Avelina Charles

Revisiting the Contact Hypothesis: The Case of Public Exposure to Homelessness

This study took the questions like the ones we asked in our survey and created a study to analyze, and explain the reasons for peoples view towards the homeless population. The data that was used to analyze had been collected from a national survey of public attitudes toward homeless people. This article looks past the typical face to face contacts and breaks down other factors that influence views and opinions. The difference was shown in exposure to homelessness through media. This category was the only one that displayed more of a negative view all around. Not surprising, was the findings that the more isolated you are from homelessness, than the more likely you are to blame the population of homelessness for being homeless. However, White folks that had been exposed to homelessness through environment, contact, relation, or personal experience tend to show greater compassion than those who lived isolated from homelessness.  

What was surprising, were the findings in regards to African Americans and Hispanics. When exposed to homelessness there was empathy for the community; and yet, when oversaturated in exposure the results were the opposite of White folks. In the Hispanic communities, they admitted to avoiding locations with high saturation homelessness, and the African Americans also showed less sympathy. The oversaturation only worked on the White folks. Another factor in this study that was interesting was level of education combined with race. Not all White folks showed higher levels of compassion once exposed. This was only shown true for those who had higher levels of education. The methods portion of the study showed a correlation in the number of participants that gave the money they received for participating in the survey to a homeless person, and higher levels of compassion towards the homeless.

Homeless Educational Policy: Exploring a Racialized Discourse Through a Critical Race Theory Lens

This article was very intriguing, the topic was education and homelessness, but the focal point was looking at those topics through racial lenses. The data collection was done using a variety of qualitative methods at two high schools in the Midwest. The framework used for the study was the Critical Race Theory. The interviews were transcribed and included as supporting evidence. The identities of the schools and participants were anonymous to allow for total honesty. All the students that were interviewed had experienced homelessness, and there were five adults from the school interviewed as well. One adult was from the school district, one was a lawyer, one was a social worker, and the rest were liaisons for the schools. When interviewed, everyone was asked if they though the reason for high homelessness had to do with race in their area? It was reported that the students agreed race is a factor. One student had mentioned that she thought white mothers were nicer and more giving.  

This article did a great job of addressing institutional racism, and how oppression continues to keep minorities within this cycle. There were comments recorded of faculty making bias remarks towards the minority ethnic groups. What was even more disappointing than that, was the conversation recorded with the social worker who was discouraging these children from wasting to enroll in college, and persuading them to a trade school in hopes of getting a blue-collar job. I did find in both articles that it shows people's views are persuaded by their exposure to homelessness. The more compassionate people understood in both articles that the system is set up to make sure certain races stay stuck between a rock and a hard place.