline staff. Contracted providers often cite limitations imposed by governments as to why they cannot raise wages.
These suggestions would go far in SanDiego becoming a leader in reducing homelessness and housing insecurity. As is so often said, the efficacy of a program hinges on the people implementing it.
Thank you for your consideration.
Lace Watkins
Executive Director
Lace on Race Center for Racial Equity
Permalink: https://www.facebook.com/laceonrace/posts/pfbid04ujQ9nQfu6iHKnWVAcSGhNorovxyPdFBvHEfZFtcLdXVxoooCAt6gUATdU7aqkFbl
Post Type: Photo
Caption Type: N/A
Is Cross Post: 0
Is Share: 0
Impressions: 543
Reach: 409
Reactions: 6
Comments: 59
Shares: 4