Respond First (Ask Questions Later)
To answer the question, "How do your paintings of the homeless help the homeless?" -without facetiousness, is to reply "They don't." The paintings can't "help" anything. What should be done to help the homeless is to prevent homelessness. It may be a vain hope, yet it is my hope that by keeping the subject of homelessness front-and-center - through the exhibit of art about homelessness - they may contribute to building consensus on a reasonable response. At the risk of bias, the answer to homelessness (in my humble opinion) is prevention. When homelessness is eliminated, these paintings will remain as a reminder of what once was.
That's the short answer; my personal commitment to the problem of homelessness is more nuanced. I am confident of the fact that every homeless person suffered a trauma, a post-traumatic stress syndrome event, at some point in their life. With that hint I must leave the psychological motives behind homelessness and it's possible treatment. I'm also not a psychologist, but it is not for that reason that this approach follows a different route. Preventing trauma requires rapid and coordinated intervention. I want to talk about "first response," and First Responders.
As an artist my role is that of bystander. I witnessed a serious car accident, yesterday. My intended course of action was to continue driving carefully through the confusion -but, when I noticed one of the vehicles had rolled-over onto its roof, I decided to pull-over and get out of the car. I'm trained in CPR, and if anyone had shouted, "Does anyone know CPR?" -I would have responded. That was in the minutes between the accident and the arrival on the scene of police and rescue.
I was not the only one to stop and attend the possible need to rescue riders in the car that had rolled onto its roof. Before the arrival of ambulances and police the confusion at the scene escalated. One of the responding police officers ordered the bystanders including myself to "move on." At that point I returned to my car and left the scene of the accident with, I might add, good conscience. It wasn't I who was being detained by law enforcement - rather - I was being released from my obligations as a citizen to look after the safety of others.
Yes, like a Boy Scout, I did my good deed of the day. The aspect that resonated with me, however, was being spoken-to by law enforcement in a forceful tone of voice. This goes to the question of law enforcement response to the homeless, and what it's like to be told what to do by a police officer. I know what it's like. Consider it my deposition to the fact. Has anyone never been directly confronted by law enforcement? I have, and in addition, I have been issued citations both for moving violations and as a pedestrian for jaywalking. Minor violations of the law which have since dropped-off my record, but valid, thereby, as actual civil records process. I've done that, too.
A personal inconvenience. No hard feelings. Yet, more than the trite, "You're just doing your job, officer," -it's a reality check. It's reassuring that there is a protective system in place, and functioning. My own witness testimony is that it works. This, in turn, leads to what I think should be done about the homeless. Any person laying down on the sidewalk or any other public place is in need of immediate response by law enforcement. The legality of this approach has been affirmed by the Supreme Court.
When I was issued a citation for jaywalking, the police officer said it was only for a week, but if another was written in the meantime, the matter would escalate. It was “only” a warning. Needless to say, I have been more conscientious about crossing the street ever since. Not merely to avoid penalty but to be safe. It made me more "mindful." The omission of these personal details might be noticeable for its lack, because (I argue), law enforcement response to homeless vagrants laying on the sidewalk and public places is not harassment. It is vital, safety enforcement. It is protection for all concerned.
It is my understanding that general public policy in response to the need for homeless shelter is proof of being truly homeless. Again, discussion of any specifics of such policy is beyond the scope of this opinion. What is self-evident is that two citations for vagrancy issued within a prescribed period of time, say - one week - should be proof of a homeless condition, and grounds for initiating the process of registration for public support. In other words, by order of some Court, including the assignment of a representative (who might also function as social worker), the homeless vagrant is inducted into the homeless mitigation system.
It is as much in the public interest to remediate the problem of homelessness as it is in the homeless person's interest to seek remediation. That has been my position concerning the question, “how does it (art) help the homeless” -consistently, for some time, as documented by this Blog. It is this citizen's response to the “do something (anything)” outcry-of-distress, whenever chaos ensues. The only difference between First Responders, and the public-at-large, is in what they can do. I do not believe challenging the system's existence is productive. I do support mass-registration, for the fair and equal deployment of the public safety net, at every level of government.