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1. Home, Some Place
- Temple University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
1 Home, Some Place THESE DAYS, a walking tour of any city in the United States leads one through very high- and very lowincome neighborhoods. Woodhouse, designed to provide housing and other services for the destitute in New York City, is located in the northern halfofCommunity Board District 7, which extends from 59th to 110th Streets on the west side of Manhattan (Reiss et at 1993).1 In the region of the district is found the Metropolitan Opera, the American Ballet Theater, and the New York Historical Society, among other elite cultural institutions. Also in District 7 are over 100 private and public schools, day care centers, and youth programs , and handfuls of museums, playgrounds, and parks. The southern half of the district houses the more affiuent (and white) residents, while poor and working-class residents of color live in the area north of 96th Street. According to the 1990 census, 20 percent of households in Manhattan 's Community District 7 earn $15,000 or less per year, while more than one-fourth (26 percent) ofhouseholds earn $75,000. or more. At $40,852, the median household income masks a great class divide (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1990). The women ofWoodhouse are among those at the bottom of the divide. 25 Copyrighted Material 26 Chapter One Woodhouse looks like any other six-story brick structure along Manhattan's Upper West Side. Most likely, passersby would not notice the trim building sandwiched between others on Amsterdam Avenue. But Woodhouse is a supervised community residence that provides "formerly homeless , mentally ill women with living quarters, meals, security , structured activities and support services," according to the annual report of the not-for-profit agency that manages it. Woodhouse is one of several sites the agency operates, which include drop-in centers and transitional and permanent residences. Established about twenty years ago, this organization was in the forefront ofproviders serving homeless women. The area immediately around Woodhouse is busy, and there are few vacant storefronts. Instead, small stores are filled with shopkeepers busy selling fresh fruit and vegetables , "Indian" jewelry, beauty services, discount children's clothing, groceries, pizza, deli sandwiches, and Chinese food. When I arrive at Woodhouse on my first visit, it is around noon, and Jill, the case manager I am to meet, is out to lunch. The receptionist assures me she will be back shortly. This gives me a chance to see how things go in the dayroom, with its comfortable chairs and the TV tuned to ABC's afternoon soap opera line-up. Several women seem to be watching, but it is hard to tell if any are paying much attention. At various points when the soap opera stars begin to shout or become hysterical, people come in to take a look-Patricia, a case manager, Gus, a receptionist/guard, and some ofthe women hanging out at the entrance of the house smoking one cigarette after another. Today is a beautiful spring day with a lot of people outdoors and in tl1e streets. Copyrighted Material [3.137.218.215] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 14:42 GMT) Home, Some Place 27 Residents come in and out of the lobby in a steady stream the entire time I sit waiting for Jill. There are five women in the room with me while I wait. A black woman, shoulders stooped over a pile of papers in her lap, studies a notebook of musical notation. Two women sitting hip to hip don't say a word. Two other women are over by the TV, but they don't appear to be reaHy watching One Life to Live. Their names are Dixie Register and Hattie McFarrell, and we will all get to know each other better in the days to come. Prompted by the shouts from the soap, Patricia comes running in. "Looks to me as if an incest story is about to be revealed," the social worker notes excitedly. Hattie has been staring intently at a blank waH, twirling her salt-and-pepper pigtails in a duet between her fingers. She turns to the case manager to say, "That incest story is old news," and gives all the details ofthe story line (Melanie is abused by her father; her stepmother is about to tell all). I introduce myself to the two women who are sitting so silently, but neither chooses to respond. Margery Santana paces in and out of the dayroom, running stubby fingers through her fine, straggly hair. Over and...