Have you seen the Academy Award winning movie The Blind Side?  It is based on the true story of the relationship that formed between Michael Oher and the Tuohy family. Michael was a homeless Black teen from the ghetto who improbably attended a wealthy suburban school in Memphis. He met Shawn and Leigh Anne Tuohy, a white couple whose son and daughter attended the same school. Eventually, Michael was adopted by the Tuohys, received a college degree in criminal justice, and became a professional football player (currently with the Baltimore Ravens).

I thought the movie was terrific, but I wondered how true-to-life it was. Then I saw a book in my local library that answered some questions I had. The book is I Beat the Odds, and is written by Michael Oher himself (along with co-author Don Yaeger). He recalls his life, and also speaks about how he was able to move from an inner city ghetto to the life he wanted. Mr. Oher relates his recognition that his natural athleticism could lead to a way out, his determination to discover and take that path, and  the difficulties of being homeless.

If a “good” book is one that makes us think and question our beliefs, then “I Beat the Odds” qualifies. You can find both the book and the movie The Blind Side at the San Jose Public Library. You may also be interested in two other related books. Michael Lewis’s 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, was the impetus for the 2009 movie. Also, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy have written a book In a Heartbeat:  Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving, which details their own philosophy and beliefs. Both are also available from the library!

You are Invited:

A Homeless Forum

(In Memory of Anne Bergo)

Tuesday, March 6th, 4-6 p.m. King Library, 2nd Floor, Suites A&B

(Sponsored by The San José Public Library, Social Workers in the Library, San José State University School of Social Work & The National Association of Social Workers - CA Chapter, in celebration of National Social Work Month.)

Homelessness: Statistics, Resources & Information

Statistics on Homelessness in San José:

• Population:

Homeless population in San José:  8,941 persons (approximately 1%  of the city’s population )

Population of the City of San José: 948,244 people (the tenth largest city in the nation)

Source: http://www.sjhousing.org/homeless/ending.html and http://www.sjhousing.org/homeless/SJ_2011.pdf

• Causes of Homelessness:

Financial instability and housing costs

Cost of Living in San José: Among the highest in California (and the nation )

(2012 rates for a one-bedroom apartment in Santa Clara County: $1,350. Fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment: $1,623 and $2,334 for a three-bedroom apartment. A person working full-time at the California minimum wage earning $8.00 per hour ($1,280 per month) could not afford a two-bedroom market-rate apartment in San José on their own.

Source: http://www.sjhousing.org/homeless/ending.html

• Contributing factors:

Unemployment, underemployment or loss of a job, flight from domestic violence, or illness

Source: http://www.ehclifebuilders.org/whatwedo/homelessness.php

• Who are the homeless:

Individuals, families, and children

Included: those with drug and alcohol dependencies, the disabled, and the men­tally ill (but not all people experiencing homelessness live with these conditions)

Those who hold jobs, and those who are unemployed ( 16% work at least part-time)

25% are under age 18

41% are families

Source: http://www.ehclifebuilders.org/whatwedo/homelessness.php

Resources:

• Housing

City of San Jose, Department of Housing

http://www.sjhousing.org/homeless/resource.html

Foreclosure Help Center:

http://www.foreclosurehelpscc.org/

Homeless Resource Guide (City of San José/ Housing Department):

http://www.sjhousing.org/Public/Homeless_Guide.pdf  (English) and  http://www.sjhousing.org/public/Homeless_Guide_S.pdf   (Spanish)

(Includes resources for Domestic violence, Employment, Food, Rental assistance, Shelter, Veterans.)

