Qualitative Marketing Research Report #2:
Visual Analysis
The Hardship of Living in Poverty and Being Homeless
Qualitative Marketing Research MKT 4461
Fall 2018
Jacqueline Aguilar: jyang86@calstatela.edu
Francis Dean: fdean2@calstatela.edu
Spencer Kok: skok3@calstatela.edu
Aaron Rodriguez: arod445@calstatela.edu
Table of Contents
Cover Page……………………………………………………………………………………….1
Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………..2
Research Methodology………………………………………………………………………....3
Research Sample………………………………………………………………………………. 3
Data Analysis and Results…………………………………………………………………… 4-6
Conclusions and Reflections……………………………………………………………………………………7
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………… 8
Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………9-12
Research Methodology
The methodology that has been taught in class is visual analysis. This method is to understand what the main message that is given in a visual image, given from the details in the photos that are obvious and not so obvious. Using this method, we gained knowledge to figure out any visual image meaning and the story behind it as well as what the image can tell us about the community. This is important because it allows us to observe a community in their natural setting. Our first step in our visual analysis was to use our smartphones and take a photo that in our eyes we believe symbolize poverty or homelessness. We then would analyze and figure out that the hardships that one must face when they become homeless and how these images correlate to their poverty. The images also demonstrated how the communities of those in poverty look like in their natural setting, and what issues and topics should be brought to light to the city. During this time we were focused on every detail of the picture and how it describes poverty. We took a moment to absorb the picture as a whole and draw out what emotions that were provoked, as well as what type of questions came to mind. Things which we focused on were the condition of the surroundings and environment in the picture. Coding also took place, which helped us navigate and organize our thoughts and verbiage to assist in writing the report.
Research Sample
Our research sample in our study was homeless people in the city streets and the reason why they have this problem as well as what the living conditions and struggles they encounter. Homelessness and poverty is a problem that exists everywhere, so there was no secluded location or limitations as to where we would find the appropriate photo for this assignment. This opened up possibilities to finding the right picture wherever the opportunity presented itself. Some of our group members found the right photo opportunity while driving around (but as the passenger of course), or walking around and carrying on with our daily lives. Homelessness, poverty, and hunger is becoming an epidemic that has been long and steady in existence and continues to grow. The current official poverty rate is 12.3 percent, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 estimates… an estimated 39.7 million Americans lived in poverty (poverty.ucdavis.edu). Those are very staggering numbers and only numbers, imagine physically seeing that many people who are homeless, struggling, and starving. It would be best and ideal to approach poverty and homelessness with a solution rather than giving the homeless a hard time or reacting in a condescending manner towards them. We do not know how and why one got to the position they currently reside in, and no one is to judge for we do not know. Even if we do know, everyone has their own struggles and you do not know if they were victimized, made mistakes, or were just plain unfortunate which is sometimes the case. While we are not publicly raising awareness or solving the situation, our rationale in choosing this topic was not only assigned, but also brings awareness and knowledge to us as students and members of society.
Data Analysis and Results
The basic biological needs according to simply psychology.org is that every person must have air, food, drinks, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep. Those that live in poverty lack multiple of these basic biological needs. But not everyone can afforded these necessities because they either can’t find a career that pays well or the area they living on is too expensive to purchase the basic needs for survival. In figure 1, we have seen someone that has no home and is living on a corner that they build with anything they can find to create shelter for themselves. In this image it shows how they are trying to satisfy their needs for survival. The result of this individual being homeless may be from not being able to find a good paying career to get the things that are necessary to have adequate food and shelter. According to Eileen McConnell, “Housing affordability is traditionally measured using a ratio of housing costs to income, with those spending more than 30 % of income on housing costs considered to be housing cost burdened. This allocation of income to shelter expenditures has become increasingly widespread in recent years. For example, 30 % of all US households were cost burdened in 2001, rising to 36 % by 2009. Although households at any income level may be cost burdened, it is far more prevalent among those earning lower incomes. For example, in 2001, 68 % of US households in the lowest-income quartile were cost burdened compared with <6 % in the top-income quartile” (McConnell, E. 2013). McConnell describes the struggle that almost one third of the US population encounter. This struggle is embodied in our images which we analyzed. As we can see in this image, there’s a do-it-yourself tent that is made up by used tarps, a bicycle to get around, and that’s all. No electricity is depicted in the image to warm themselves up, there is no place to store food, or even water. This image was taken at Los Angeles Lincoln Heights at November 10. We have taken these basic survival needs for granted and didn’t realize that we are lucky to have the things we had until it’s too late and we experience this poverty ourselves.
