As I begin anticipating the beauty of fall and the changing of the season I begin to think about all of the people who do not have a place to call home. The weather is getting colder and colder making sleeping outside all the more risky. Shelters can be difficult to get into unless you arrive early and wait in line, and society generally shuns you as deficient. My internship at the VA Healthcare for Homeless Veterans program has reinforced some things I knew about homelessness and some things I felt was correct about homelessness as well as bringing some new information to light. Although my mind is spread in many different places at the moment (two research projects, two classes, three days a week of internship, and personal relationships) taking a moment to sit and think about the plight of people who lack housing is important and unavoidable. Many of these people are proud people who may have taken a large number of wrong turns to get where they are, others are victims of circumstances or the economy, still others maintain a steady income but are having trouble finding and maintaining housing, some are completely sober whether they used in the past or not. Sadly there are others who may be psychotic or highly addicted, or violent. They are, however, all human. It bothers me that I feel that I need to say this but I do. Whatever their reasons for being homeless they are no different from anyone else on our most basic level. These are people struggling to meet the most basic needs in Maslow’s hierarchy every day. Yet many people feel they cannot even be bothered to exchange a word with a homeless person, and I don’t mean starting up a conversation. I see people on the streets act as if another human being is not even present when a simple acknowledgment of existence, saying “I’m sorry I can’t help you” would accomplish the same thing. I think this is in part, an attempt to deny the reality of life for people who lack housing. An “if I don’t acknowledge it, it is not real type” of mentality. Next time someone asks for money on the street, politely tell them you can’t help them, or give them some change or food, but please don’t pretend they don’t exist, imagine what it would feel like if someone ignored you in your time of need.
I will leave you with this quote from Sheila McKechnie, a Scotish Trade Unionist, recently deceased, “People who are homeless are not social inadequates. They are people without homes.”
Peace, happiness and good luck to you all, I hope you never have to experience homelessness.