Housing – Santa Clara County

http://www.housingscc.org/

Good information on finding Senior Housing

Section 8 Housing Application

http://housing-voucher.com/index3?split_id=94

Shelter Bed Hotline – 24 hours

Information  on shelters throughout the  San Francisco Bay Area

1-800-7Shelter, or (1-800-774-3583)

• Information and Referral

2-1-1

2-1-1 (phone number) or  http://www.211.org/

Free, 24/7, 140 languages available (call-in or online information)             

(Help with food, housing, employment, health care, counseling and more)

Finding Help Throughout the County:

www.helpscc.org (Region, City and Category search)

(Includes Santa Clara and Santa Cruz countywide resources  for: Children and Families, Food, Health, Housing, Income and Rental Assistance and Seniors)

Homeless Resource Guide(City of San José/ Housing Department):

http://www.sjhousing.org/Public/Homeless_Guide.pdf  (English)

http://www.sjhousing.org/public/Homeless_Guide_S.pdf   (Spanish)

(Includes resources for Domestic violence, Employment, Food, Rental assistance, Shelter, Veterans.)

Social Workers in the Library

Free, 20 minute information and referral/advice sessions at both King

(bi-monthly) and Bibliotecca Branch Library (monthly)

http://www.sjpl.org/blog/social-workers-library-0

• Legal Advice

Lawyers in the Library

Free 20-minute legal consultation with an attorney provided by the pro Bono Project of Silicon Valley

http://www.sjpl.org/event/lawyers-library (other options for legal assistance included on web site)

• Medical care

Dentistry (Compiled by Stanford Pacific Free Clinic)

http://pacific.stanford.eduSanta%20Clara%20County%20Dental%20Providers-1.pdf

Stanford Pacific Free Clinic

http://pacific.stanford.edu/

1-650-721-2786

1835 Cunningham Ave., San Jose, CA 95122

Saturdays only

(Health assessments, referrals for low cost medications, laboratory

testing & vaccines)

Valley Homeless Healthcare Clinic (stationary and mobile clinics throughout San José, dentistry included)

http://www.hoppeople.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107:if-you-dont-work-you-wont-eat&catid=9:hop-news&Itemid=18

Further Information on Homelessness and Santa Clara County  : 
 

City of San José ‘s Homeless Strategy

http://www.sjhousing.org/report/edec/Ecdc/8-25-03/Homeless.pdf (August, 2003)

Santa Clara County’s  10 Year Plan to End Homelessness

http://collabscc.org/Keys_to_Housing_10_Year_Plan.pdf (2005)

Santa Clara County Homeless Census and Survey

http://www.sjhousing.org/homeless/SCLR_2011.pdf  (2011)

Destination Home

http://www.sjhousing.org/depart/HCDC/08.11.11_Item_H.pdf  (Aug. 2011)

Homeless for the Holidays in the Santa Clara Valley, Part I of a Series on the Homeless (Santa Clara Weekly)

http://www.santaclaraweekly.com/2011/Issue-48/homeless_for_the_holidays_in__the_santa_clara_valley.html (Nov. 2011)

Materials on Homelessness Available at the San José Public Library and SJSU:

General - Fiction, Nonfiction on Homelessness:

http://catalog.sjlibrary.org/search~/a?searchtype=X& searcharg=Homeless&SORT=D&searchscope=1

Biographies:

http://catalog.sjlibrary.org/search~/a?searchtype=X&searcharg=homeless+and+biography&SORT=D&searchscope=1

Children's Collection - On Homelessness:

http://catalog.sjlibrary.org/search~S2?/Xhomeless+&searchscope=2&SORT=DXZ/Xhomeless+&searchscope=2&SORT=DXZ&SUBKEY=homeless+/1%2C78%2C78%2CB/browse#anchor_37

Fiction:

http://catalog.sjlibrary.org/search~S1/X?SEARCH=%28homeless%20and%20fiction%29&SORT=D 

The essence of this book is in its subtitle. In Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey From Homeless to Harvard, Liz Murray shares her amazing true story of breaking away from a family’s self-destructiveness and despair to build a positive and meaningful life. She learns how to survive being neglected by her drug addicted parents through a combination of (1) knowing they love her, (2) forgiving them for being unable to parent her (and her older sister), and (3) forging her own way. Her transformation from a 15-year-old homeless high school dropout to a Harvard University graduate is truly awe-inspiring.

While engrossed in reading Breaking Night, I envisioned it as an excellent feature film. Only later did I read (in the library catalog notes) that in 1999 Murray's story was produced as the Lifetime Original Movie Homeless to Harvard. Have you seen it?