It is very comfortable to hear that there are some politicians in government who are helping to solve the housing problem. Otherwise, the Government will portray themselves as someone in power but doesn’t help any low income individuals or people with mental health who also struggle with poverty. In the recent election, people had the choice to vote and pass a bill to put affordable housing in Los Angeles with proposition 10. According to Chris Nichols who is a columnist for LA magazine he talked about the proposition 10 bill, “And as the Yes on 10 campaign says on its website, the proposition doesn’t claim to be a fix for everything: "It won’t solve all housing problems, but it will provide your local government an important set of tools to take action. “By capping rents, the Yes campaign suggests Prop 10 could prevent some Californians from being pushed onto the streets by rising rents. "Homelessness among retirees, veterans, and others on fixed incomes is on the rise," the Yes campaign says on its website. "More than three-quarters of California’s low-income seniors are financially burdened by rent, according to UCLA. When the rent goes up, so do the number of homeless people” (Nichols, C. 2018). People know that Los Angeles and other cities are having a housing problem. With Los Angeles having the second largest amount of homeless people according to statista.com. The Los Angeles Mission states that over 50,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles County and out of those 22% are 62 and older. That problem is a huge issue and should be solved soon so that there will be fewer people living in the streets and we take care of our citizens.
In our picture documentation series we depict the issue of homelessness and food insecurity. Each of the following pictures described will illustrate a different form of poverty and how we can put an image to the staggering numbers of poverty in Los Angeles County. The Lava Mae shower picture is the first picture to depict this poverty in Los Angeles this picture was taken on Wednesday November 14 outside of Los Angeles City Hall. The overall impression of the image shows a portable shower parked on a busy street in downtown Los Angeles. This creates a community for the homeless to gather around and provide personal hygiene to those in need. The foreground of the picture shows newspapers and red stools with people sitting on them. In the background of the image, you see the blue shower truck with the workers inside with cars passing by on the street. From just looking at this image, I was able to infer this truck is parked outside of City Hall for many hours because it looks like the red stools are set up for the workers to rest on. I also observed a propane tank on the side of the truck so the free showers are warm and comfortable for the homeless. I would caption this image free showers for the homeless. The questions this image raises to my mind is how often is this truck parked there and how many homeless people actually use this truck. In the 1970’s there was a study “To determine how troubled and disabled these people realty are, we evaluated their degree of isolation and disconnection from support networks. A remarkable finding was that 74%”. (Bassuk 1984). Although this study was done decades ago, homeless people to this day still are isolated and disconnected from support networks and are usually alone. Lava Mae’s homeless
Showers helps homeless people get off the streets and gives them an opportunity to find a job. Doniece Sandoval, the founder of the nonprofit organization Lava Mae stated “Hygiene brings dignity and that opens up opportunity” (D’Onfro 2016). Six days a week Lava Mae has buses and trailers roll up to different spots equipped with bathrooms and shower stalls providing 20 minutes of privacy, cleanliness and comfort for homeless people. Although showers may not fix homelessness, it gives opportunities for individuals to feel valued and encourages them to rise in the socioeconomic class.
The next image is of a cabinet with barely any food in it, and the food in the pantry is hardly appetizing and instant canned food mostly. This picture shows the constant struggle of students and how they are struggling to make sure that they have something to eat and how they are food insecure. The emptiness of the cabinet symbolizes the everyday life of students and their constant financial dilemma between paying bills or tuition and eating 3 meals a day. The foreground shows almost indistinguishable foods while the background shows empty space leading to the back of the cabinet. This image helps us infer that students are struggling to keep their shelves full of food and are forced to prioritize other things besides basic nutrition.
The image of the man with his belongings shows the transient life of those in poverty. Those that are homeless never have a permanent place to stay so they always carry their belongings on them. The man has to have big bags to make sure he has enough space to hold all of his belongings and has one rolling bag to make it more convenient to move from place to place. This photo gives a glimpse into the lifestyle of homeless and how they are constantly looking for somewhere to find shelter. I would caption this image transient poverty. The question that the image raises is where do these people find shelter and how much time does it take for them to find these places.
