NOJIREN First Year Anniversary Special
Annual Report
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1. Introduction
In this report, the goal where NOJIREN shall go or should go is clarified with consideration of the outcomes through the activities of 1998. Although the activities often have to be modified facing a new challenge, in order to adapt to the alternating situation, it is important to clarify and share the vision. It is the key for the NOJIREN members to develop a creative analytical mind to set the practical goals. To reach the goal, this report aims to be not just a pile of data, but a fruitful resources sharable for all the members.
2. Analyzing Situation
1. General Situation
A) the Homeless Issue 1998-99
Under the recession, many companies have taken a decision to lay off their workers or switched to hiring more part-time workers and reduced full-timers. There is no optimistic solution. The condition, in which there is 4.6 % of the unemployed (over 3.000.000 laid off workers), will not get better in a short term. According to the recent report, half of those unemployed are 20-30 years old. It's expectable that the number of young homeless in Shibuya will continue to increase and the issue will become more serious. The situation for the homeless in mid 40-50's has not been changed much; definitely, this age group will also keep expanding as their small job market is taken over by the younger generation. Therefore, the Situation Analysis from the last year has to obtain some addition and modification.
- Addition: It is desired to design a job-offering program led by the welfare authorities, especially for the older homeless.
- Modification: The more youth turning homeless will become a fixed factor, because even if the job opportunities get improved, the kind of jobs available for them are likely to be unstable.
B) Social Situation; Mass Media and Residents' Reaction
The understanding of homeless issue has been developed under the long-term recession. Mass media stopped picking up homeless issue as a personal problem. The issue, though still inadequate, has been considered as a social problem.
To some extent, people slowly have realized that it cannot be the fundamental solution just to give away food and clothes to homeless. However, with their inability to tell a truth, mass media have projected homeless in a distorted way.
It only reproduces the bourgeois' selfish attitude toward outcasts; on one hand they feel "sorry " for homeless, but on the other, they are still just unable to remove the negative feelings like "scared" or "dirty" when they actually face the homeless people. It is obvious that some local shop owners and residents who are directly dealing with the homeless issue disgust mass media which report the issue with a compassionate view victimizing homeless. The local governments will continually not be able to take any clear position in between the both sides.
C) Administration
The recent government action was initiated for the strong demand from the local governments in trouble dealing with a growing homeless issue. The requests from each local governments are very much the same;
- To bring up a homeless issue to the national level,
- To create a national guideline to standardize the deal with the homeless,
- To provide the local governments with subsidy for a homeless matters,
- To reform laws to make the eviction of homeless easier.
Frankly speaking, for their purpose it is to put this issue, which has been difficult to be ruled and left falling in between the various sections and legal systems, under the national power in order to ease a control.
Now we would like to discuss the present status of NOJIREN, one of whose missions is to support homeless' autonomy, against the authorities' movement toward putting homeless under their control with least protection.
2. Status of NOJIREN
In 1998 NOJIREN had committed itself in the fights against the authorities concerned. Numerous negotiations were held with the officials from the welfare office, the public park office and the Children's Hall; both on the Shibuya -Ward and the Tokyo-Metoropolitan levels. We have demanded the various rights for homeless, including to obtain the social welfare, to develop a Self-supporting Center and various others. It was those fights that had activated and directed our daily actions.
However, the group camping project showed the alternative way in the direction where NOJIREN was going to. The comradeship through the group camping was finally developed in NOJIREN which values teamwork. It was at this point where the comrades' own will was made substantial for the first time in the NOJIREN's activities.
In 1999, the action of NOJIREN has started to step aside from the political fights in accordance with the comrades and seen great potential within this new direction. The movement has rapidly grown in a few months by bringing the outer factors into our actions; for instance, as focusing on job searching, the establishment of the labor section was done in NOJIREN, accelerated by the Asa-Kikaku Conflict. Also, the view toward the self-support system has opened up with the understanding and help form the new sympathizers. Even though those actions have a big tendency to lean on political struggles as well, they do have latitude where the problems can be solved within their own system, outside of the governments'. It is this new direction led by the comrades themselves, ceasing to expect the authorities to initiate things for them, that can inspire the comrades' independency.
The shift of focus in the actions necessarily impacts on other operations. For instance, it is clear that it was within this relation that we realized the great necessity of follow-up of the former homeless people who got on welfare. Moreover, if we fail to establish the relationship also with the comrades who get a job, the Self-support system based on mutual support cannot be stabilized. As a whole, NOJIREN, after working for the group camping project, now needs to take a different stance toward 'autonomy' from the authorities' whose understanding of it is 'to bring the homeless people back to the bottom of the laboring system.' We should aim at a qualitative change for "autonomy" in various meanings and the system for maintaining the change. It of course does not conflict with the idea of gaining a housing by being employed.
Nonetheless, being rash could lose objectivity in the analysis. NOJIREN is still at the beginning in those prospects where the goal is seen far in the distance. The job-finding process has not seen the progress since its start and has been supported only by a small segment of comrades and the following up of the former homeless on welfare is rather going backward. Furthermore, morale has been diminishing in the group camping. And the heavy oppression from the authorities can be expected in near future. In short, NOJIREN is only a fragile newborn who is viewing a frontier, but is not sure to get there.
