Various barriers and socio-spatial contestations against PEH made it difficult for them to negotiate their urban citizenship and space in Thurston County. In the end, PEHs’ negotiation for urban citizenship and space is ongoing, and their success depends on a radical shift whereby all urban dwellers - PEH, domiciled people and government actors - work together to transform the County to be more inclusive for all.
References
2018-2022 Thurston County and Olympia Regional Consolidated Plan Prioritizing HOME and Community Development Block Grant Resources (p. 156). (2018).
https://cms7files.revize.com/olympia/Document_center/Community/Housing%20&%20 Homelessness/CDBG%20Program/Con%20Plan%20Full%202018%20-%202022.pdf 2019 Thurston County Homeless Census Report (p. 83). (2019).
https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/sscp/PDF/2019%20Thurston%20County%20Home less%20Census%20Report.pdf
2020 Point in Time (p. 49). (2020). Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Office of Housing & Homeless Prevention.
https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/sscp/PDF/2020%20Point%20in%20Time_Final.pdf 2022 Compare Cities Climate: Seattle, WA vs Olympia, WA. (n.d.).
Https://Www.Bestplaces.Net. Retrieved May 5, 2022, from
https://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/seattle_wa/olympia_wa/climate
2022 US Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2022). Point-in-Time Count and Housing Inventory Count. HUD Exchange.
https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/hdx/pit-hic
ADC. (2020, December 14). Lack of Available Housing Affects Military Families at JBLM.
Association of Defense Communities. https://defensecommunities.org/2020/12/lack-of-available-housing-affects-military-families-at-jblm/
Addorisio, S., Kamel, M. M., Westenberg, J. N., Heyd, A., Maragha, T., Abusamak, M., Wild, T.
C., Jang, K. L., & Krausz, R. M. (2022). Unmet service needs and barriers to care of individuals experiencing absolute homelessness in Edmonton, Canada: A cross-sectional survey. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 57(2), 387–395.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-021-02080-2
Argerious, N. B. (2022, February 10). Inslee Pushes Legislation Prioritizing Homeless Encampment Removal Near Highways. The Urbanist.
https://www.theurbanist.org/2022/02/10/inslee-pushes-legislation-prioritizing-homeless-encampment-removal-near-highways/
Axial Coding. (2017). In M. Allen, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483381411.n33
Barriers to Work: People with Criminal Records. (2018). National Conference of State Legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/barriers-to-work-individuals-with-criminal-records.aspx
Bassuk, E. L., Hart, J. A., & Donovan, E. (2019). Resetting Policies to End Family Homelessness. The Annual Review of Public Health, 247–263.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth040119-094256
Benson, A. (2022). Point in Time Census Preliminary Data Report: Thurston County, Washington. Office of Housing & Homeless Prevention.
https://www.co.thurston.wa.us/health/sscp/PDF/04_27_22PointInTimeFlyer.pdf Bilbao, M. (2021, September 26). Census data shows how Thurston County has become more
diverse over last decade. The Olympian.
https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article254510747.html
Block, B. (2020, September 16). Lacey’s parking restrictions ‘banish’ homeless RV-dwellers from city, lawsuit says. The Olympian.
https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article245728595.html
Block, B. (2021, October 23). Destroyed portable toilets at Wheeler camp escalate harassment, outreach workers say. The Olympian.
https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article255210121.html
Boone, R. (2022, March 9). Thurston median home price reaches new high, but for how long as gas prices, rates rise? The Olympian.
https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article259215403.html
Brown, A., & Kristiansen, A. (2009). Urban Policies and the Right to the City: Rights, Responsibilities and Citizenship (p. 58). UN-Habitat.
http://www.hlrn.org/img/documents/policies_right_to_%20city_%20Rights_%20Respons ibilities_%20Citizenship.pdf
Bryman, A. (2016). Social Research Methods. Oxford University Press.