For the man who made shelter out of the thin blanket he owns, what misfortunes in life lead him there to that cold intersection by the freeway? Will there be hope for this man, or will he spend the rest of his remaining days on the street? These are questions that rapidly entered my mind as I was observing and analyzing the photo. The caption for this photo would be Waiting for Salvation. Not in the biblical sense, but in the sense and the very meaning on salvation. This man needs some saving, and compassion. He only has his blanket and a walker which I saw him using to help him walk and carry a few of his belongings. The backdrop of a giant concrete wall of the freeway set an even colder, darker, and sad emotion to the photo. The homeless man in size and comparison to the wall made him look so small and helpless, with just his face sticking out of his blanket. The coding was short and simple, but dark and evoked plenty of sadness not only for this man, but for anyone who has to experience such despair in one's lifetime.
Conclusions and Reflections
We live in a world where people are not treated justly, and beyond that, a world that does not give equal and fair chances to each man. The rich get richer and the poor somehow seems to either stay poor or get even poorer. There are constant write offs for those who are rich and more taxes imposed on those who can't afford the basic essentials. It is survival of the fittest where every person is for themselves and the rest is on their own. Now famous cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, or even New York City where they faced thousands of people having no place to go home to sleep, and the only solution is to think of ways to sleep outside and find out a place that is “less cold”. As mentioned before, rent is at an all-time high, and people no longer can afford a mortgage like in the years before for our parents. Apartments now cost the prices of mortgages of homeowners who will one day if not make a profit, will still earn some money back that was invested. Again helping out and giving an upper hand to those who have money, for one cannot purchase a home without money. Rent controlled homes are being bought out and abolished to make way for newer and more expensive buildings. The situation is growing in the opposite direction, far away from a direction that gives people a chance to grow and live a better life. It is very sad that we treat people who are less fortunate than ourselves and treat them in a way that is inhumane because they have no money. At the end of the day they are people and should be treated with the same respect as any other person. Not everyone knows how grateful they are until they are forced to live on the streets and realize the true hardships in life. We take things for granted by not appreciating the things we already have. For instance, a house to live in, food on the table, running water, electricity, and so much more. Instead we abuse the stuff we have by throwing away things without thinking twice on conservation and preservation. Like leftover food, used clothing, and other items that still can be used.
Housing and the high costs are one issue, and the second is the cost of food. The food industry as we all know it is a major industry that behind the scenes does some astonishing terrible acts to keep food prices high as well, which negatively impacts us all. Lastly I want to shed some light again on the expenses and lack of funds and food that students also endure. It is recorded by the San Diego food bank that 56% of food insecure students reported having a paying job, of those employed students, 38% worked 20 hours or more per week (College hunger-relief program). It is disheartening to see homeless people struggle and deal with hunger, and it is just the same to see students who are trying to further their educations for the sake of their future, deal with hunger when food is a basic necessity in life. There is help all around the world, but there is more to be done and could be done. For those who are in a certain income bracket, just as there are certain taxations for the government, I feel that a mandatory donation to a food drive or a place of aid to those in need should become a policy. The contribution can be small, but it is certain that the contribution collectively as a whole will make such a difference in our world. We need to stop thinking about ourselves, and also reform the ways of the world that we live in. Then and only then can the world truly become a better place where we are not just a society, but an extended family as human beings who share the planet.
Bibliography
Bassuk, Ellen L. “Is Homelessness a Mental Health Problem?”. Retrieved November 28, 2018 from
College Hunger-relief Program. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2018, from https://sandiegofoodbank.org/programs/college-hunger-relief-program/
D’Onfro Jillian. “Lava Mae is Turning Old Buses into Bathrooms and Showers for the Homeless”. Retrieved November 28, 2018 from
https://www.businessinsider.com/lava-mae-turning-buses-into-bathrooms-and-showers-for-san-francisco-homeless-2016-6
McConnell, E. (2013). Who has Housing Affordability Problems? Disparities in Housing Cost Burden by Race, Nativity, and Legal Status in Los Angeles. Race and Social Problems, 5(3), 173-190. Retrived from https://link-springer-com.mimas.calstatela.edu/article/10.1007/s12552-013-9086-x
Nichols, Chris. “Fact-checking claims about California’s rent control measure Prop 10.” Politifact California, 11 October. 2018,
The State of Homelessness. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2018, from
https://losangelesmission.org/the-state-of-homelessness/?gclid=CjwKCAiAlvnfBRA1EiwAVOEgfI4YVJejoG6hLvW5hqbqDwvpTlNqE67Rggd-Twz3ol4CjRJx-3rRmRoCCq0QAvD_BwE
What is the current poverty rate in the United States? (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2018, from https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/what-current-poverty-rate-united-states
Appendices
Comments
Post a Comment