Scavenging, the third type of shadow work, involves searching through discarded material for food, for usable or salable items, or for money. Many of the homeless regard scavenging, particularly the variant known on the streets as dumpster diving, as one of the baser forms of shadow work. For those who undertake it, dumpster diving is not a simple matter, as to be successful involves not only knowing when and where to look, but also what to look for in terms of edibility or salability. When an individual finds a good dumpster, he or she often revisits it. Such knowledge is also relevant to other forms of scavenging, such as searching for and collecting aluminum cans—one of the most commonly scavenged and profitable items because there is a market outlet for returned aluminum cans in most communities in which the homeless reside. When such external markets don’t exist, the homeless often sell to each other or to other pedestrians by laying their scavenged goods out on the sidewalk.
The last category of shadow work is theft and related criminal activities such as burglary or fencing stolen goods. Although this has not been a widely researched topic, one study comparing the rates of arrest of domiciled and homeless males in one city found that nearly 90 percent of the felonies for which the homeless were arrested involved theft or burglary for the purpose of theft. Given the impoverishment of the homeless and abundant opportunity for theft in most cities, with large numbers of convenience stores and gas stations in which goods can be easily stolen, it is hardly surprising that theft would be a salient form of shadow work for some of the homeless. Another important category of survival strategies is the negotiation of social relationships, particularly friendships with other homeless people. Fieldwork has shown that most of the homeless do not live in social isolation, but that their street friendships are somewhat different from friendships born under other circumstances. Homeless street relationships are paradoxical in that they can serve many important functions in the lives of homeless people, yet also be sources of uncertainty.
One important function of personal relationships on the streets is that they can provide a measure of safety and security. Street ties often help individuals secure material resources, such as food or money. For example, some groups of homeless companions pool money in a “group bank” for all members to share. Companions also provide one another with entertainment in the form of joking, storytelling, or singing. A person may also get help gaining entrance to certain programs through street connections. In some group situations, such as in homeless camps, there may be a sense of community and reciprocal obligation. For example, scavenged or purchased food may be prepared and eaten together, residents may share chores, suggesting a division of labor, and sometimes members function as caretakers for sick campmates.
Friendships often develop quickly, but they may be quite fleeting. These relationships serve both expressive and instrumental functions. Companions, friends, or associates function as a nonstigmatizing reference group and may provide homeless people with self-validation. However, because many homeless people cycle on and off the streets, the relationships can be unstable, and many are superficial, often imbued with a greater sense of intimacy by participants than actually exists. Gatherings of people make it easy to “buddy up” to make daily rounds or for sleep buddies. However, buddies may not even know one another’s names. Nicknames, often ones that describe personal characteristics, are commonly used in place of people’s legal names.
While a sense of intimacy may be associated with these relationships, a lack of trust in others, including close companions, is pervasive. In addition, although sharing is important in intimate relations, individuals sometimes fear their companions are exploiting them. Even though social relationships can help the homeless get by on a daily basis, group obligations can also prevent individual members from pursuing their own economic interests, to the extent that in some instances street relationships may actually impede exit from the streets.
~~Homelessness Handbook -ed- David Levinson and Marcy Ross
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