Climate in Olympia, Washington. (n.d.). Https://Www.Bestplaces.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022, from https://www.bestplaces.net/climate/city/washington/olympia
Code Blue/Hazardous Weather. (2022). IW SHELTER. https://www.iwshelter.org/code-blue.html Cole, P. (2021). Homelessness: Let’s look at Lacey as well as Olympia. THE JOLT NEWS
ORGANIZATION, A WASHINGTON NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.
https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/homelessness-lets-look-at-lacey-as-well-as-olympia,4658
Department of Defence. (n.d.). Basic Allowance for Housing [Government]. Military Pay.
Retrieved May 31, 2022, from https://militarypay.defense.gov/PAY/Allowances/bah.aspx Dwyer, P., Bowpitt, G., Sundin, E., & Weinstein, M. (2015). Rights, responsibilities and refusals:
Homelessness policy and the exclusion of single homeless people with complex needs.
Critical Social Policy, 35(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261018314546311 Gates, J. (2014, February 26). Little Hollywood: Public Restroom Realities in Olympia:
Challenges to a Human Need, a Human Right. Little Hollywood.
http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com/2014/02/public-restroom-realities-in-olympia.html
Giannini, A. (2016). An Intersectional Approach to Homelessness: Discrimination and
Criminalization (SSRN Scholarly Paper ID 2946094). Social Science Research Network.
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2946094
Google Maps. (2022). "Thurston County". Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Thurston+County,+WA,+USA
Harper, A., Kriegel, L., Morris, C., Hamer, H. P., & Gambino, M. (2017). Finding citizenship:
What works? American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, 20(3), 200–217.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15487768.2017.1338036
Harvey, D. (2012a). “The Right to the City.” In The Urban Sociology Reader (2nd ed.).
Routledge.
Harvey, D. (2012b). Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution. Verso Books.
Henry, M., de Sousa, T., Roddey, C., Gayen, S., Bednar, T. J., & Associates, A. (2021). The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 102.
Herring, C., Yarbrough, D., & Marie Alatorre, L. (2020). Pervasive Penality: How the
Criminalization of Poverty Perpetuates Homelessness. Social Problems, 67(1), 131–149.
https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spz004
Homelessness in Washington state. (2019). ANNUAL REPORT, 36.
James, W. (n.d.). Outsiders (No. 1–10). https://www.knkx.org/podcast/outsiders
James, W. (2020, September 15). Homeless “sweeps” cause worry in Olympia, where the shelter system is at half capacity. KNKX Public Radio. https://www.knkx.org/news/2020-09- 15/homeless-sweeps-cause-worry-in-olympia-where-the-shelter-system-is-at-half-capacity
James, W. (2021, July 12). Thurston County will try new approach to serve the unsheltered.
KNKX Public Radio. https://www.knkx.org/news/2021-07-12/thurston-county-will-try-new-approach-to-serve-the-unsheltered
James, W., & Greenstone, S. (2020, February 2). Olympia made homeless camping legal in one parking lot. A year later, did it work? The Seattle Times.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/olympia-made-homeless-camping-legal-in-one-parking-lot-a-year-later-did-it-work/
Kelleher, T., & Washington State Department of Commerce. (2018, November 21). Drivers of Homelessness in Washington State. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8NUHqpPf-U Lambert, K., 2021, The Capitol Dome, off in the distance. Photograph. Retrieved from
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/olympia-made-homeless-camping-legal-in-one-parking-lot-a-year-later-did-it-work/
Lekhtman, A. (2020). Olympia’s “Mitigation Site” No Long-Term Homelessness Solution. Filter.
https://filtermag.org/olympia-homeless/
LLC Books. (2010). Washington Culture. LLC Books.
Malaba, P. (2022, February 14). It’s Past Time to Re-Legalize Affordable Homes in Washington.
