Once Upon A Time, Home
Sweet Home
By Miriam Medina
Part I
Homeless! Just the mere sound of the word, sends shivers up
my spine. Statistics say that approximately 100, 000 New
Yorkers experience street homelessness each year and that
the City shelter system accommodates at least 38,000 of
these homeless individuals on a daily basis, among which are
included 16,000 children .The soup kitchens and food
pantries that are made available throughout the city of New
York, cannot satisfy the overwhelming demand of hungry men,
women and children who desperately pour into their
facilities to be fed. Unfortunately, those who are not of
the lucky ones, are turned away to find nourishment
elsewhere. This ongoing problem not only exists in New York
City, it is now becoming a national crisis.
A Brief Overview of Street Homelessness During the
1800s Into Early 1900s
During the 1800s, homelessness was always present. The
innocent victims that were most affected were the abandoned
children by the thousands living on the streets of New York.
What poverty, misery, bitter circumstances or vice would
hurl these innocent children into the streets, to grow up
among the thieves and outcasts of Metropolitan society, to
end up as beggars, hardened criminals and prostitutes? What
can be expected from the future of such children exposed to
vulgar jests and foul swearing of the outcasts who surround
them? The school of the streets is not the best place to
nurture pliable minds. Wherever these abandoned children
came from, or for whatever reason they may have gotten here,
they are here, living the life of a vagrant. No one cares for them. And they care
for no one. Some live by begging and thievery, while others
may support themselves honestly. The street life has made
them tough, yet deep under that tough facade, there is a
lonely frightened child silently shedding tears, longing for
a mother's affection and maternal care. They have become old
before their time and shrewd in their vice. They sleep on
steps, in cellars or wherever they could lay their weary
head down. Home! the abandoned child's yearning. Even to the
poorest of these children, whether it is a single crowded
room, reeking with unhealthy smells, living in filthy
unsanitary conditions, or dark smelly cellars, it was still
home to them, a safe haven, and a shelter in the storm...
There
were many factors that contributed to the homelessness of
these children. One of the leading causes was due to
overpopulation. The multitudes of poor immigrants who came
to New York City during the mid 1800s into the early 1900s
usually lived in the tenement district amid crime, filth and
disease. The tenement houses in the lower part of Manhattan
and other areas were overcrowded, lacking drainage and
sufficient ventilation. Immigrants had to live in damp
smelly cellars or attics, or up to six or 10 people, men,
woman and children packed into a crowded single room. Many
immigrants themselves would convert their apartments into
sweatshops, where amid the unsanitary conditions they would
manufacture garments, flowers and cigars. Everyone had to do
their share, even the children, who worked long hours.
Eventually, unable to continue supporting them, these
children were forced by their parents into the streets to
earn their own livelihood, leaving them abandoned to" fend
for themselves by whatever means necessary."
Amongst these street wanderers and homeless persons was
some of a much better class. Persons who were once bankers,
stock brokers and wealthy merchants, had suffered staggering
losses during the financial crashes that affected our nation
leaving them completely penniless. Much of their failure was
attributed to stock speculations, business deals gone wrong
and extravagant living. Once known and respected among the
world of prominent society, there were very few that would
extend help or express sympathy for the ruined businessmen
and their families. With no one to turn to, they too faced
the same fate as so many of the others did. For these men
and women who had only known wealth and comfort; the life of
poverty was indeed an extremely devastating experience which
they looked upon with an aversion. Keeping their distance
from the others, they would live entirely to themselves,
suffering and starving in silence. The men would try
desperately to find some sort of employment, and if they
did, they would work as hard as they could in the hopes that
their lives will once again return to normal. Only if in
desperate need, will they reach out to charitable
organizations for help.
Fathers who had become disabled from the war, industrial
accidents or sickness, were not able to continue providing
for their families, which led to their being evicted by the
merciless landlords. On a cold day crowds of these poor
people would be seen in the public places, huddled together,
shivering, around a blazing fire, hoping that some kind
passerby would feel sympathy and toss them a coin or offer
them some sort of lodgings for the night. It was not unusual
to find whole families literally starving for want of food.
Then there were the Newsboys. In the New York Times
article "The Newsboy" dated March 10, 1854, the following
reference is made to them. ""Of all the classes of the great
city, the newsboy is the very type of American independence.
He has stood alone all his life. When other children were in
nurseries or play-grounds, he was estimating debit and
credit, laying by capital for the morrow, and elbowing
through crowds, to sell his goods at the best possible rate.
He was a man in business. He has spent most of his life
learning the great lesson of Self-Help. These newsboys show
many kindly and generous traits. They help one another. They
often want to learn. Such lads as these are worth saving.
They would make keen, industrious, enterprising men. Give
them a chance to learn; get them out of their vagrant,
homeless habits; try to bring a little of the great
influences which are everywhere redeeming Society, to bear
on them, and see whether the newsboys do not turn out good
citizens."
In some cases where one parent would die, the remaining
parent not able to care for the children, would abandon them
to whatever fate had in store for them. These cast-a-ways
were almost invariably left either in the streets or at some
other public place where they may be found by someone. A large amount of
these children were placed in orphanages. It was but rarely
that any child thus abandoned would result in their
being claimed by the parent at a later date.
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