Street roots
Aug. 1, 2014
P H O T O B Y C A M E R O N T R IM B L E
Actress a n d activist S usa n sarandon testifies before Congress in support o f a proposed piece o f legislation to include people experiencing
homelessness as a protected class under the Hate Crimes Statistics Act.
Report on violence against the homeless
draws star power before Congress
BY RACHEL CAIN
important steps to ending homelessness is
to help people who are housed understand
scar award-winner Susan Sarandon
and identify with the homeless population.
may be most famous for her roles in
“Kids don’t develop empathy without
“Thelma & Louise,” “Dead Man
education,” she said. “There’s a
Walking,” and, of course, the cult-classic misconception that people on the street
“Rocky Horror Picture Show.” However, her
want the easy life, that they don’t want to ,
work and commitment extend far beyond
work.”
her achievements on the silver screen. She’s
She hopes that a new documentary film,
also a strong activist for numerous causes,
“Storied Streets,” directed by her son Jack
including homelessness.
Henry Robbins and produced by Thomas
“I have always been very aware of people
Morgan, will enable the public to
who are not housed,” Sarandon explained.
understand the complexities of
Growing up in New York City, she often
homelessness and the challenges homeless
saw homeless people living on the streets,
people face every day-she says it certainly
which compelled her to begin her advocacy
made her more aware of the realities of
work for the
homelessness.
homeless. For years,
“They go across the
Sarandon has been
U.S. and debunk
" I t Is time far Coagress fa
involved with the
myths of how people
act. We eaa't allow these
National Coalition for
hecome homeless,”
p e o p le fa be invisible any
the Homeless. She’s
Sarandon explained.
also volunteered with laager."
“It makes the face of
I H ACTRESS SUSAN SARANDON
Habitat for Humanity
the unhoused specific
' - T E S T IF Y IN G B E FO R E C O N G R E S S
and has helped out at
and human. There are
a soup kitchen for
so many ways to end
more than two
up on the street even
decades. Somehow,
if you’re working two
she has always found ways to juggle her
jobs. People are on the precipice constantly.
advocacy work while acting in Hollywood
I hope the film redefines for people what
homelessness is.”
productions.
“I’m in chaos all the time,” she smiled. “If
Homelessness is for thousands a reality
Sarandon says she almost “can’t bear the
I can usé my media connections to shine a
thought of.”
light on those who are voiceless, that’s the
“Home means so much to me,” she
point.”
expressed. “I can’t imagine not having a
Sarandon relies deeply upon her store of
place to be clean, to be safe.”
empathy to imagine the lives of the
Recently, Sarandon lent her voice before
characters she plays in films. Similarly, she
Congress.
believes empathy is one of the reasons why
“It is time for Congress to act,”
she feels drawn to speak out for the
emphasized Sarandon during a recent
homeless.
congressional briefing about violence against
“If you can imagine yourself in that
the homeless. “We can’t allow these people
situation (of homelessness), you want to
to be invisible any longer.”
take action,” she said. “It’s an organic
On June 25, U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings
natural flow.”
(D-Fla.) and Eddie Bernice Johnson
The actress believes that one of the most
C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R
B
National Coalition for the Homeless’
Report on Crimes Against the
Homeless in 2013
» In 2013,109 attacks against the
homeless by housed perpetrators were
recorded
■ The total number of attacks in 2013
represents an increase of 24 percent
from 2012
■ 85 percent of all perpetrators were
under the age of 30
■ 93 percent of all perpetrators were
male
■ 65 percent of all victims were 40
years old or older .
■ 90 percent of all victims were male
■ 18 percent of the attacks resulted in
death • a ■ I | | j | l | I 1 H 1 1 j j 1 H j : I
■ 2 recorded attacks involved fire
■ 5 recorded attacks were a result of
police brutality
Source: The National Coalition fo r the
Homeless
(D-Texas) cochaired a congressional briefing
m support of a proposed piece of legislation
to include the homeless as a protected class
under the Hate Crimes Statistics Act.
Sarandon, along with David Pirtle, a
survivor of violence against the homeless,
and Thomas Morgan, the co-director of a
documentary about homelessness, testified
during the briefing.
Throughout her testimony, Sarandon
stressed that sheltered members of society
must recognize the humanity of homeless
people in order to overcome their
indifference toward a vulnerable population.
“Congress is a proxy of society,” she said.
“If society is apathetic, Congress will be,
too.”
s .
Sarandon told the story of Carl Simon, a
50-year-old homeless man who was beaten,
stabbed and tortured this past year. When
his attackers realized he had not died they
forced him into a large suitcase he used to
carry his few possessions and then drowned
him in a bathtub.
“Carl Simon is one of the thousands we
need to remember as we fight to protect
those experiencing homelessness right
now,” Sarandon said.
David Pirtle, a member of the National
Coalition for the Homeless’ (NCH) Speakers
Bureau, described the unprovoked violence
he experienced when homeless. He survived
five attacks, including being beaten with
baseball bats, being spray painted and being
urinated on.
“Most [attacks] are done just for fun,”
Pirtle said. “I don’t understand how a
person can do that and laugh.” c
Although fatal attacks against the
homeless occurred more than three times
as often than those classified as hate crimes
from 1999-2012, violence against the
homeless is not considered a hate crime by
the federal government.
The proposed legislation, HR 1136:
Violence against the Homeless
Accountability Act, would amend the Hate
Crime Statistics Act to make the federal
government responsible for compiling data
about crimes committed against homeless
people. At the moment, the Hate Crime
Statistics Act requires the Attorney General
to collect information on crimes committed
because of a victim’s race, religion,
disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity.
HR 1136 is sponsored by Eddie Bernice
Johnson (D-Texas) and co-sponsored by 23
Other members of Congress, including one
Republican, Ileana Ros-Lehtirien (R-Fla.).
Since 2007, several efforts have been
made for Congress to have crimes against
the homeless included in the Hate Crimes
Statistics Act. However, all these bills died
in committee.
Currently seven states and three cities
recognize violence against the homeless as a
hate crime. Opponents contend that
homelessness should not be included as a
protected class in the Hate Crime Statistics
Act because homelessness is not a
permanent condition, unlike the other
classes protected in the Act
An official from the Anti-Defamation
League said in an interview with NPR that
there needs to be a better definition of
homelessness and an understanding of
whether it is, like the other characteristics
protected under hate crime laws, an
unchangeable characteristic.
“What is the definition of homeless? What
is immutable about homeless? Is it an
immutable characteristic? Is it exactly the
same as race, religion, disability, sexual
orientation, gender?” asked Michael
Lieberman, the Washington counsel for the
Anti-Defamation League.
“It is different.”
According to the NCH’s new report,
“Vulnerable to Hate: A Survey of Hate
Crimes & Violence Committed against the
Homeless in 2013,” bias against the indigent
drives many crimes against the homeless.
Some crimes are opportunistic, a direct
result of the vulnerability homeless people
experience because they have no shelter for
protection. The NCH only records crimes
committed by housed perpetrators against
homeless individuals in its report.
“A hate crime is one of the most
despicable and prejudicial acts done to
another human being by a human being,
and, surprisingly, these acts affect homeless
people in great proportions,” wrote
Congresswoman Johnson in an e-mail.“It is
imperative that we give this issue the
serious attention that it deserves by
including homeless people in hate crime
statistics.”
Street News Service, In tern a tio n a l Network
o f Street Papers