From Hoovervilles to Suburbs

By Asher Edgar, volunteer blog writer at Mentor A Promise


By Hmalcolm03 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, link

"I do not believe that Hooverville differs much from any other shanty town. It has just gained more notoriety. Hooverville is just another shanty town, where on nine and one-half acres of ground many shacks are located, some good, some poor, but to us shanty dwellers, be they ever so humble, they are Home, Sweet Home." [1]

Hoovervilles, also commonly referred to as 'Shantytowns,' were communities formed by the unemployed and unhoused during the Great Depression, sarcastically named after President Herbert Hoover. The Great Depression being a time in American History (1929-1939) which it faced the worst economic depression it has ever endured. [2][3]

In such a time where the unemployment rate, cost of housing, and economic depression were all running rampant it became only natural that like minded people struggling through the same financial situations would come together and use the support and security of one another to form communities.[1][2][3]

These Hoovervilles were built often in wide open spaces of land, and the shacks which inhabited them were made with scraps, metal sheets, wood, and whatever other discarded items its inhabitants could find.

The little shacks they built were, of course, never intended to be permanent solutions to their dire situations, but it gave them a place to call home while they tried to figure the rest out. Somewhere to feel safe from the stressors of the outside world and in the helping hands of one another.

The quote atop this article is attributed to a lumber worker from Texas named Jesse Jackson, the proclaimed "Mayor of Hooverville." This quote can be found at the end of his account of the Hooverville which he called home in Seattle, Washington.[1]

Jesse Jackson and a dozen other men, after struggling with relief shelters due to a low quality of life, set out to build themselves shelter elsewhere. Somewhere they felt that their property was theirs, and felt safe and comfortable with each other. They built their shacks in an abandoned Shipyard and did so out of machinery, metal sheets, and other discarded things that were left there. These dainty shacks were not luxurious by any means, but they were minor improvements over the lives they lived in relief shelters. Also as crude as they may have been they still gave the men exactly what they needed. A place, any place, to call home. Somewhere they could build their lives back up. [1]

Of course it was not long before the unregistered and concerning constructions were noticed by officials. It was less than a month before the people of Hooverville would find notices on their doors that their structures have been deemed unsafe for human habitation, and that they only had 7 days to vacate before the community would be destroyed. The people of this community decided to call their bluff. However, the officials who ordered those notices be placed upon their doors kept their promise.

On that seventh day just around the time of dawn as rain was pouring down harder than it had in months, a force of armed officers appeared from a distance. They barked orders at the shacks, waking the people of Hooverville, and running them off as other officers poured kerosene all over their shacks, their belongings, and their hard work. Then when all life was at a safe distance. They set it all ablaze.

The police hoped that this would be enough to deter the men from staying there. However, these men had nowhere else to turn. So they waited until the officers disappeared over the horizon, and they came back and built again. The police would visit another time, bark the order, burn the homes but again, almost like prophecy, the citizens of Hooverville returned. Stronger and more resilient than they were seen last. Thus a cycle was born. One of growth, followed by destruction, and then growth once more.

Jackson did not hold anything against the officers, nor those who gave them orders. Instead to him it seemed perfectly understandable.

“We did not hold any ill feelings toward the incumbent administration. We knew that they were not to blame for the destruction of our shanties, nor were they to blame for the very existence of shanty towns or the conditions that prevailed in them. Social economics were to blame.” [1]

They were both just doing their jobs. So it should be, based on the human nature of mutual respect, that neither the police nor the community could blame Jackson or his fellow men from returning. They felt it is one's duty to protect where they live.

The visits from police would cease due to a change in administration in the state's Government. The burning of Shantytowns was one of the larger talking points which led to these heated elections turning in favor of Hooverville. As a result these new officials were influenced to have a much more tolerable perspective toward Hooverville. They decided that if the Hoovervilles were to stay that they needed to be treated as one would treat the general community.

