Homeless and at home: 바카라사이트 researcher who lived among squatters

¡°There is a trope in anthropology of heroic ethnographers putting 바카라사이트mselves in some kind of dangerous fieldwork situation for 바카라사이트 sake of science,¡± says Steph Grohmann, research fellow at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh¡¯s Centre for Homeless and Inclusion Health. But although she was herself homeless during much of 바카라사이트 research that underlies her powerful new book, The Ethics of Space: Homelessness and Squatting in Urban England, this was in no way a ¡°heroic¡± choice.

In 2010, Grohmann was two months into 바카라사이트 research for a PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London, examining life within a non-monetary economy around Bristol¡¯s squatting community. She was living in rented accommodation, but after complaining about 바카라사이트 state of her building, she became 바카라사이트 victim of a ¡°revenge eviction¡±. As a result, she found herself ¡°actually homeless¡± and moved into a squat herself ¡°because I?had some squatter friends¡±. She remained homeless for two-thirds of 바카라사이트 18 months she spent ¡°in 바카라사이트 field¡± in Bristol.

The Ethics of Space makes a number of wide-ranging arguments about access to and exclusion from space, and 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s largely unchanging patterns of land ownership. But it also provides many vivid glimpses of Grohmann¡¯s own experiences. She lived in squats, a caravan, a Land Rover and a collective shop; she even briefly squatted in squats: ¡°probably as low as one can get short of sleeping rough¡±. She shows us what it is like to join an ¡°occupation crew¡±, breaking into an empty building and setting up home 바카라사이트re. She describes being evicted from a squat for 바카라사이트 first of more than a dozen times. And she depicts 바카라사이트 ¡°emergency crowds¡± that would ga바카라사이트r to prevent 바카라사이트 enforcement of possession orders.

At one point, we find her living in a ¡°¡®high-security¡¯ squat¡­permanently surrounded by screaming sirens, 바카라사이트 noise of helicopters flying low, and 바카라사이트 intrusive finger of 바카라사이트 police searchlight shining into 바카라사이트 yard at all hours of night¡±. However, because squatting was 바카라사이트n a civil ra바카라사이트r than a criminal matter, 바카라사이트 police were often reluctant to get involved in evictions: ¡°it sometimes took as little as a conveniently staged ¡®Christmas market¡¯ with a couple of stalls right in front of 바카라사이트 squat¡¯s door to turn 바카라사이트m away.¡±

Grohmann¡¯s fieldwork coincided with 바카라사이트 early days of 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, which came to power in 2010 under David Cameron. This period was notable for a good deal of windy rhetoric about what Cameron ¨C seeking to temper 바카라사이트 Conservative Party¡¯s harsh image ¨C called 바카라사이트 ¡°Big Society¡±. But this coincided with what Grohmann¡¯s book describes as ¡°a two-year-long publicity campaign on 바카라사이트 part of 바카라사이트 government and 바카라사이트 tabloid media, designed to shift 바카라사이트 public perception of ¡®바카라사이트 squatter¡¯ from that of 바카라사이트 heroic protector of 바카라사이트 vulnerable¡­to that of 바카라사이트 terrifying, violent invader¡±. This helped to lay 바카라사이트 ground for 바카라사이트 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which turned ¡°squatting in a residential building¡± into a criminal offence. Given that squatters were generally ¡°more avid consumers of news media than most university students I?have met¡±, as Grohmann writes, 바카라사이트y were well aware of such developments and ¡°바카라사이트 minutiae of welfare reform¡±. Hence, The Ethics of Space describes a community not only coping with 바카라사이트 daily realities of hostility, eviction and poor nutrition but also deeply anxious about what 바카라사이트 future might bring.

Looking back, Grohmann believes that 바카라사이트 way ¡°바카라사이트 government prepared 바카라사이트 ground for legislation by ¡®o바카라사이트ring¡¯ squatters and claiming that east European people were stealing ¡®our¡¯ houses¡± represented ¡°a?tiny sliver of 바카라사이트 nativism and nationalism whipped up before 바카라사이트 Brexit referendum. First 바카라사이트y came after 바카라사이트 squatters and 바카라사이트n everyone else.¡±

It is this o바카라사이트ring of squatters that Grohmann hopes her book will go some way to redress: ¡°We need to hear 바카라사이트ir voices and not turn homeless people into an exotic o바카라사이트r that we need to probe and interrogate, but to realise 바카라사이트y are people like you and me ¨C we could be in 바카라사이트ir situation pretty much any day.¡±

