We Are Homelessness
Before I started working with the homeless, I knew alcohol/drugs and mental illness were not the only issues that led to life on the street. I had an idea of how hard and dangerous life on the street could be. I even suspected it could happen to many types of people. Armed with compassion, statistics, and an education in urban social issues, I strutted into homeless work with confidence.
It’s been over a year now, and I am still learning how naive I was (and still am). State legislature and social issues generally create a mold for homelessness, but homelessness is truly unique to the area where any given homeless population is found. Statistics are misleading, as those who find themselves on the streets have survived a series of debilitating events, injustices, injuries, perils, and/or rejections. Compassion is necessary, but left unchecked can be enabling.
It has become a struggle to continue to give those in need the benefit of the doubt, to search for the best in them, and to believe in them. Cynicism is the enemy of a career in human services, and certainly it prowls waiting for opportunity. Watching people fail, give up, give in, manipulate the system, and be abused by government and society certainly take their toll on the soul. I never knew that I too needed to have hope. I can’t continue in this work if I don’t have hope. Not only hope that I can pass on to those who have lost theirs, but also hope for myself that what we do is restoring people.
So from the trenches of homeless work I would like to share with you the reality of those who are homeless. It is an existence that is still being revealed to me as it becomes my own reality. What I have learned is that homelessness can and does happen to anyone. Hope, with a dash of luck, may be all that our lives lives hinge on. What covers us from displacement and intenerancy is a delicate membrane, permeable and easily ruptured. This, as many have learned through the recent recession, is the truth of our society.
Who I’ve seen
- Former convicts
- Those who grew up around gang violence
- First and second generation immigrants
- Migrants
- Vice-presidents of international corporations
- Multi-million dollar small business owners
- Homemakers
- Veterans
- Businessmen
- Con artists
- Writers/Editors
- Musicians
- Artists
- Managers
- Clergy
- Highly educated
- Teachers
- Students
- Laborers
Causes and Perpetuities
- Alcoholism
- Drug addiction
- Gambling addiction
- Mental health (treatable)
- Widowed
- Domestic violence
- Release from prison
- Major health issues
- Unemployment
- Incapacitation due to the inability to deal with a divorce or death
- Social and/or life skills (usually coupled with another issue)
- Child support
- Inability to adapt to life changes
- Divorce/breakup
- Work ethic/motivation
- Unresolved relationship issues
- Ostracization
- Legal problems and obligations
- Debt
Compiling a list such as this is incomplete and minimizes the complexities of homelessness. My purpose is twofold: One, to warn you of the fragility of life; and two, to admonish you to be slow to judge any homeless individuals you may encounter. Their stories are the same as yours.
