Findings

As the semester comes to a close, I've learned a lot about homelessness when doing this project. I dove into the final project thinking that the panhandlers I see everyday in Downtown Chico were fake. I felt like they all had some money and were able to find a way to pay for apartment or food. Little did I know that fake panhandlers are actually the minority. Most of the people out there asking for money are really homeless. This culture of fraudulence that I thought was emerging and could be the cause of homelessness isn't true.

Homelessness and fake homelessness is caused by poverty rates. Generation Y's obsession with catfishing, lying and deception are unrelated to fake homelessness. Actually, majority of the stories I found about fake panhandling were actually middle-aged.

My trip to The Torres Shelter was incredibly eye opening. Visit their webpage to learn more about what they do and even make a donation. We really are just one situation away from becoming homeless.

Youth and Homelessness

When talking about homelessness with others, most bring up drugs and alcohol. However, I feel like most people forget that there are teens out there that are homeless too. These are teens that are on their own and living a homeless life without their family alongside.

When I went to the Torres Shelter, a service coordinator recommended I watch this video from the Butte County Office of Education about students who are homeless.

I suggest you watch it too.

Here's the link: http://bcoe.org/sps/homeless/homeless_ed_video/homeless_ed_video.html

The Torres Shelter

This week I made a trip to The Torres Shelter, a local homeless shelter in Chico. As I waited for my interviewee to arrive, I sat out on the patio with two visitors who found peace smoking their cigarettes. They were kind and greeted me as I walked up. Honestly, I was worried about how I would be perceived. It's always a intimidating to show up to a place, where you think you won't fit in. However, they were all so polite.

I sat down with Brad Montgomery, executive director at the Torres Shelter and asked him a few questions about fake homelessness in Chico.

There's one man here in Chico who holds a sign saying "This could be you," Montgomery said. He's not homeless. He has an apartment and an old Chevy truck.

Montgomery went on to describe how he encountered this man and directed him to the shelter if he needed help. The man lied and said the shelters were full.

"We've never, in our 14 year history had to turn away a visitor," Montgomery said.

Here are some other photos I took at the shelter on Thursday May 9.

Visitors' entire live must fit into these bins when first arriving at the shelter

The Torres Shelter uses artwork for visitors to cope and relax. Here are some of the artwork created by Torres Shelter visitors. 

Homelessness in Perspective

Yesterday I took a trip down to San Francisco to see the Giants take on the Dodgers at AT&T Park. It was also Metallica Night at the park which I absolutely couldn't miss. Anyways, I was out in the city walking around and being from a small town, I'm not used to seeing homelessness in such larger numbers.

Homelessness surrounds AT&T Park. You don't see them on television during the beautiful scenic shots. Next to McCovey Cove, a handful of homeless people with loads of clothes and findings, sleep in the grass. They aren't disturbing anyone or asking for change, just minding their own business next to the San Francisco bay. It was interesting to see the differences between homelessness in San Francisco to homelessness in Chico.

Not homeless related, but I figured I would share a picture from the baseball game.

I'm a Bit Late

I was in a conversation with one of my peers about homelessness. One of the writers of my PR team asked if I had heard about the homeless man in New York. I had only heard about the police officer giving a pair of shoes to a homeless man on the street, but my colleague was talking about how the homeless man was revealed as being fake. I never heard of this and I have no idea how I could have missed this news.

Anyways, even though I'm late to the news, I still went to research it. I found this New York Times story that describes the "homeless" man's situation in detail. I was bummed to hear about this news. I felt that the police officer was trying to do a good deed, not for attention or good publicity, but just because it was the right thing to do. Then it turns out, the man wasn't homeless and didn't wear the boots the next time he was on the streets.

It's a bummer when you try to help someone who you think is in need, but really they have the means to provide and live comfortably.

College and the Homeless

So I was browsing Pinterest and thought to myself "I wonder what results I would get if I typed in homeless in the search bar." So this is what turned up.

I was baffled that college women would stoop so low and actually go about such a tasteless themed party. However, it got me thinking how the college population in a town affects the homeless population.

A couple days ago a student with a camera set up approached me on campus. She asked if she could interview me, and being a journalism student who's always looking to interview people, I thought it would be nice to be interviewed for once. Coincidentally, she wanted to interview me about the homeless because she was working on setting up a club on campus that would help treat the homeless problem in Chico.

