Possible lead...

Washington, D.C.'s homeless population may not have homes, but they do have a political voice.

Interview with Mark Raymond

This interview was conducted on April 11 with Mark Raymond, the head of administration at the Community Center for Non-Violence (CCNV).

Well, I can't seem to upload the audio from the interview onto this blog, so I am going to ask our wonderful professor how to do this in class!

However, in essence, Mr. Raymond said that homeless people vote and think about politics in the exact same way that non-homeless people do. When they register for food stamps, they are also given the option to register to vote. He said many of them have very educated backgrounds, so their understanding of the elections, candidates and politics in general is just as comprehensive as someone who is not homeless. In addition, at the CCNV, there are many forms of media from where the residents can get political information such as televisions, radios and various newspapers.

Quotes from Interview #1

The following quotes were from an interview with Professor Melodie Toby. She is a professor of Business Ethics courses at Kean University and is soon to be a member of the sociology department. Professor Toby has done lots of work with social justice and has had discussion with students about the homeless demographic. The following interview these quotes begins from talking about a class discussion Toby had about the relationship between government and corporations in regards to the homeless...

Notable Quotes:
"Those who are homeless are probably in survival mode and need help to be included in the political process. Community organizations, faith based organizations, and other non-governmental organizations are probably best equipped to help the homeless find a voice that would give them a fighting chance to be considered when benefits are distributed in society."

"I don’t see them participating without assistance from concerned individuals especially with regard to ensuring that the residency rules are met and their votes are validated. They need to be informed citizens...Voting is a step toward empowerment and it is important to assist them with getting to that first step."

When asked how concerned she believes the homeless population is with voting..
"They may be in survival mode as mentioned earlier but voting is a low risk strategy to moving beyond survival and possibly improving their situation."

April 16, 2008

Interview Ideas

Interview Subjects:

Mark Raymond-Head of Administration at the Creative Center for Non Violence (CCNV):
202-393-1909

Various residents of the CCNV, we will have the opportunity to talk to numerous men and women on day of our visit