It was not that long ago in our nation’s history that rooming houses were part  of the national landscape. These were places where individuals or couples might rent a room in a house for an indefinite amount of time and pay by the week for the privilege of having a place to stay that was furnished with a bed and linens. My grandfather came to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1912 by way of Galveston, Texas. He immediately found his way to Houston where records indicate that he stayed in a rooming house on Crawford Street near what is now Minute Maid Park, home of the Astros baseball team. 

My paternal grandfather often spoke of moving around the country in the same era to find work. More often than not he stayed in boarding houses where he paid for a single room and shared bathroom facilities with others like himself who lived there temporarily. In fact, he met my grandmother in such a place in Oklahoma. She was a widow at the time and supported herself and her daughter by cooking for the residents who found shelter there. Her pay was meager but it included a safe place for her to live with her child.

My mother and father rented a room from one of the professors at Texas A&M College back in the nineteen forties just after they were married. Mama often spoke of how wonderful it was to have a place to stay with a nice family. Since the room was upstairs she and my father had to be inside by a certain hour at night or they would be locked out. They noticed a tree next to the window in their quarters and learned how to climb up its limbs to get inside whenever they were too late to use the front door entrance. 

Homes such as those my grandfathers and parents used for housing were quite commonplace across America at one time. They not only provided an inexpensive place to stay for those with limited incomes, but also gave the owners extra funds from the renting of rooms that they did not use. In fact, my paternal grandfather spent the last years of his life renting a space from a widow who found a way to stretch her budget by providing a space to sleep to him and to one of her sisters. The three of them lived quite happily together, sharing chores and paying the household bills for a monthly price that allowed them to still have personal spending money from their social security checks. 

Recently Houston, Texas has been featured in articles in The New York Times for its efforts in reducing homelessness in the city. The drive to help individuals without the means for either purchasing or renting a house began in City Hall at the beginning of the twenty first century. Since that time local officials and charitable groups have reduced the city’s homeless population by sixty percent. One of their tactics has been providing low cost places to stay. Rooming houses have been a significant help.

A developer from Atlanta came up with the idea of resurrecting the old practice of using a single family home as a place to board many people. The houses are redesigned to provide furnished bedrooms for multiple people who share bathrooms and kitchens. The cost is far less than inexpensive hotels and rent is collected by the week. Even those with extremely low incomes are generally able to pay for a room with a heavy door that can be locked for privacy. Such places are chosen in areas where there is also mass transportation so that residents will be able to get to jobs and medical care that social workers help them to find.  

I wonder why the concept of boarding houses went away. I suspect that there has always been a need for them but somehow they went into disfavor. Instead short term hotels sprang up to fill the void. Unfortunately the cost of such places was generally more expensive than those most in need of a place to stay were able to afford. I find it heartening to know that there are good people who are working to assure that the homeless have a place to stay other than outdoors under a bridge. 

In this most holy season when we recall the birth of Jesus, we should remember his parents searching for a place to stay when Mary’s pregnancy was coming to term. The young couple was turned away form many inns before someone offered them shelter in a manger with the animals. It was there that Jesus was born. I suspect that the compassion for all of humanity that Jesus taught us to have began with his own humble beginnings. He was not a king or a rich man. He was not even as well off as many of us are today. He wanted us to understand the worth of every person on this earth, regardless of circumstances. 

Today we would do well to see the homeless people in our midst as our brothers and sisters rather than nuisances. We might join in the efforts of helping them to find decent places to live rather than looking away when we see them. I admire the city of Houston for making the care of the homeless a priority. I hope they continue to be a model for the nation. There is still much to be done, but having a safe place to sleep at night is a great beginning for those who can’t afford a place to call home.