PubliCola. https://publicola.com/2022/02/14/its-past-time-to-re-legalize-affordable-homes-in-washington/
Manyam, S., & Panjwani, S. (2019). Analysing Interview Transcripts of a Phenomenological Study on the Cultural Immersion Experiences of Graduate Counselling Students. SAGE Publications, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526496348
Marijuana. (2012). Seattle.Gov. https://www.seattle.gov/marijuana
Markovich, M. (2022, May 26). Olympia the first to permit free RV encampment parking on public street [Text.Article]. FOX 13 Seattle; FOX13 News | Seattle & Western
Washington | Formerly Q13 News. https://www.q13fox.com/news/olympia-the-first-to-permit-free-rv-encampment-parking-on-public-street
Mendoza, C. L. (1997). Not a House but a Home: The Centennial Car Camp for the Homeless.
University of Hawai’i Press, 59, 30–50.
Mercer, C. (2019, September 30). The Real Crisis In Olympia is Not Homelessness. Medium.
https://candacemercer.medium.com/the-real-crisis-in-olympia-is-not-homelessness-ad68199ab708
Mitchell, D. (1997). The Annihilation of Space by Law: The Roots and Implications of Anti-Homeless Laws in the United States. Antipode, 29(3), 303–335.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8330.00048
Mortality Archives. (n.d.). National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://nationalhomeless.org/category/mortality/
Müller, M. (2015). Assemblages and Actor-networks: Rethinking Socio-material Power, Politics and Space. Geography Compass, 9(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12192
National Academies of Sciences, E., Division, H. and M., Practice, B. on P. H. and P. H., Affairs, P. and G., Program, S. and T. for S., & Individuals, C. on an E. of P. S. H. P. for H.
(2018). Addressing Homelessness in the United States. In Permanent Supportive Housing: Evaluating the Evidence for Improving Health Outcomes Among People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness. National Academies Press (US).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519590/
Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic Analysis: Striving to Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1609406917733847. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
O’Brien, J. R. G., Auerswald, C., English, A., Ammerman, S., Beharry, M., Heerde, J. A., Kang, M., Naous, J., Pham, D.-Q., Maria, D. S., & Elliott, A. (2021). Youth Experiencing Homelessness During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Unique Needs and Practical Strategies From International Perspectives. Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(2), 236–240.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.11.005
Olumhense, E. (2022, February 10). ‘They’re shut out of the market’: The struggle to rent with a criminal record. The Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/feb/10/new-york-renting-criminal-record
Olympia, Lacey & Tumwater Cities PUMA, WA | Data USA. (n.d.). Retrieved May 5, 2022, from https://datausa.io/profile/geo/olympia-lacey-tumwater-cities-puma-wa#about Olympic Peninsula Community Museum. n.d., "Average Annual Precipitation in Washington
State”
Pilarska, J. (2021). 6 The Constructivist Paradigm and Phenomenological Qualitative Research Design. In 6 The Constructivist Paradigm and Phenomenological Qualitative Research Design (pp. 64–83). Channel View Publications.
https://doi.org/10.21832/9781845418281-008
Pilo’, F., & Jaffe, R. (2020). Introduction: The Political Materiality of Cities. City & Society, 32(1), 8–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/ciso.12252
Politics & Voting in Thurston County, Washington. (n.d.). Https://Www.Bestplaces.Net.
Retrieved May 5, 2022, from
https://www.bestplaces.net/voting/county/washington/thurston Public Restrooms. (n.d.). [Map]. City of Olympia.
https://cms7files.revize.com/olympia/Document_center/Government/Advisory%20Com mittees/Pbia/Public-Restroom-Map.pdf
Roberson, J., & Nardi, B. (2010). Survival Needs and Social Inclusion: Technology Use Among the Homeless. 4.
Robinson, B. A. (2021). “They peed on my shoes”: Foregrounding intersectional minority stress in understanding LGBTQ youth homelessness. Journal of LGBT Youth, 1–17.
https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2021.1925196
Scanlon, L., Hobson-West, P., Cobb, K., McBride, A., & Stavisky, J. (2021). Homeless People and Their Dogs: Exploring the Nature and Impact of the Human–Companion Animal Bond. Anthrozoos, 34, 77–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2021.1878683 Schein, R. (2012). Whose Occupation? Homelessness and the Politics of Park Encampments.