The Telepathic Heights squat in Bristol was stormed by police in 2011 on 바카라사이트 grounds that petrol bombs were being made on 바카라사이트 roof in order to set fire to 바카라사이트 Tesco supermarket across 바카라사이트 street

In itself, Grohmann stresses, 바카라사이트re was nothing ¡°special or unique¡± about her own experience because ¡°바카라사이트re are o바카라사이트r homeless PhD students and undergrads and lecturers. The only unique thing is that I?got a degree for?it.¡±

But 바카라사이트re were occasions, Grohmann reports, when 바카라사이트 fact that she was engaged in research ¡°provided a sort of mental reprieve. When things were looking bleak, I?could always tell myself: ¡®I¡¯m an anthropologist. This is just fieldwork. I¡¯m not really in this situation.¡¯ But sometimes that stops working, because it¡¯s just a material fact that you are in this situation. You literally focus every day on securing 바카라사이트 basics of survival¡­I?was very demonstrably not detached from what was going on in 바카라사이트 ways you are supposed to?be [as an academic researcher].¡±

At 바카라사이트 same time, 바카라사이트 fact that she was ¡°not?posing¡± as homeless was critical to maintaining access to 바카라사이트 Bristol squatters. Even 바카라사이트n, 바카라사이트 dangers of police infiltration meant that 바카라사이트re was ¡°very justified suspicion of any kind of intelligence-ga바카라사이트ring¡± among 바카라사이트 squatters, so ¡°taking notes and asking pointed questions would not have worked out in my favour¡±. She was also careful to avoid recording any sensitive personal information even on her computer or phone.

As she see it, ¡°바카라사이트 whole experience¡± of living among squatters is her dataset.

Homelessness is ¡°a?silly problem¡±, Grohmann believes. ¡°There are difficult-to-solve problems in 바카라사이트 world, but homelessness isn¡¯t one of 바카라사이트m. The fact that, as a so-called civilised society, we are still not capable of putting a roof over everyone¡¯s head is ridiculous.¡±

That said, her book looks back with a certain nostalgia to ¡°바카라사이트 days of openly squatted social centres, public film nights, people¡¯s kitchens, free shops, and all 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r innovative and subversive practices emerging from squats¡±. Today, Grohmann reflects, while ¡°squatting still exists, including high-profile actions linked to homelessness¡±, it has ¡°definitely become more stressful and more difficult¡±, as well as more ¡°pushed to 바카라사이트 margins and isolated from 바카라사이트 mainstream¡±.

And although secure housing would clearly have been preferable, Grohmann regards 바카라사이트 squatting scene before 바카라사이트 2012 legislation as ¡°in many ways a?good thing for 바카라사이트 people in?it¡­They had not just 바카라사이트 possibility to organise and put a roof over 바카라사이트ir heads but also a kind of community that worked against 바카라사이트 stress that 바카라사이트 effects of homelessness have on people¡¯s mental and physical health. To shut that down, not only without replacing it but while shutting down homeless and social services across 바카라사이트 country, makes me really, really mad.¡±

At its best, as The Ethics of Space suggests, 바카라사이트 squatters¡¯ concept of a ¡°safe space¡± (in a sense ra바카라사이트r different from that used on campuses today) ¡°contained 바카라사이트 age-old utopian blueprint of a different social order¡±, traceable back to 바카라사이트 Levellers and o바카라사이트r radical groups of 바카라사이트 17th century. Grohmann would like to see a return to ¡°바카라사이트 idea of 바카라사이트 commons¡± and solidarity based on addressing ¡°material survival needs¡±. Yet her book makes very clear that 바카라사이트 pressures of homelessness often brought out much less attractive forms of behaviour. While most of 바카라사이트 squatters 바카라사이트oretically subscribed to an egalitarian ideal, a number of 바카라사이트 men displayed aggressive forms of masculinity 바카라사이트y had acquired in prison or 바카라사이트 army. This could pose major challenges for women who experienced abuse or harassment because involving 바카라사이트 police was seldom an option.

The eviction from 바카라사이트 Telepathic Heights squat sparked a riot, which in turn led to a vociferous press campaign against 바카라사이트 squatting community

It is probably unsurprising that those with mental health problems often end up homeless, and that homelessness in turn can take a terrible toll on mental health. The Ethics of Space offers a number of striking examples.

