HATE CRIMES SURVEY RESPONSES:

In 2006, NCH created a Survey on Hate Crimes and Violence. The survey was designed to gauge public opinion on the prevalence of violence against persons experiencing homelessness, public knowledge of homeless-directed violence, as well as solutions to this growing epidemic of violence against our nation’s homeless population. Via the NCH website, we received over 1,000 unsolicited responses. The results are summarized below.

(Below is a sampling of additional responses)

“Multiple reasons: lack of education of those committing the crimes themselves, mental illness and/or socio-economic struggles of those committing these crimes (contributing to general anger), and certainly hidden discriminatory perspective due to lack of exposure and empathy to/for the struggles of the homeless.”

“Class discrimination. As a homeless person, myself, I have [seen] people without a ‘home’ being categorized into a class similar to the ‘untouchables’ in India. Society looks down at the ‘homeless’ as the lowest of the low; below the level of humanity.”
           
“I think it is a combination of boredom and social or political motivations. I also think it is because we call them Homeless, which is the lowest of the low as far as the class war goes. Everyone is feeling a pinch financially, some more than others, now we have a bigger gap between the rich and poor the homeless are the easy targets for the desperate misled people of today.”

“In our culture, there is an exploding lack of respect for homeless persons and a great stigmatization of such people experiencing homelessness. Videos such as “Bumfights,” etc. contribute to enflaming the hateful culture and giving kids ideas that it’s okay and funny to do.”

 “Here in Huntington [WV] there [are] constant news articles about the poor and homeless. Most are negative and do not tell the whole story of how a person cannot live in the over-priced housing at $5.15 an hour. The newspapers make us out to below-life’s, bums, alcoholic drug addicts, lazy and that we should be punished into submission. The message they send to John Q. public is that we are sub-human therefore our lives mean nothing so we may be harassed and beat and even killed as was the case with Gerald Bird on the Ohio River a few years ago.”

 “I think our environment has become more apathetic. When you condone violence and murder in any way, it makes it more acceptable in every way. We are at war, and children, who were ten when it started, are now fourteen, those who were twelve are now sixteen. Our children have been immersed in real violence, unlike the threat of violence from the cold war. Adults are condoning and justifying violence, publicly. Violence to the extreme of systematic torture. Without outrage from the community for the violence that occurs, we make it clear that those actions are not offensive. Our silence gives tacit approval, but our actions are setting the example.”
           
“I think it is a crime of opportunity w/ the belief that no consequences will follow, but I don’t think it’s due to boredom. I think it’s an adrenaline run, a rush, a way to appear tough” - maybe gang-like - a big crime with small consequence. Minimal damage to society - damage against persons, society doesn’t pay much attention to, at least not positive attention.”
           
“There are always going to be people who will want to compensate for their own feelings of inferiority or sense of failure by attacking innocent people who make easy targets. The “copycat” effect, together with the political scapegoating (politicians and others blaming economic ills, taxes, etc. on alleged abuse of publicly funded services) provide a background that seems to sanction violence to the ignorant. There is also a realization that homeless people fear the police and aren’t as likely to report an attack. That perception is valid, because homeless people really do fear the police for good reason. And yes, since so many who are homeless are people of color, it’s hard to separate the attacks on the homeless per se, and attacks racially motivated.”

(Below is a sampling of responses)

“We should have more educational programs about homelessness, in addition to initiatives that directly combat the problem of homelessness (more affordable housing, health care, better public education, etc).”

“Kids need to be educated about homelessness and that homeless people are human beings with dignity and worth just like human beings with homes.”

“It would also be advantageous for those who are caught and convicted to have a mandatory service in which they interact with the homeless.”

“Advocacy is so important. Most people don’t even know that violence against homeless people is an issue. Getting the word out so that more people are aware of this problem can be the first step in finding a solution that all Americans will support.”

“Educate the homeless on the dangers of not staying at a shelter overnight and the importance of doing so.”

(Below is a sampling of responses)

“I am concerned that hate crimes legislation targets certain beliefs. I prefer changing people’s hateful beliefs through education-focused strategies.”

“Let’s address the conditions that create crime, not lock people in cages for their actions.”

“We need to approach the problem with education, community service, etc. Harsher penalties are not the answer.”

“I’m extremely concerned about the number of people currently incarcerated in this country. So I would prefer to focus efforts on community awareness. I believe most of the crimes against the homeless are just crimes of opportunity. Once the word         spreads that community watch organizations are patrolling the area, this behavior will reduce.”

“I don’t think that increased penalties are really deterrents. We need to change perceptions.”

(Below is a sampling of responses)

“Minors who knowingly break laws that harm other individuals, animals, or property should face STIFF punishment and reform. The internet is the information highway. Kids KNOW the ins and outs of what will happen to them if they commit crimes and don’t fear any consequences when they know a slap on the wrist and community service is all that comes from it. They also know that their juvenile records do not carry forward into adult life. Lots of these kids could care less because they never learned to care about anything.”

“I think working together goes further than continual legislation and enforcements of law. Hate crimes are awful, but I don’t want to add fuel to the fire. “An eye for an eye” does not solve the issue. Continual efforts and awareness and support are what work the best.”

“Sadly, hate crimes most often arise out of ignorance. If we don’t make a concerted effort to first educate people about homelessness and its causes, then the violence against the homeless will continue somewhat unabated. The threat of imprisonment through “hate crime” legislation doesn’t seem to deter the ignorant all that much.”

“I work for an agency which provides emergency, temporary shelter for the homeless. I have found through my experience that being homeless is rarely the only challenge facing our guests. There is usually a combination of factors affecting their ability to maintain both housing and employment. These factors include psychological/psychiatric issues, physical difficulties, substance abuse problems, and lack of education needed to obtain employment providing a living wage. We do our best to provide linkage to the services our guests require, unfortunately funding is a major obstacle.”

“Again, I truly do not think that these crimes are hate crimes in the real sense of the term. The homeless are simply easy targets, people that do not seem to matter much. Most people do not give the homeless enough thought to harbor any real hatred towards them; at most, I think people see the homeless as drains on society and examples of personal failure. They may look down upon them, or see them as less than human, but they do not hate them. The perpetrators should certainly face punishment, perhaps even stiffer punishments than are now given, just not under the classification of hate crimes.”

“I think this survey was a great idea and I hope that it really helps. Personally I cannot understand why a human being would do something so terrible to another human being. In Spokane, Washington we just had a homeless man set on fire. They believe they have the suspect in custody and are going to charge him with first degree murder because the gentleman died in the hospital after being set on fire. I personally felt that this was something that the news should have been covering more than they did. Thank you again for making this survey.”

“I am not sure these crimes are completely preventable--homeless people are unfortunately often vulnerable. I do know that the changes must begin as a societal change, as societal misconceptions exacerbate and fuel these events. I am not sure that more shelters would prevent the problem--perhaps BETTER shelters might help, more affordable housing, and better execution of services could offer some relief. But the idea that it is ok to harm a homeless person--just because they are homeless--comes from a societal breakdown as a whole.”