Libraries and the Homeless: Almost Home

The dilemma of how to help homeless members of the community while keeping other users comfortable has plagued public libraries since their inception. Since libraries and librarians have differing viewpoints on how to handle this situation, it's difficult to pinpoint solutions, especially because each library and demographic is unique.

One issue that librarians face is the lack of tolerance or compassion that some users have for the homeless, since many people believe that the homeless individual is the sole person to blame for their situation. While this perspective is multifaceted, the fact of the matter is that there are also many outside factors that contribute to homelessness, such as lack of affordable housing and changes in the economy. Actor and filmmaker Emilio Estevez has said that regardless of someone's beliefs, there is something we should all agree on:

"It is a moral imperative for libraries and other public spaces to help the homeless and other populations in need" (20).

Possible Solutions. Some ways that libraries can help homeless people include special programming, outreach, and training staff to handle members of the homeless community. San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) responded to their homeless crisis back in 2009, in the midst of the recession, by pulling out all the stops to help homeless people in the community. They started by hiring Leah Esguerra from the Department of Health to identify homeless people in the library and provide counseling and answer questions they may have regarding food, shelter, housing, and work. She estimated that in a regular day she would consult with 5 to 8 people.

For outreach, other libraries send librarians to homeless shelters a few times per year to spread information about the services offered at the library and coordinate with the Department of Education to target and help homeless youth. During these visits, librarians can offer job interview techniques, technology training, or career counseling, among other topics. This can inform the homeless community on the resources available to them and encourage them to visit the library or utilize some other public resource.

Special programming can be as simple as book clubs held at homeless shelters or partnering with organizations that specifically help the homeless. Partnerships and programs can include serving food at the library, offering computer classes, giving haircuts and joining together with nurses to provide healthcare screenings and dental work.

There are many ways the library can help the homeless population, but they have to be open to these creative but necessary ideas.

Works Cited

"Emilio Estevez: Actor and Filmmaker Tackles the Library Response to Homelessness." American 

Libraries, vol. 49, no. 3/4, Mar/Apr2018, pp. 20-21. EBSCOhost, login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=128249183&site=ehost-

live&scope=site.

Lilienthal, Stephen M. "The Problem Is Not the Homeless." Library Journal, vol. 136, no. 11, 15 

June 2011, pp. 30-34. EBSCOhost, login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=61428299&site=ehost-

live&scope=site.