A representative came to the Hooverville and established a simple rule of law in which the Hooverville was to follow if it was to remain. One rule was that women and children not be allowed to live in Hooverville. To this they agreed as they shared the concerns over their safety. Next was that they should hold the Shantytown to the highest standard of cleanliness and sanitation possible. This was also agreed to with no argument. Finally it was stated that they must appoint a committee of peers who would uphold these standards and rules. So it was there that a deal was born. [1]

Eight officials were elected by Hooverville to perform this responsibility. From this point forward what was an encampment struggling to survive against the pressure of the police, the hardships of living in the open air, and the policies which acted against them; had now become a part of the overall community of Seattle.

From this point forward they grew like wildfire. Many would come seeking solace in the arms of these powerful and resilient people, and so their population would grow as high as 1200. [1]

At some point locals, who in the past held disdain for the Hooverville, would start to visit it. They would bring with them undesirable things from their homes in the hopes that someone else could make use of it. Their donations would all prove fantastic for building more shanty shacks for more people to call home.

They built roads, created structure in their little society, and even managed to incorporate addresses into the chaos of their sectors.

From this point little conflict would surround Hooverville. A reelection for the committee of peers would be held due to public opinion in which Jesse Jackson would become one of the new appointed members, and later be lovingly called "The Mayor of Hooverville."

It is because of Jesse Jackson that we have so much information on this community, due to an account which he wrote and was later published. In this account you will find a story of rising against all odds, the desire for community, and the resilience which defines humanity. In the voice of Jackson himself you can hear the desire to help, the willingness to try, and the pride for their way of life. During his time in the Hooverville, Jackson had a reputation as someone who constantly built others up, worked hard to make their lives easier, and did his best to care for every individual he could.

Jesse Jackson and the people of Hooverville broke their cycle.

Their Hooverville would become known as the longest lasting Hooverville as well as one of the largest and most well documented. Being destroyed one final time at the cusp of WWII after many of its residents had found enough security to build back up, and leave the Hooverville and find homes.

When I think of this story I think about the last thing which Jackson said.

"Be they ever so humble, they are Home, Sweet Home."

These shanties were not just a means to get by, they were home, a place for them to start everyday and spend it building. For most they were everything they had, and while it was most certainly not much, it was what they loved. From this story we can see that it is human nature to desire community, as we saw that all of these people down on their luck came together to support each other. We see the importance of security. Without the stress of losing everything, with the knowledge that they were able to stay and not have to worry about how and when they would have to rebuild, they were able to grow faster and stronger. Then finally we can assume that with this essence of community and security came the obligation to support and care for another. Jesse Jackson was the beloved "Mayor" to all of these people because it was he who answered the call to care for the sick, it was he who found himself at the beck and call of all their problems, and it was he who was willing to talk and see to it that every person got what they needed. [1] He, as well as many others of the surrounding community, worked hard to provide a base with which they could leap off.

However it should be stressed that this is not just a one off scenario.

In Wai’anae, Hawaii, there is a village of homeless people far outside of the city near the shore, where a group of people have spent the last 20 years building their community as high as it can possibly go. This village is called Pu’uhonua o Wai’anae.

Homelessness in Hawaii is often attributed to gentrification. [12] As more and more people moved to the area and as business came in, affordable housing became seldom. As a result of this the rate of homelessness, police presence on the street, and costs drove up beyond what many Native Hawaiians could handle. Newly homeless populated the streets and ritually police would find them and perform "Beat Sweeps." A term used by the locals to refer to when police would force homeless sleeping on the streets away from their belongings and discard them thereafter. Forcefully relocating homeless and separating them from what little belongings they had.[5]

The lifestyle of sleeping on the streets is already hard enough without having to constantly start from nothing. So a dire need for a place with which they could call their own and live without the fear of these "Beat Sweeps," was born. [5] Perhaps this is why so many homeless had found themselves living on this harbor, far from the influence and pressure of police. At first it was an encampment with no real name, structure, or purpose beyond survival. Yet that would all change when a woman named Twinkle Borge moved there in 2003. She was a friendly soul with a hardened past and immediately made herself everyone's acquaintance. However, the real drive to change their ways came to her when she saw the amount of families and children living in this community. She felt that their safety was of the utmost importance. It was her efforts which created Pu’uhonua o Wai’anae. She brought to it the structure and spirit it is known for today. Serving as this community's leader, visionary, and as they would come to call her “Mama.” [11] [13]

It was under Twinkle Borge that this community grew to the strength and size it is today. She created a space which was considered safe, driven, and passionate. Borge would unfortunately pass away in 2024, but not before working with state officials and charities to purchase the land which they lived on from the state of Hawaii. Officially making it a safe haven for anyone in dire need of a community which would help them. [11] [13]

The culture of this village is one of acceptance. They work together and support each other, refusing to turn anyone away which might need their kindness. In it are hundreds of people treating each other as how one would treat their neighbor. Their way of life is still not easy. But it is made much easier when you have someone or something you can fall back on.

