{"id":5062991,"date":"2024-07-08T08:59:34","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T08:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/illatinonews.com\/?p=5062991"},"modified":"2024-07-08T08:59:34","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T08:59:34","slug":"doubling-up-homelessness-overlooked-and-unsupported","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/2024\/07\/08\/doubling-up-homelessness-overlooked-and-unsupported\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Doubling-up\u2019 Homelessness: Overlooked and Unsupported"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CHICAGO \u2e3a Electa Bey said she will never forget the day she met her husband at 11-years-old outside her family\u2019s South Side home.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was playing with one of my friends, and I looked around and this guy was coming down. When I looked at him, I could not move. I was stuck.\u201d Sixty-six-year-old Bey recalled with a smile slowly spreading across her face. \u201cOh, I just knew this was the love of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Laurel would become the man with whom Bey would have eight children, the man she would laugh with, the man she would cry with, and the man she would share her secrets with for 46 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Laurel would also become the man Bey would experience homelessness with for the first time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2018Doubling-up,\u2019 or when a person temporarily lives with others, is one of the most common forms of homelessness in Chicago experienced by predominantly communities of color.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2023, over 68,000 people experienced homelessness in the city and nearly 45,000 of them lived doubled-up, according to a report by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagohomeless.org\/estimate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chicago Coalition for the Homeless<\/a>. Out of nearly 20,000 Latinx people experiencing homelessness, 91% are in doubled-up situations, according to the report.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the number of people experiencing homelessness has significantly increased in recent years, there remains an inaccurate narrative about what leads a person to live doubled-up and what that experience can look like.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-anchor-fm-inc wp-block-embed-anchor-fm-inc\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"\u2018Doubling-up\u2019 Homelessness: Overlooked and Unsupported by Latino News Network \" src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/lnn1\/embed\/episodes\/Doubling-up-Homelessness-Overlooked-and-Unsupported-e2llrai#?secret=mYUCM9PgOg\" data-secret=\"mYUCM9PgOg\" height=\"102px\" width=\"400px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">LISTEN to Electa Bey&#8230;in her own words<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bey married her husband at sixteen and would go on to move to various parts of the city with their two young girls and four boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When her family tried to move into an apartment in Westridge, they went through excessive background checks that Bey said were racially discriminative.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[The landlord would ask] what kind of credit do you have? How long have you had your credit? Even back then, it was ridiculous and so we were having a really hard time securing a place,\u201d Bey said. \u201cWestridge was just not as open as it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This led Bey and her family to move in with one of her close friends for nearly a month, though it came with a lot of stress.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen you are doubling up \u2026\u201d \u201cYou are actually interfering with somebody\u2019s life,\u201d Bey said. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean that they think you are, but you know you are. You\u2019re changing a whole structure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As difficult as it was trying to find housing, living in a shelter \u201cwas never an option\u201d because Bey said she never wanted to risk being separated from her husband or children.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, when Bey was in her 50s, her family upended their lives once again and moved in with family members from Roseland, though this time, she was also living with her six grandchildren.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bey said she and her husband saw the strain their living situation was having on their grandchildren and tried to maintain any sense of normalcy by taking them to the same after-school programs they would attend before living doubled-up.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe kept the same routine that we had all the time. It was like we wasn\u2019t homeless. We didn\u2019t tell people, we didn\u2019t cast it out, but we lived with somebody,\u201d Bey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even then, Bey said she couldn\u2019t ignore how living doubled-up affected her sense of self.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/IMG_6029-1024x663.jpeg\" alt=\"\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Electa Bey, Photo: Jim Vondruska\/For the Sun-Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou can feel like a little bitsy person sometimes, and it&#8217;s not that nobody making you feel [that way], but this is what you feel inside. This is a struggle you personally have and that\u2019s why it\u2019s a fear because if you\u2019re having that struggle, what kind of struggle are your babies having?\u201d Bey said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like many, Bey didn\u2019t realize that living doubled-up is a form of experiencing homelessness because of how one naturally becomes an active member of the household.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen there\u2019s a pot on the stove, that\u2019s either you cookin\u2019 or them cookin\u2019, but you cookin\u2019 for the whole family. When you go grocery shopping, you\u2019re thinking about the whole family. When you buy toilet paper or soap you\u2019re lookin\u2019 to buy for everybody, you\u2019re doubling-up,\u201d Bey said.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said that it wasn\u2019t until she attended a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicago.gov\/city\/en\/depts\/mayor\/supp_info\/office-of-new-americans\/Municipal-ID.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">city key event<\/a> and heard guest speakers from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.communitiesunited.