This past Saturday’s outing was one of the more interesting academic experiences I’ve had in college. For all the classes I’ve taken talking about the struggles of different groups, discussion on income and housing inequality and the shortcomings of public policies to counteract these issues I’ve never had any face to face contact with the populations themselves. The experience of these people inviting us into their homes and sharing a glimpse into their day to day was more impactful towards understanding the severity of the issues and the impact of solutions currently at play in the county than any powerpoint ever could be.
Of all of the locations we toured I was the most struck by the North Park LGBTQI+ affirming housing complex. I spoke at length with Nancy (the woman with the very fun coat) and if I’m entirely honest with myself going into that conversation I was rather nervous. I couldn’t imagine what we were going to talk about but I really wanted to make a connection. However the two of us never ran out of things to talk about: our cats (her’s is named Reba after Mcentire who shes seen in concert over 100 times), line dancing, growing apart from friends we wish we hadn’t, and in an interesting turn of the conversation the show I Survived and our mutual interest in true crime.
Throughout our tour I was particularly interested in how the different locations encouraged community amongst its residents and Nancy had a lot to say on this topic. She told me that there was quite the split in the residents: those who kept to themselves and another group who came to almost all the events (although she expressed a wish for dance classes and how she’s been thinking of attending the yoga classes but isn’t sure if it’s quite her speed). At an initial glance what set this location apart from the others in terms of community building was the specialization of their group meet (specific to sexuality and I was especially interested in the group which talks about living with HIV at an advanced age). Although we didn’t delve into it I can only imagine that a shared LGBTQI+ identity might lead to a stronger avenue to community.
I walked away from my conversation with Nancy excited for her night out dancing and surprised by how much of myself I saw in her. When the populations that housing inequality effects are kept at a sterile arms length in class discussions it’s hard to truly empathize with these issues unless one has other lived experience around the topic. And I feel that experiences such as these outings could be of great value to other classes studying populations in San Diego.
Of all of the locations we toured I was the most struck by the North Park LGBTQI+ affirming housing complex. I spoke at length with Nancy (the woman with the very fun coat) and if I’m entirely honest with myself going into that conversation I was rather nervous. I couldn’t imagine what we were going to talk about but I really wanted to make a connection. However the two of us never ran out of things to talk about: our cats (her’s is named Reba after Mcentire who shes seen in concert over 100 times), line dancing, growing apart from friends we wish we hadn’t, and in an interesting turn of the conversation the show I Survived and our mutual interest in true crime.
Throughout our tour I was particularly interested in how the different locations encouraged community amongst its residents and Nancy had a lot to say on this topic. She told me that there was quite the split in the residents: those who kept to themselves and another group who came to almost all the events (although she expressed a wish for dance classes and how she’s been thinking of attending the yoga classes but isn’t sure if it’s quite her speed). At an initial glance what set this location apart from the others in terms of community building was the specialization of their group meet (specific to sexuality and I was especially interested in the group which talks about living with HIV at an advanced age). Although we didn’t delve into it I can only imagine that a shared LGBTQI+ identity might lead to a stronger avenue to community.
I walked away from my conversation with Nancy excited for her night out dancing and surprised by how much of myself I saw in her. When the populations that housing inequality effects are kept at a sterile arms length in class discussions it’s hard to truly empathize with these issues unless one has other lived experience around the topic. And I feel that experiences such as these outings could be of great value to other classes studying populations in San Diego.