The article above mentioned that the college students harass and embarrass the homeless people in the bar scene. I don't spend a lot of time in Chico since I'm a commuter student, but students I've talked to say they feel bad for those that are homeless and will sometimes give food or money to them. It's the complete opposite kind of behavior compared to the students in the article above.

It's just an observation, but it just never occurred to me the college population would cause problems for the homeless population. Honestly, I thought the homeless people loved the college scene because there could be more opportunities for help.

A Flow of Thoughts

I've been really trying to sort out all of my thoughts on how to tackle an investigative project. I really want to see if there really is a cultural influence on today's new population of homeless people. Generation Y is centered around technology whether it's social media, text messaging or the constant use of different phone apps. How is technology related to homelessness though? Well, I've seen too many times people pretending to be homeless, usually young adults who would count as Generation Y. Technology fuels deception and I think a culture of deception has influenced young adults to be wanderers, vagabonds and even phony homeless people. Hopefully I come up with some research and really come to a conclusion about this problem.

A Glimpse at Homelessness in Chico, CA

Since I'm looking to see if there is a correlation between being young and deceptive, I decided to look at the homeless numbers in Chico. I've had many encounters with some homeless people in Chico, and some seem like they are really in tough times, and some are wearing brand new clothes and don't look at all like they are in dire need of money. So here are some of my brief findings.

Confusion on the Web

“Linkedin is for people you know, Facebook is for people you used to know, Twitter is for people you want to know.”

 

This quote has been often used to describe social media. If you're a member of all three social networks, then you easily get the sense of each one. I created a LinkedIn account about a month ago and immediately figured out this is nothing like Facebook. Other users know when you've clicked their profile regardless if you're connected or not. Professionalism is key which means lying about your accomplishments and who you are are not what you want future employers to see.

I found it interesting that somebody I didn't know invited me to connect. I noticed this person went to the same school as me and seemed to know the same people I  know. Then, I noticed that she joined a group that my best friend happens to work for. Using some deductive reasoning, I thought this unknown connection worked with my best friend. Turns out, that wasn't the case. My friend had no idea who this person was despite knowing everybody who works in the group's office. 

The point is, social media can convince users to lie or exaggerate about ourselves to create an opportunity. LinkedIn is great for looking for employers, but it's also a way for people to make themselves look more appealing for a particular job. 

That's what I'm assuming this person who I didn't know or my friend didn't know, was trying to do. She fell into the habit of trying to look as if you know many people, when really you don't. It's just another example of how lying is part of the Web culture.

Sports and Deception

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/sports/autoracing/a-drivers-deeds-fail-to-match-her-words.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Go ahead and click the link above. 

After scavenging the Web on my phone I came across this interesting story. Here's the gist of it:

• Tia Norfleet is an African-American woman who races cars
• However, she claims to be an accomplished NASCAR Nationwide driver
• When really, she's only raced in one low level NASCAR race 
• Really, it wasn't exactly "racing." She just started the race, then parked the car after only one lap

What's interesting about this, is that it's another case of someone in their 20's that is exaggerating the facts about themselves. I don't know if this marketing tactic was completely Norfleet's idea, it could very easily be someone part of her public relations team that put this entire thing together. However, I do know that this is just another addition to this new trend of deceiving others. 

I Just Don't Get It

 



The Web is an amazing place. It's a entire virtual word filled with never-ending information about issues, history, fashion, music, but most importantly people.

Social media is thriving more than ever. Everyone needs to be connected and informed whether it's through a tweet, a Facebook like, a reblog or whatever else it out there. Social media is a great tool for people looking to reconnect with lost friends or relatives and accessing the latest news almost instantly, but social media, and  new technology has created this cultural epidemic of being a fake.

Now you probably know where I'm going with this. There are millions of fake Facebook profiles out there. If you've seen Catfish: The T.V. Show, then you know what I'm talking about. Young people, usually ages 18-25, are the ones creating fraudulent personalities both online and in person. 

But why? What is this fascination with alternate personalities and scamming others for enjoyment. The anonymity of the Web is definitely the main fuel source, but there must be something more behind it. Until then, I'll continue blogging about my curiosity for what I consider an epidemic and I won't be blogging as some fraudulent Web user hiding behind a keyboard.