One such neighbor is Joanna. A very sweet and gentle soul who at the time of her interview in 2020 had been living in Pu’uhonua o Wai’anae for around 5 or 6 years. Joanna is an old woman who lost her housing when it became too expensive for her to realistically upkeep. After some years of being on the streets she would be forced to leave the city, as the constant beat sweeps had become too much for her to handle. That was how she found herself in Pu’uhonua o Wai’anae. Living there she had been able to build a life for herself. She owned property, had her own little piece of land, and even managed to adopt a pet. [5]

It is not all simple however as she remarks that she is often stolen from, the difficulties of the elements, and how she has no idea how much longer she will have to live there. Yet, still every word she speaks is said with a smile on her face. Showing her love for the world around her, and an unbreakable optimism and spirit.

Pu’uhonua o Wai’anae has spent years building and providing its people with everything they need. So with the help of incredibly charitable people as well as their community at large, they have finally earned enough to begin construction of small homes into which they plan to move their women and children. [6]

Their cause is still ongoing today.

With this story we start to see some similarities. We see people coming together in order to build a place they feel safe, we see them lean on each other to accomplish this, and we see people build when provided with these things.

And these are not isolated circumstances.

In my research I found a Hooverville which lasted for 3 years in Central Park, New York City, the images of which showcase the stark juxtaposition of New York's fantastic and imposingly grand buildings looming over these small shacks of scrap. [4]

In the video “Homeless People Left Outside with Nowhere to Go,” uploaded by Invisible People, there was a homeless community in Southern California that came together out of trust, circumstance, and hope for better lives. They managed three years before, on the brink of breaking their tragic cycle, everything was stripped from them. [7]

In New York City, Daniel Brown of Business Insider wrote about a man named Moustafa and his homeless community which he and a few other mechanics lived in using their vehicles as shelter. How he and those mechanics would share their experience, skills, and kindness hoping that in doing so they would be able to break out of their dire situations. [8]

What becomes clear is that where there is humanity there is a need for communities in which support one another. There are likely thousands of smaller communities in the nooks and crannies of cities, rural areas, and wilderness which are undocumented yet still suffering through the same struggles and finding the spirit to continue on.

This article is not meant to glamorize the lives of these individuals. Still present in every single of these communities is crime, violence, drug abuse, and fear. The lives of these people are not easy and they are most certainly not safe. [9] However, these stories show that within these communities, within these people, there is also kindness, love, and passion. People working to break the cycles with which they have been dropped into. Caring for their neighbors so that they too can find the strength to grow.

This is what these stories are about. It's about opportunity. There is not one simple explanation for the solution of homelessness because it is an issue which is too complicated and varied to solve with the click of a button. For every example described here there are likely many more which end differently, suffer separate issues, and do not yield the same results. Yet the simple truth still stands that these examples do exist.

These amazing people have proven that when given the chance, when given everything they need any one person can find the ability within themselves to break their cycle. When not trapped in a never ending loop constantly starting their lives over again, when they are seen and heard and understood, and when they are shown that there is light at the end of the tunnel they can find their way out. [10]

This is the meaning of opportunity. It's a risk to give it, to take it, or even not too. Yet, when they are willing to give pieces of themselves to support their neighbors, when they already have so little, shouldn't we be expected to do the same?

This is what Mentor A Promise (MAP) does. We give opportunities to insecure housing children in New York City. To learn, to participate in activities which are not made available to them, and to explore themselves and their passions. We offer them the much deserved opportunity to break the cycle into which they were born. We do this because they are a part of our community, and is it not the obligation of a community to care for each and every one of its people? [14]

Give the opportunity, as you would take it, and you might just see the cycle fall apart into a million pieces, out of which, we can build a home.