Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force – SRRT/ALA

Carol Pogash of the New York Times reports that many students are avoiding free lunches rather than look “uncool”:

Ann Cooper, director of nutrition services for the public schools in Berkeley, Calif., said that attention to school cafeterias had traditionally focused on nutrition, but that the separation of students who pay and those who receive free meals was an important “social justice issue.”

“Fewer people know about it,” said Ms. Cooper, whose lunch program offers the same food to students who pay and those who have subsidized meals.

Many districts have a dual system … one line, in the cafeteria, for government-subsidized meals (also available to students who pay) and another line for mostly snacks and fast-food for students with cash, in another room, down the hall and around the corner. Most of the separation came into being in response to a federal requirement that food of minimal nutritional value not be sold in the same place as subsidized meals—which have to meet certain nutritional standards …

Mary Hill, president of the School Nutrition Association, a national group of school food providers, said students who receive free meals were “very sensitive” about being singled out.

Emilio Estevez will explore the issue of homeless people and public libraries in his next movie, The Public.

The story is based on librarian Chip Ward’s Los Angeles Times op-ed piece that discussed how libraries become de facto shelters for homeless and mentally ill people in times of budget cuts.

According to the article, Libraries balance patrons, homeless, Metro Detroit libraries have tightened security and hygiene policies in order to serve patrons. The libraries serve homeless people by making data available on shelters, mental health services and job-training programs.

Washington, DC’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library offers music appreciation and arts classes for homeless patrons

Jacksonville Public Library teaches Internet use to homeless job seekers

San Franciso Public Library staff refer homeless people to housing and mental health service agencies

The Free Library of Philadelphia employs homeless people at their Central Library

The Los Angeles Public Library hosts a summer camp for homeless children

New York Public Library has monthly story time sessions for homeless children

Feeding Intolerance: Prohibitions on Sharing Food with People Experiencing Homelessness , a recent report from The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless, reveals how local governments across the nation are prohibiting and restricting groups from sharing and distributing food to hungry and homeless people.

It is believed that common myths about homeless people fuels such food-sharing restrictions, namely:

Myth #1 Ease of access to food stamps
Reality- Over half of the homeless population receive food stamps because of lack of transportation, lack of shelter, lack of knowledge and proper documentation.

Myth #2 Food pantries and soup kitchens provide adequate amounts of food for hungry and homeless people
Reality- Many food pantries lack kitchen facilities and cannot cook food for people to eat. Many food pantries restrict the amount of food they give to people. There are not enough food pantries and soup kitchens to feed everyone who is hungry.

*Myth #3 Food programs enable homelessness
Reality- Food is not an addiction! People remain homeless due to lack of affordable housing, lack of transportation and lack of health care.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Sodexho Inc. today released their annual report on hunger and homelessness, with survey data collected from 23 participating cities.

According to the press release:

• The main causes of hunger in survey cities are poverty, unemployment and high housing costs.

• Food Stamp benefits [are] not keeping up with the increasing price of food.

• The most commonly cited way to reduce hunger is through more affordable housing.

• Among households with children, common causes of homelessness other than of the lack of affordable housing are poverty and domestic violence.

• Among single individuals, the most common causes are mental illness and substance abuse.

• During the last year, members of households with children made up 23 percent of persons using emergency shelter and transitional housing programs.

More information and statistics can be obtained from the complete report (PDF):

http://usmayors.org/HHSurvey2007/hhsurvey07.pdf

The following news release was issued on December 7th by the Library Users Association of San Francisco, California:

S.F.’s Library Commission Delays Endorsement of Legislation Legalizing $200 Lost-book Charge After Vigorous Opposition by Library User Advocates

Following vigorous opposition by library user advocates, San Francisco’s Public Library Commission yesterday postponed a decision on whether to forward legislation to the Board of Supervisors that included authorization of a charge of up to $200 for each lost or damaged book borrowed by patrons from other libraries through the Library’s new LINK+ system.

The Commission did not vote on the matter. Instead, Commission President Charles Higueras said he would place the matter on the next meeting agenda, January 17, 2008. City Librarian Luis Herrara said he preferred passage immediately, but did not have a problem with postponement of action.

Library Users Association Executive Director Peter Warfield said that the charges should not be approved because they are excessive, inconsistent with other library fees that are much lower, and violate American Library Association ethical guidelines on barriers to access and service to poor people.

Higueras questioned the library’s technology head, Vivian Pisano, as to whether patrons are informed about the existing $115 charge for lost materials when they request materials through LINK+ (pronounced “Link Plus”). After he repeated the question several times, Pisano replied, “No.”

Additional Commission discussion focused on how and whether patrons have been informed of all charges for lost materials, including a newly-specified charge of $30 for lost sheet music. Library administrators acknowledged many of the charges have been in effect for some time despite lack of the legally-required legislation, although they said no one had lost material borrowed through LINK+ since inception about a year ago.

Warfield also noted that the LINK+ software is being heavily sold to library users without full disclosure that traditional inter-library loan (ILL) service provides a much larger universe of available books. He said a lookup for works by one author found two titles at SFPL, 11 at LINK+, and 95 in WorldCat, a database that generally represents what is available through traditional ILL requests.

Contact information for the Library Users Association:

P.O. Box 170544
San Francisco CA 94117-0544
Phone/Fax (415) 753-2180

Earlier this year U.K. libraries partnered with Bristol-based anti-poverty groups to launch a unique city-wide action on free-to-use cash machines.

The U.K. is expanding such initiatives into the larger arena of digital inclusion.

Is begging constitutionally protected speech?

Columbia City Council passed an ordinance in 1991 banning begging “with intent to intimidate another person into giving money or goods.”

See full story.

1. Treat all library users fairly, regardless of economic status.
2. Read and implement the American Library Association’s Policy 61, Library Services for the Poor.
3. Learn about and establish contacts with local community groups and support agencies that provide services to and advocate for low income people.
4. Keep an updated list of temporary housing, educational and health facilities, family services, legal assistance and food pantries at all your reference desks.
5. Subscribe to and read your local street papers. Go here to find the one for your area.
6. Check out the Hunger, Homelessness, and Poverty Task Force’s blog and ALA’s Office for Literacy and Outreach Services’ web site for the latest in news, links, and ideas.
7. Develop a sensitivity training to help staff understand and better assist low income users. (Toronto Public did it!)
8. Take another look at your library card registration policy to see that it does not exclude people living in temporary housing.
9. Bring library programs to a temporary housing facility. Storytimes, book discussions, and poetry readings are always popular outreach activities.
10. Make an effort to research other libraries’ innovative programs and policies that serve the information and literacy needs of low income people. Also, don’t forget to publicize and share your own.