“Tony” shows homelessness in SD

The Changemaker Hub premiered “Tony” on March 12 at Warren Auditorium with the help of communication studies professor and Associate Director of the Center for Educational Excellence Kristin Scialabba, and Omar Passons, who is a candidate for County Supervisor. “Tony” was premiered to educate Toreros and attendees on the topic of homelessness and how to take action in order to reduce San Diego’s homeless population.

“Tony,” filmed and directed by Dennis Stein, features the day-to-day life of Tony Rodriguez, who is currently homeless in San Diego. Stein filmed Rodriguez’s daily life to document the struggles that plague San Diego’s homeless population.During a Q&A session at the end of the premiere, Rodriguez discussed being constantly harassed by police to move his tent and personal belongings. He has to abide by laws, that according to him, are unfair and make him feel that being homeless is illegal in San Diego. Each location where he lays down his belongings and sets up his tent has mandated days and hours which prohibits homeless people from settling there. If a homeless person does not have a good reason to be on the street, a citation may be given or they can be jailed for six months.

“When every time (a) bicycle cop tells you to move along, but doesn’t tell a ‘normal’ person to move along, but he tells you to move along, it’s like another nail in the coffin for your self-esteem,” Rodriguez said. “You feel less human.”

Shelters such as Father Joe’s Villages and the Alpha Project in downtown offer beds and food to those who are homeless. Stein said many homeless people do not utilize these resources even though they are readily available to them.

Homeless shelters offer food and beds on a first-come, first-serve basis. Rodriguez tried many times to take advantage of those resources but now prefers not to.

“We can get (homeless people) into Father Joe’s or Alpha Project tonight,” Stein said. “But, most people don’t want to go to those shelters because they’re not pleasant places to go to or to be in.”

Rodriguez said he avoids shelters because of long wait times for food, high levels of noise when he tries to sleep, theft, and policies that add to his anxiety. There are point systems at some shelters and after three points, a person can be kicked out with all their belongings back onto the street. He stated if he doesn’t make his bed properly, leaves clothes out, or breaks a 10 p.m. curfew, he receives points that may land him back on the streets anyway.

“I’d rather be on the streets,” Rodriguez said. “There are thieves at the shelters. (They’re) not a nice place to be.”

The jailing of homeless people after numerous citations is problematic for reducing the homeless population. People like Rodriguez, who are going through steps to attain permanent housing, are unable to make progress on housing applications while they are jailed and focused on surviving for the day.

“There are days I just want to die,” Rodriguez said. “I’m just beat down. I don’t know if I want to be in society. Even if I took the great courage to get a job, I can’t be functional anymore. I want to be functional.”

He mentioned he has hope despite the hardships in his life.

“I want some meaning in my life,” Rodriguez said. “But, my life isn’t over… I’m alive.”

Every day, Rodriguez collects recyclables and returns them for cash deposits and rummages through dumpsters outside of commercial buildings to find items he can resell to thrift stores.

After the premiere ended, Stein stated that he filmed the movie because he wanted to bring light to a topic that has many stigmas around it. He described how his investigation through “Tony” unveiled how to reduce, or end homelessness in San Diego by transplanting policies that are in effect in other cities across the United States.

“What San Diego needs is outreach workers who go out and help somebody through the process (of acquiring permanent housing),” Stein said.

The Regional Task Force on the Homeless (RTFH) is a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to prevent homelessness in San Diego and to alleviate problems there.  Stein acknowledged that while these organizations are well-intentioned, they are not doing enough. Outreach to assist homeless people is often done by police, which Stein does not see as beneficial. Additionally, he believes that a portion of people remain homeless because they do not know what resources are available to them. Stein recommended that RTFH add additional outreach workers and service providers to their organization.

“The outreach needs to be done by members who aren’t police,” Stein said. “Also, because homeless people don’t trust police, since they’re getting harassed by them. In many cities and regions around the country, there are social services workers who are employees of different social services providers who will spend time on the streets, and get to know the (homeless) people and learn to trust (the social service workers).”

