-- who are the homeless
now that is the million dollar question. i should say that is the hundreds of millions of dollars
question. i'm not sure we have ever properly identified, described or put an acceptable definition to
the word homeless. we seem to constantly be refining and changing the core definition of what
homelessness is and who the homeless are depending on what our political or capital needs are
for the present time. some have such a broad definition of homelessness that the number of homeless
children in america would eclipse the entire population of the homeless community. some have such a
narrow definition of what homelessness is that we couldn't even begin to formulate a realistic plan to
reduce or end it. i think it is critically important for us to step back and decide definitively who the
homeless are. we need to use a realistic view in order to do this and not base it on our need, however
real or not, for more funding and resources. i think we need to narrow our focus of the homeless
and put a concrete, universal definition of homelessness forward and we all need to concentrate on that
instead of constantly attempting to redefine, rethink or rebrand the word homeless.
the homeless are a group of people who have no home. they have no place to live. they don't have the
resources or the ability to acquire a home. they live in a shelter or on the street. they do not have the very basic shelter that we take for granted. they do not have access to food unless it is by the good graces of others. yes, we should include those in long term rehabilitation programs, because more than likely they do not have a home to exit the program to. while we cannot ignore those living with family, friends, in a motel or non permanent housing, they should not be considered homeless in the true sense of the word. even though they may eventually become part of the homeless equation, more often than not they don't. it that were the case, our homeless population on the street would number in the millions instead of the constant 650k to 750k. that group of people should be considered completely separate from the homeless population when calculating numbers. we need to
concentrate on the homeless who are truly homeless today. i think skewing the definition, not having a
concrete idea of who the homeless really are and our failure to concentrate on the core population of
the homeless is why we have not been able to effectively reduce our homeless numbers. while we may
make some progress on segregated groups of the homeless, our street homeless numbers continue to
be constant.
--homeless people are addicts, alcoholics or have some other debilitating dependency
it's true not everyone who is homeless has an addiction or is an alcoholic. but again, i'm going
to revert back to the homeless i referred to above instead of the very broad definition of the homeless
we have embraced. i think it's true. a very large percentage of the homeless are addicted to opiates, alcohol or both. some are addicted to marijuana, but i think that's an entirely different problem with an entirely and much smaller set of consequences that go with it. some are gamblers. but as a whole i do think it's true the majority of the "true homeless" do have some type of addiction. you may not see it initially and it may take time for you to realize it. you can't grasp or understand this by sitting behind a desk and interviewing a homeless person a couple of times a year. you can't realize this by going undercover for a day or two and pretending to be homeless. you have to be with the homeless, interact with them and get a true understanding of them as individuals over a period of time. but the more time you spend with and around them, the more you become aware of and realize that it is prevelant. i think this another reason why we can't seem to crack the true population of the homeless. we are so eager to present the homeless as people just like you and i, which those who are suffering short term bouts of homelessness or those living with family and friends probably are, the core of the street homeless are not. many abuse opiates. many drink excessively. many have some sort of addiction that caused and keeps them in their homelessness. until we admit this ugly fact and are willing to address these issues properly along with the conversation about housing programs, we are doing a disservice to our homeless population. we are signing their death certificates by not fully admitting this is a very real and very severe problem that must be dealt with.
--homeless people do not want to or will not work. they are lazy.
again, let me emphasize that i am speaking of the core homeless population. my answer to this question is abit more difficult. i don't think homeless people are lazy in general. but they are
something akin to it. part of it is due to the exhaustive effort it takes on a daily basis to survive. part
is due to the fact that seldom due homeless people get the proper amount or type of rest that
you need. but i think whatever addiction or dependency they have equally contributes to the lack
of will to work. i think if you offered a homeless person a job, they may accept it with good intentions.
but the end result is often the same. homeless people often lose jobs and job opportunities because
of their addictions or alcoholism. sorry, but it's true. so while they may not be lazy in the sense of
word, their ability to work on a sustained basis is severely impeded by their addiction. again, this is
is another reason we have to address these issues when we speak of housing, employment and aiding
the homeless. if we don't, we are wasting our time and our efforts.