3. Total Plan
1. Introduction
The primary issue is to empower and activate the comradeship and initiative in the Children's Hall group. The future tasks are to increase the flexibility among them to accept the newcomers, to cultivate the autonomy system to solve the internal problems, and to strengthen the self-defense ability against the oppression from the authorities, local residents, and the police. Yet, we can't reach the better position, if we are passive about dealing with each matters separately. It is necessary to find a solution of these conflicts in the comrades' own will aiming at their own objectives.
2. Situation of the Children's Hall
The problem which the Children's Hall group facing is although they actively help each other in the group camping, they just cannot step forward to get out of the street and remain in the survival stages.
For example, many of homeless people got a day labor in March 1999(the end of a fiscal year in Japan) when the job opportunity gets better. The people in younger ages who have more laboring ability had priority over the older people in getting a job, yet they could only work 3-4 days/week at the maximum. Nonetheless, it drove their motivation to work and gave them chance to rehabilitate the basic living. It is the key to take more steps in this occasion.
In May and June, the jobless season becomes deadly serious to depress our comrades. There is no help for homeless people but to be hopeless, when there is least job opportunity. Even if they get a day labor somehow, it is natural for them to think 'everything is waste' if they see nothing open to go further. Working conditions to them are specially harsh. Some just have to give up even a day labor for not having any money to go to a work place. To keep a weekly job requires more money not only for transportation but also for a living cost. Who can continue doing those hard works without washing out your sweat and dirt, with no extra underwear, nor food nor water? To change this condition, NOJIREN has been demanding the aid and more flexible usage of the homeless-support funds to the welfare officials. However, their response is not sufficient, and the comrades are still on the street.
Under this circumstance, the members of the Children's Hall group, taking on the group camping project, have come to prefer to stay within the group rather than go out and find a job if the kind of job they can get is unattractive. In other words, they choose to be with other companions and receive free food rather than get depressed for unsatisfactory laboring situation. It is the reason why the job-gaining rate is so low, even among the younger homeless. NOJIREN should not regard this attitude of theirs as selfish nor choosy, but should rather know the reality surrounding them and consider it as the essential human desire for freedom from the restraint. Our comrades want to have a fulfilled work that gives them a hope.
3. New Direction--the Job Referral Project
Thus aiming at; Maintaining the comradeship, developing and activating a teamwork and increase the number of comrades at NOJIREN as well. Supporting homeless people who lost hope in getting a job by arranging that those comrades work together at the same places.
This project should help them proceed as follows; working together with other comrades→stepping out of the Children's Hall→regaining the basic living skills→exchanging information/opinion between the comrades at each phase of getting out of the street→the former homeless comrades coming back to our activities'sites as supporters of the homeless movement.
These objectives will be activated as follows;
1. The youth group: Barrack ('Get-out-of-the-street' Village) Plan
The young homeless can have more job opportunity than the elder generation. Although they can't choose the kind, they can find the day/week labor for living. And we, together with comrades, reserve a small amount of their earnings for the funds to support others and develop the livable habitat with their intention. This, living in a barrack, is the transition stage of stepping out from being homeless.
The energetic action of the youth will give a positive impact on the whole comrades.
2. The middle-aged group: Apartment (habitat for comrades with a stable job) Plan
To obtain a monthly job requires having a residency and to rent an apartment requires having a stable job.
To get a day labor they have to compete with the youth. The possibility to receive social welfare is very low among this age group. It is necessary for this group to focus on the laboring support system and that has to lead them to a stable job.
We support them through their job finding process and once they get a stable job, we arrange for them to live in an apartment. The comrades qualified for this plan are the ones who are determined to face any difficulties, to get a job and consequently get out of the street with a strong will, and to support other homeless people with feedback from their experiences. This plan can provide the intensive support system and be expected to bring a positive impact on the rest of our comrades.
3. The elder group: Children's Hall 'Community' Plan
For the elder people who are in a very difficult condition to get even a day labor, the self-support center led by Tokyo Metropolitan Government is the most anticipated program.
Although the construction of the center is behind the schedule, we will take full advantage of the public support system, by gaining a priority for the elders to participate in the tentative self-support project planned for operation in May/June.
Moreover, the communication between the age groups should be kept active, and they should be able to take a step forward toward the life under roof.
The self-support center can only accept the very limited number of people, thus many of comrades are expected to be out from the list. For those people, we need to prioritize them in providing a job when offered by NOJIREN supporters specially for our comrades.
We need to minimize the inequity between the age groups by making adjustments as such. Moreover, as this age group being the majority of the Children's Hall, they are expected to lead the community and create the firm bonding between each group in different stages mentioned above.
4. New group
They will work together for a daily action and share the need of comradeship and autonomy. Therefore, we will respond to the need of the each group and develop the total plan. We will take a step by step with the view of some business plan including to hold flea market.
We will keep pointing out the incompetent public support operations, but at the same time, keep taking advantage of those aid programs. We will support the comrades' activities to overcome the problems that the authorities are unable to solve. We will also promote the financial and technological backup to meet our comrades' need including their own laboring funds project. We will advocate this action to the society and obtain more supporters. Of course, these actions should not be the obstacle for our daily activities nor weaken the fights against the authorities.
We would like to show this mutual aid among the homeless to the society. In addition, our empowerment with successful results will reveal the authorities' lack of ability to solve any problems.
April 25, 1999
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