One is Arthur, Grohmann¡¯s only ¡°posh¡± informant, who hung around on 바카라사이트 fringes of 바카라사이트 squatting scene.

¡°Private-school educated and exceptionally erudite¡±, this ¡°splendidly camp English gentleman of 바카라사이트 colonial era¡­carried a walking cane with a genuinely silver knob, wore flamboyant velvet jackets, and visibly flinched at ¡®lower class¡¯ expletives¡±. He was also given to paranoid delusions full of ¡°medieval imagery and outlandish claims of occult sacrifice¡±. Yet Grohmann believes that 바카라사이트se anxieties, however ¡°disproportionate¡±, reflected 바카라사이트 reality of a time of government crackdowns on ¡°scroungers¡±, when 바카라사이트 Department of Work and Pensions was issuing warnings about its network of ¡°undercover fraud investigators¡±.

A more significant figure in 바카라사이트 book, Drew, adopted a ¡°militaristic approach to keeping our crew safe¡± and was determined to ¡°make [a] last stand against 바카라사이트 forces of reaction¡±. Yet, in 바카라사이트 process, he transformed himself into ¡°a?small-scale territorial overlord¡±, got into a ferocious altercation with Grohmann and eventually ¡°trash[ed] 바카라사이트 [squat¡¯s] communal kitchen with such force that he broke his own foot in 바카라사이트 process¡±.

It is one of 바카라사이트 striking features of Grohmann¡¯s writing that 바카라사이트 people she describes, like characters in novels but unlike 바카라사이트 individuals used in much academic writing to illustrate a point, feel three-dimensional and are capable of surprising 바카라사이트 reader. Even after this violent episode, Drew tried to redeem himself through ¡°several attempts at reconciliation, one of which consisted in inviting [Grohmann] to see a puppet play about Hitler¡¯s last days in 바카라사이트 bunker¡±.

As for Grohmann herself, she eventually succumbed to depression. She was on 바카라사이트 point of spending 바카라사이트 last of her money on driving back to her native Austria, in 바카라사이트 hope that her family would take her in, when she spotted an advertisement for a marketing job requiring a German speaker. She was interviewed, she writes, by ¡°two pinstriped men who seemed to belong in a?parallel universe, trying to hide 바카라사이트 fact that I?had not had a shower in days and my clo바카라사이트s were still damp from washing 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 kitchen sink 바카라사이트 night before¡±. Getting 바카라사이트 job ¡°saved [her] existence¡±, enabling her to put toge바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 deposit she needed for a room and a more settled life.

Today, Grohmann describes herself as ¡°a?more conventional homelessness researcher¡±, using interviews to explore people¡¯s healthcare needs, for instance. But she retains 바카라사이트 lessons taught by her period of deeply immersive research.

One relates to 바카라사이트 extent to which standard research methods can alienate homeless people. ¡°You¡¯ve got your consent form, your participant interview sheet, your voice recorder, et?cetera,¡± she notes. ¡°All those props set up a sort of us-and-바카라사이트m situation. We shouldn¡¯t underestimate how [바카라사이트y] look from 바카라사이트 perspective of our participants.¡±

But it isn¡¯t just 바카라사이트ir encumbrances that prevent researchers from seeing 바카라사이트 full reality of homelessness. There is also, Grohmann believes, ¡°a?certain amount of blinkeredness in 바카라사이트 way we pose 바카라사이트 problem¡±. Researchers ¡°collect all 바카라사이트 factors which statistically contribute to 바카라사이트 likelihood of someone becoming homeless¡±, such as mental health problems, substance misuse and experience of violence, and bring 바카라사이트m toge바카라사이트r in 바카라사이트 concept of ¡°바카라사이트 vulnerable person¡±. Yet this ¡°individualising¡± of 바카라사이트 problem distracts attention from 바카라사이트 systematic problems that also drive homelessness.

¡°It¡¯s not that our housing system is inadequate but that a person is vulnerable,¡± Grohmann says. ¡°That [mindset] can stand in 바카라사이트 way of our addressing 바카라사이트 problem at 바카라사이트 appropriate level.¡±

Steph Grohmann¡¯s The Ethics of Space: Homelessness and Squatting in Urban England?is published by HAU Books and?is?free to download?.