According to a 2024 census, 158,000 out of the 19,867,248 residents of New York state were unhoused—that is almost one percent of the total New York state population. In our society, people who experience homelessness are typically viewed as less than the average civilian due to their housing status.
We are a part of a youth group called Youth Council Ambassadors (YCA). YCA is a leadership group that provides a voice for the youth and student population of Tompkins County. This year, we researched three different issues that are affecting both our community and the country as a whole. One of them was homelessness. As part of our project, we spoke with Riley Lenetsky, a Master’s of Social Work student at Binghamton University currently completing her field placement at Tompkins Cortland Community College.
Here is some important context about Ithaca. Ithaca is an attractive place to live for many families because it has a small town vibe and is close to many large cities, such as New York City and Philadelphia. Additionally, Ithaca is full of culture and art, making it a great place to live. Ithaca also has a reputation of being one of the most livable cities and college towns in the United States due to its waterfalls, farms and culture. If Ithaca is such an attractive town, why do so many residents find it hard to live here?
The problem isn’t actually that Ithaca doesn’t have enough housing, it’s that a majority of the housing is only affordable to wealthy university students and working professionals. This means that there isn’t enough affordable housing for the greater population of Ithaca residents. Locals who are lucky enough to find available housing are struggling to pay rent. Over half of local city renters are cost-burdened, meaning over thirty percent of their total income goes towards paying rent.
Recently, negotiations were made between the City of Ithaca and Cornell University that raised Cornell’s donation to the city from 2.4 million dollars to 4 million dollars per year. Regarding this, Lenetsky says, “Cornell makes a generous donation every year to the City and to the Town of Ithaca, and that generous donation definitely is not proportionate to the amount of money that they make off of their students.” This is absurd, considering that Cornell University has an over ten billion dollar endowment. While paying four million dollars a year is not nothing, the amount of jobs and housing that are taken up by students pales in comparison to the cost that Cornell would need to take to create housing and services to support those that are experiencing homelessness as a result of Cornell’s impact on Ithaca.
When talking to Lenetsky, we asked her a simple question: What is stigma, and how does it apply to homelessness? Stigma is the feeling of disgrace toward a specific aspect of someone or a group of people. According to Lenetsky, stigma often grows from fear of the unknown and fear that something could happen to someone. In a country and time where money is tight for a lot of people and many are living paycheck to paycheck, homelessness is a reality for many people. But in the context of stigma, it is easier to isolate and abandon those who are experiencing homelessness than it is to face the issue head on. Some assume that all people experiencing homelessness are struggling with addiction. The reality is that assumptions like those are not only inaccurate, but they are also harmful. Some people experiencing homelessness do struggle with substance use or severe mental illness. However, many people do not and even when they do, safe shelter is still a human right. Just because someone is struggling does not mean that they need to live unsheltered. Stigma is a real problem that plagues Ithaca and the country as a whole.
The unfortunate reality is that homelessness does not have a simple solution like just getting employment somewhere. Jobs require certain documents and potentially a resume from all applicants. There also may be a personal hygiene requirement for those working at a certain job. It is also possible that public transportation is not accessible for a homeless person who is considering a job. Some may argue that government resources are available, but trying to access resources provided by a government service can also be extremely difficult. These resources (similar to jobs) require a high level of reading that might be difficult and time consuming. The reality is that the systems that create these opportunities for homeless people also make them extremely difficult to access..
So what can we as students do to turn the tide and destigmatize homelessness as a whole? Lenetsky has a powerful point on the subject—even though young adults may feel powerless, we are not powerless.
Some things that you can do regarding the topic of homelessness are:
- Educating yourself beyond articles and posts on social media
- Having conversations with your peers—respectfully disagree with assumptions
- Volunteering with local organizations to prepare or serve food and clothing to those in need
- Getting in touch with local representatives about housing policies locally
- Practicing advocacy within your own community, neighborhood, or school
If we want to address homelessness, we need to start with caring about these issues as a whole. Change for powerful and important topics like homelessness doesn’t start nationally. It starts locally, and hopefully morphs into something bigger.
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