Stein is an advocate for revamping RTFH’s outreach efforts to become more efficient in reducing homelessness rates, rather than applying “band-aid” solutions.

“The Regional Task Force (on the Homeless) knows we need this,” Stein said. “They’re doing a lot of work to try to make this happen and to provide more funding for that, and to train those service providers on how to do that.”

Stein interviewed Chief Operations Officer at RTFH Tamera Kohler and asked when San Diego would see more outreach workers on the streets. She stated that RTFH is waiting for additional funding but assured him that the organization is doing everything they can with the resources that they currently have. Kohler stated that she is aware of the lack of social service workers at the organization and currently is less efficient in long-term reduction of homelessness, but is committed to making necessary changes.

On film, Rodriguez broke down in tears and mentioned how other city’s efforts in ending homelessness reinvigorated his hope for the future. When the movie premiere finished, the USD community rejoiced once they saw Rodriguez walk on stage in Warren Auditorium with Stein and Passons. Rodriguez was asked to reflect on his statement that he felt beat down, to mentioning later in the movie that he had a renewed sense of hope for himself and the homeless community.

“Thank you for caring,” he said. “I’m amazed when people care, because people haven’t cared in a very long time. So, thank you.”

Rodriguez explained to the audience that being treated differently because he’s homeless wears down his self-esteem and confidence, so he was very excited and emotional seeing the USD audience concerned for him and showing the will to help reduce the homeless population in San Diego.

Activism was the main topic of discussion during the Q&A after the premiere finished. Dr. Mike Williams, director of the Changemaker Hub, asked Rodriguez what students and faculty can do to help end homelessness in San Diego.

“I think you have to find your own thing that you do best,” Rodriguez said. “The main thing really, is to call your representatives. To (send them) letters, and to ask them if they’re (going to) support (ending homelessness).”

Rodriguez passed the microphone to Passons for comment during the Q&A.

“Speak with your vote,” Passons said. “There is an election on June 5, it is as important as the November election. Waiting until the general election lets people choose your candidates for you.”

Passons continued to implore the audience to get involved in the voting process, and also to become lawmakers themselves. The candidate for County Supervisor mentioned that voters will have the opportunity to vote in favor of a $900 million housing bond that will fund organizations to provide the homeless with permanent homes.

“It is critical that students realize they have power both now at the voting booth,” Passons said. “(Students should also) volunteer on campaigns — and, down the road to run for public office to fight for change … we need to get engaged, and our system desperately needs young people who don’t want to wait for important changes.”

The University’s mission statement calls for the “advancing (of) academic excellence,” as well as, but not limited to “prepar(ing) leaders who are dedicated to ethical conduct and compassionate service.”

Williams called on the essence of compassionate service on campus.

“The movie is incredibly powerful; I believe this is a movie that we could, and should show each semester,” Williams said.

He called for the USD community to continue their involvement in social activities and developmental projects. “(‘Tony’) raises so many important issues, and with so many great events happening at USD, it is sometimes difficult to get students, faculty, and staff to attend.”

Associated Students (AS) and a group of other USD students organized a food service called Pancake Peeps which was created to feed the homeless community in Downtown San Diego. The food service is a volunteering opportunity that USD students participate in that Williams encouraged students to continue to be involved in. It is hosted at 9:30 a.m. on 14th and K. St. near Petco Park, every Saturday morning.

“For many years, there has been a growing awareness on campus about the issue of homelessness,” Williams said. “There have been a number of student and faculty projects that have been created to address this issue. The film ‘Tony’ challenges all of us to not only think about the issue of homelessness, but to take action as well.”

Williams directed students who want to get involved in communal services to the Changemaker Hub.

“The Hub is one resource on campus where students, faculty, and staff can share ideas and think of innovative ways to address this complex issue,” Williams said.

The issue of homelessness continues to be an issue for the government, and for private citizens to effect change. It is a complex issue and there is more information to learn about how to help reduce the homeless population through simple efforts, where to volunteer, how to directly participate in policy change, and general information to avoid stereotyping.