How the Public Library Became Heartbreak Hotel

Another great piece by Chip Ward, well worth a read. With my own family’s history of dealing with mental illness, and my own, this one hits close to home.

Tomgram: Ward, How the Public Library Became Heartbreak Hotel

The belief that we are responsible for each other’s social, economic, and political well-being, that we will care for our weakest members compassionately, should be the keystone in the moral architecture of a democratic culture. We will not stand by while our fellow citizens are deprived of their fellowship and citizenship — which is why we ended racial segregation and practices like poll taxes that kept disenfranchised Americans powerless. We will not let children starve. We do not consign orphans to the streets like they do in Brazil or let children be sold into prostitution as they do in Thailand. We are proud of our struggles to meet people’s basic needs and to encourage inclusion. Why, then, are the mentally ill still such an exception to those fundamental standards?

America is proud of its hyper-individualism, our liberation from the bonds of tribe and the social constraints of traditional societies. We glorify the accomplishments of inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs, pioneers, and artists. But while some individuals thrive and the cutting edge of our technology is wondrous, the plight of the chronically homeless tells me that our communities are also fragmented and disintegrating. We may have gained the world and lost each other.

The Penan nomads of Sarawak, Borneo, members of an indigenous and primal culture, have no technology or material comforts that compare with our mighty achievements. They have one word for “he,” “she,” and “it.” But they have six words for “we.” Sharing is an obligation and is expected, so they have no phrase for “thank you.” An American child is taught that homelessness is regrettable but inevitable since some people are bound to fail. A child of the Penan is taught that a poor man shames us all.

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3 Responses

  1. Having worked in a library for ten years I’m well-acquainted with this phenomenon, although it wasn’t as intense a problem as at his library. This is an excellent article, one that should be plastered on the front page of every newspaper. Thanks for sharing it (and for the other piece by Chip Ward).

  2. You’re welcome. I think he’s going to become a very important voice in our culture. He writes very well and has some interesting things to say, from a perspective most of us don’t see.

  3. Thanks for providing the link to the Chip Ward article. Our library in my town is a haven for many mentally ill individuals, especially during the wet winters. many of these people are not homeless, but live in group homes from where they can come and go duringthe day. The library is a place where many people can read what they like, sit in warmth and relax; it is much more intellectually stimulating than many group homes to hand out in. The homeless people here do not make use of the library, so I am uncertain about the policies regarding them, so shall have to ask.
    I was working as a curator of a public gallery some years ago. A toxically drunk native man fell on the concrete by our front door in snowy weather. . I requested some co-workers to help bring him inside until the ambulance came, they declined, feeling it was none of gallery staff’s concern to aid this man. It was frustrating to face this kind of reaction and the saying “you are your brother’s keeper” motivated me to act and help him despite criticism from my co-workers.
    The presence of homeless and mentally ill people among us is a reminder that each of us, individually become helpless and a burden on others within our lifetimes, some of us soone, others later, but for certain, every single one of us.

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