Social Movement Studies, 11(3–4), 335–341.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2012.708834
Sheltered Homeless Definition. (2021). Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sheltered-homeless
Smith, M. P., & McQuarrie, M. (2011). Remaking Urban Citizenship: Organizations, Institutions, and the Right to the City. Transaction Publishers.
Snow, D., A., & Mulcahy, M. (2001). Space, Politics, and the Survival Strategies of the Homeless. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(1), 149–169.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00027640121956962
Spegman, A. (2018, December 8). Business owners seek restraining order to stop Olympia’s city-sanctioned homeless camp. The Olympian.
https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article222822190.html
Stein, A. (2012). Marriage Equality and Gay Rights in Washington. History Link.
https://www.historylink.org/File/10255
Strauss, A. L. (1990). SYSTEMATIC CODING IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH. BMS:
Bulletin of Sociological Methodology / Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique, 27, 52–
62.
Talley, K. D., & Timmer, D. A. (1992). Resisting Shelterization: The Politics of Housing and Homelessness. Housing and Society.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08882746.1992.11430140
Talley, K. D., & Timmer, D. A. (2015). Resisting Shelterization: The Politics of Housing and Homelessness. Housing and Society, 19(3), 13–20.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08882746.1992.11430140
Thelin, A. N. (2020, June 1). Where to Charge Your Phone When Homeless: 10 Options - Low Income Relief.
https://lowincomerelief.com/where-to-charge-your-phone-when-homeless/
Tonnelat, S. (2010). The sociology of urban public spaces. Atlantis Press, 10.
von Mahs, J. (2005). The Sociospatial Exclusion of Single Homeless People in Berlin and Los Angeles. American Behavioral Scientist, 48(8), 928–960.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764204274201
Wagner, D. (1993a). Institutions of Control: Social Welfare as Contested Terrain. In Checkerboard Square. Routledge.
Wagner, D. (1993b). Subcultures and Patterns of Association Among Street People. In Checkerboard Square. Routledge.
Washington State Department of Commerce. (2018, November 21). Drivers of Homelessness in Washington State. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8NUHqpPf-U
Zimmerman, L. J., Singleton, C., & Welch, J. (2010). Activism and creating a translational archaeology of homelessness. World Archaeology, 42(3), 443–454.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2010.497400
Appendices Appendix A – Operationalization Table
Concept Dimension Variable/Indicator
Negotiating Urban Citizenship
Belonging How do PEH in Thurston County perceive their role in the community?
What kinds of interactions do PEH have with
“familiar strangers”, or domiciled people?
How do PEH feel included in Thurston County?
How do PEH feel excluded in Thurston County?
What kinds of relationships do PEH perceive having with domiciled people?
What kinds of relationships do PEH perceive having with other PEH (micro level)?
What kinds of relationships do PEH perceive having with local government (macro level)?
Political Engagement Do PEH feel their human rights are honored?
What obstacles do PEH perceive that hinder their political engagement?
Do PEH engage in voice tactics?
Are PEH civically engaged at the macro level?
Accessing Resources and Services
Can PEH access resources and services adequately?
What barriers do PEH face with regards to accessing resources and services?
Non-Human Entities Are there non-human entities that make PEH feel more included in the community?
Are there non-human entities that make PEH feel more excluded in the community?
Negotiating Urban Space
Type of Space Do PEH use prime space for subsistence activities?
Do PEH use marginal space for living activities (relaxing, sleeping, etc)?
Do PEH use different spaces during different parts of the day?
Do PEH perceive a difference in the level of comfort of certain spaces versus others due to contestations from others?
Do domiciled people treat PEH differently in different spaces?
Access to Space Do PEH feel they can access public space (parks, streets, etcetera) adequately?