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Communities United<\/a> talk about homelessness that her reality started to sink in.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou don\u2019t know when you doubled-up, when you living with someone. You really don\u2019t know that\u2026\u201d Bey said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have a key, but your family or your friends have opened their doors to welcome you in to be a part of their family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hudexchange.info\/news\/huds-definition-of-homelessness-resources-and-guidance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Department of Housing and Urban Development\u2019s<\/a> (HUD) current definition of homelessness does not account for those living doubled-up, preventing many individuals from qualifying for necessary housing resources.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bey pointed to how those who are living doubled-up also frequently \u201cget lost under the radar\u201d because many people have a narrow view of homelessness.<br><br>\u201cYou can\u2019t count us on the street, we\u2019re not laying out there,\u201d Bey said. \u201cWe go to work every day, we take our kids to school every day, we wash, we buy dinner, we cook, we ride the bus every day. We do all the same things, we go to the library, you can\u2019t tell that we are homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite their hardships, Bey and her family were able to move into a home in the Westridge neighborhood by June 2018.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were just so happy, six grandkids were so happy,\u201d Bey said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But by the following year, her husband passed away after battling cancer in his lungs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe was gone\u202646 years,\u201d Bey said before taking a deep breath. \u201cIt really messed my head up\u2026 I was lost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly after her husband&#8217;s death, Bey said she was evicted by her landlord over unrelated personal matters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe wanted me out of his place, and he would come on a day I left; he would change the lock and illegally evict me out of the place. And when I came back, everything was out,\u201d Bey said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere you go, my husband&#8217;s gone, and I found myself homeless again,\u201d Bey said. \u201cI had to go back to doubling-up again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Bey was mourning and struggling to find housing of her own, she found ways to support her community through her growing involvement in Communities United.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI would knock on doors in Westridge and tell people if you face an eviction, what they could do, the resources they have, if you need food, help with your lights and gas,\u201d Bey said. \u201cI was giving back.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her experience living doubled-up led her to profoundly understand the sacrifices people make to have basic shelter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI would talk to them and let them know, it\u2019s alright, you know I\u2019ve been homeless,\u201d Bey said. \u201cI know what that feels like when you live in unsafe conditions, and you abide by the rules because you have nowhere to go.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bey said her experience has led her to keep fighting alongside her neighbors and grandchildren for equitable housing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t have a lot to give, and if I can give you my time, if I can fight for you with my breath, that makes me feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"suggestions\"><strong>SUGGESTIONS<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/chicago-politics-bring-chicago-home\/\">Chicago Politics: Bring Chicago Home<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/future-uncertain-for-tax-hike-to-fight-homelessness\/\">Future Uncertain For Tax Hike To Fight Homelessness<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/illn\/doubling-up-homelessness-an-invisible-crisis\/\">\u2018Doubling Up\u2019 Homelessness: An Invisible Crisis<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cover Photo: Electa Bey told the Sun-Times in the article, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/2023\/9\/13\/23864416\/chicago-unhoused-doubling-up-count-south-side-west-side-coalition-for-the-homeless-report-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nearly 65% of homeless population in Chicago lives in doubled-up, temporary housing<\/a><\/em> that she didn\u2019t consider herself unhoused when she moved in with relatives temporarily after her husband died. \u201cI\u2019m like, OK, I\u2019m staying with family \u2014 doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m homeless. But it did. I had to look at it and say, wait a minute, I have to go sooner or later.\u201d Jim Vondruska \/ For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Publisher\u2019s Notes:&nbsp;The Latino Policy Forum and Illinois Latino News (ILLN) are partners in a two-year-long public awareness campaign illuminating the most common form of homelessness experienced in the Latinx community, which is through \u2018doubling-up\u2019 or when a person temporarily lives with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Illinois Latino News and Latino Policy Forum, thanks the generous support of Chicago&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.funderstogether.org\/?fbclid=IwAR13YELHnRx-Gb3LQKs-dwqmO9YpSKWN-ZLXWfoP2Q8keKLIlgnQ8rE2Jb4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Funders to End Homelessness (CFTEH)<\/a>&nbsp;in providing the funding to make the special coverage possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can support stories like this one by donating to IL Latino News, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?cmd=_s-xclick&amp;hosted_button_id=D5V5HHQGENUQL&amp;source=url&amp;ssrt=1702486051205\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cYou can feel like a little bitsy person sometimes, and it&#8217;s not that nobody making you feel [that way], but this is what you feel inside.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5062994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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can feel like a little bitsy person sometimes, and it's not that nobody making you feel [that way], but this is what you feel inside.\"","authors":[{"term_id":231,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"jacqueline-cardenas","display_name":"Jacqueline 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