--people are homeless by choice
i doubt anyone grows up hoping to be homeless when they become an adult. i doubt anyone
would choose the homeless lifestyle for more than a very short period of time. i think all the reasons
advocates and agencies give for people becoming homeless are true. the initial entry into homelessness can be triggered by all the causes and reasons you hear about. lack of affordable
housing, loss of a job, a major health event, loss of a spouse, domestic violence or other life altering
event can very easily push alot of people into homelessness in a very short period of time. however,
the trip down the road to being homeless on the street or in a mission or shelter is often a more slow
complicated journey. while the issues listed here can be the catalyst for causing homelessness, they
don't always cause you to become truly homeless. many people have a social and personal safety
net consisting of friends, family or others. it's when this safety net collapses either before or after
becoming homeless that the real problems begin and you end up on the street or in a shelter.
--providing adequate food and shelter only allows people to continue being homeless
while i don't think this is true, if adequate food, safe, basic shelter and other survival needs
are easily met, i do believe it reduces the urgency to end your own homelessness. i doubt
anyone would continue to be homeless just because they receive the very basic needs to live,
i do believe it can slow the effort. i don't agree it is enabling in the sense of the word. i think
the only enabling this does is allow them to survive their homelessness regardless of the causes
and reasons. and this is a very basic concept we seem to have forgotten. one thing we
can and should do is to ease the burden of homelessness and offer that lifeline of hope and
and asssistance. some will grab it quicker than others and that's ok. our job should be to
be constantly vigil and help the homeless to survive and be there when the time comes that they
decide they've had enough. sometimes we miss opportunities to end someones homelessness
by not being aware of this very basic fact of being an advocate for the homeless.
--all the homeless need is a home and we can end homelessness
all i'm going to do with this is chuckle. there's forty years of facts and failed programs that will
make this argument for me. the day we can guarentee 9 billion dollars annually growing exponentially and the day we have 750k affordable housing units is the day this will be the final solution. so i'll just say....absolutely not...and move on.
--a city who gives the homeless free homes and has good services will only attract more homeless to the area
i believe this, although to what severity this is a problem i'm unclear on. i do believe that cities who
who offer free housing programs and good services to the homeless do attract more homeless. but
it's not like the homeless have a hotline they can call to find out where it's easiest to obtain housing,
services and free and easy benefits. word does eventually drift thru the homeless population, especially
in todays social media connected world. but i think most of this migration tends to stay within a state
and does not necessarily transpire across the entire country. naturally the homeless are going to tend
to migrate to or remain in a city where survival is the easiest. food, basic shelter, even if it's in a
mission or campsites and relative safety can all contribute to this. being homeless is no different
than relocating to a different city by the general population. although on a different scale and in a
different context, the same set of parameters and considerations come into play.
--the homeless are just like you. anyone could become homeless
the homeless may have been just like you at one point. but i don't think the homeless are just like
you. while it's true anyone could become homeless, often it happens over a period of time. slowly
and progressively. you don't suddenly become homeless because you lost a job or were evicted or
became ill. there had to be a series of events leading up to this point. while one of these events may
very well have been the final catalyst to becoming homeless, often there are many underlying reasons
and causes why you are homeless after experiencing one of those events. you may have alienated most
of your family and friends along the way, either intentionally or not. you may have lived an
irresponsible lifestyle up to the point of becoming homeless that left you with no safety net or no
avenue of preventing homelessness until you can recover from a catastrophic event. yes, anyone can
become homeless. the difference is the speed in which it can happen and the length of time a
person remains homeless. i do not believe the street homeless are just like you. i do believe they could
be again at some point. but although it's a short trip sometimes to arrive at being homeless, it's often
a longer and more complicated journey out of it. yes, the homeless are human beings who deserve
compassion. respect and our help. no, they are not like you.
it's very difficult to describe homelessness and the people experiencing it. i think each of us should
take the time at some point to examine it ourselves. we should become aware of the homeless and
perhaps even spend some time around them either by visiting or volunteering at a mission or shelter
or just paying attention when you walk down the street. i don't think anyone, including myself, should
have to write an article or a blog to explain to you who the homeless are. noone should have to make you "rethink homelessness" or bust a myth or stereotype for you. homelessness has become so prevalent in
our society and has now begun to affect so many age groups, that you should be aware enough to form
your own opinions. but then again, that may just be the problem, we are not truly aware of the homeless or who they are in our own city or community. we may not be aware of what caused and is causing their
homelessness. now that may be the one theory, myth, fact or stereotype that may be most difficult for us
to accept or apply....if you don't know who the homeless in your own city are, then you are part of the problem. maybe that's what we really need to rethink.
see you around town
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