Do PEH have access to transportation?
Do PEH have access to shelter?
How do PEH resist spatial contestations against them (exit, persist, adapt, voice)?
Non-Human Entities What kinds of non-human entities help PEH negotiate for urban space?
Transforming the City
Imagining Inclusion What does “inclusive” mean to PEH?
How would PEH like to see the County transformed to be more inclusive for them?
Appendix B – Interview Script with PEH Variable Dimension Question Background
Information
n/a How old are you?
Are you originally from Olympia/Thurston County?
Are you currently experiencing homelessness?
The next questions are for me to gain a more complete picture about homelessness in Olympia, but if you don’t feel
comfortable, we can move on:
How long have you experienced homelessness?
If you don’t mind my asking, how did you become homeless?
Negotiating Urban Citizenship
Belonging Do you think housed people accept PEH as part of the community?
Do you think that PEH in Olympia feel that they belong in the city?
In your experience, how do housed people treat homeless people?
Follow up: How do they treat you?
As a person experiencing homelessness, do you feel included in the city?
If yes: What helps you feel included?
If no: What makes you feel excluded?
Political Engagement
Do you think your human rights are being honored?
Do you feel there are obstacles preventing you from being politically engaged because you are houseless?
Do you think PEH are politically engaged at a national or local level?
Do you think there is a lot of political activism and protest among PEH?
Accessing Resources and Services
As a person experiencing homelessness, do you feel that you can access resources and services adequately?
Do you feel that there are obstacles preventing you from accessing resources and services?
Non-Human Entities
For a couple questions during in the interview, I will ask you about “non-human things”. I just want to clarify what I mean.
Non-human things could be anything that is not a human. It could be anything. With this in mind:
Can you think of any non-human things that make you feel more included in the city?
Can you think of any non-human things that make you feel excluded?
Negotiating Urban Space
Type of Space
Where do you sleep most nights, and where do you spend your days?
Are there certain areas of the city that you feel more comfortable in than others?
Do you feel a difference in the way people treat you when you were downtown versus in the outskirts of town?
Access to Urban Space
Do you feel that you are able to access public space easily?
Why/Why not?
Question Added Halfway Through Interviews:
What do you do when people ask you to leave an area? For example, if police tell you to move?
Non-Human Entities
What kinds of non-human things do you think help PEH claim space in Olympia?
Transforming the County
Imagining Inclusion
These days, the word ‘inclusive’ has become really important.
What does the word inclusive mean to you?
How would you like to see the city transformed to be more inclusive for people experiencing houselessness?
Relationships Between Urban Dwellers
n/a How would you describe the types of relationships you have had with other people experiencing homelessness?
How would you describe the relationship between PEH and the broader community?
How would you describe the relationship between PEH and the City’s government?
What role do you think PEH have in the city?
Appendix C – Interview Script with Professionals Variable Dimension Question
Background Information
n/a How long have you been working with PEH?
What kind of work do you do?
Are you currently experiencing homelessness?
What is the long-term mission, and what happens on a daily basis in your work?
Why did you decide to do this kind of work?
How long have you lived in Olympia?
How do you think the city has been affected by homelessness?
Negotiating Urban Citizenship
Belonging Do you think that the public accepts PEH as part of the community?
Do you think PEH in Olympia feel that they belong in the city?
Political Engagement
Do you think PEH in Olympia are politically engaged?
Do you see a lot of protest and advocacy activity among PEH?
What kinds of political aims do you think PEH have, and what issues do you think are most important to them?
Accessing Resources and Services
Do you think that PEH are able to access resources and services adequately?
IF YES: is that because the city provides well?
IF NO: Why not? What barriers are there?
Non-Human Entities
For a couple questions in the interview, I will ask you about
“non-human things”. I just want to clarify what I mean. Non-human things could be anything that is not a Non-human. It could be anything. With this in mind:
Can you think of any non-human things that might make people experiencing homelessness feel more included, or excluded in the city?