Homelessness in Port of Spain and Chaguanas

Image 1 (Source: Phang. 2015. Blog Assignment - Introduction to Urban Geography)

This photo was taken at Tamarind Square Port of Spain. Tamarind Square is located between George Street and Duncan Street as well as Independence Sq. N and Independence Sq. S. The name of the homeless person is Lorde and he has been on the streets for over 20 years. He even smiled when the picture was taken.

In addition to a previous post on Homelessness, there are slight variations between the homeless due to their geographical setting. The quantity of homeless is significantly greater in Port of Spain than that of Chaguanas. According to an article written by Geisha Kowlesser Port of Spain holds the largest proportion of homeless with 307 out of a total of 534 in an 2011 census. A characteristic of the homeless is they tend to migrate therefore the quantity of homeless in each location varies. There is a wide gap in the ratio of homeless men to homeless women. This attribute can be seen in both Port of Spain and Chaguanas. Approximately 279 of the 307 street dwellers in Port of Spain are male, on the other hand only 28 of that number is female. 

Clothing and hygiene are seen on different levels for both areas. Some of the homeless maintain their hygiene somewhat while others completely neglect their hygiene and live in their own filth. Amount and type of clothing also varies. There was one instance in Broadwalk Port of Spain whereby a vagrant man removed all his cloths, leaned against the wall of Republic Bank of Canada (RBC) and was very vocal. There are others whose choice of clothing are a pants or jersey alone. Others are fully clothed and even go as far as expressing their fashion sense. The homeless in Port of Spain can be seen as more fashionable. 

                                               
Source: Lois M. Takahashi 1996 pg301

In the continuum of stigma diagram to the right homeless persons fall short in all three criteria and therefore are the most stigmatized. It seems dismal for the homeless in particular but their socioeconomic status is not static thereby they can move up the social ladder. There are homes and shelters in Trinidad that can help the homeless become integrated within society. Illegal immigrants are similar but an important difference is that they seek a better life. Homelessness as a choice is debatable. Those who enter street life because of abuse, drugs and other social pressures, as well as economic and political pressure are not there by choice. They were in some way forced into homelessness. Can someone freely choose street life as their only lifestyle? 

The factors used to measure one's socioeconomic status are education, income, health and environment. These factors allow for upward mobility. In other words the movement along the stratification is known as an achieved status. Rehabilitation for the homeless in Trinidad would be costly, time consuming and dangerous. These reasons and more are why the number of homeless in Port of Spain and Chaguanas is increasing instead of decreasing. The prospect of helping the homeless is unappealing and in a world where profit matters the loss is greater than the gain with the homeless. 

                                                                                                        
Reference

Takahashi, L. M. (1996). A decade of understanding homelessness in the USA: From characterization to representation.

 Kowlessar, G. (2012, June 19). More people living on streets-census. Retrieved April 10, 2015.