A better understanding of Homelessness

     As we go into this season; wrapping ourselves up to keep warm as temperatures drop, spending Sunday evening at the mall, buying Christmas gifts and planning our New Year’s party destinations. It is important to remember that we are fortunate if we have a roof over our heads and food on our table. Let’s not forget one group of people within our communities often overlooked regardless of the time of year, the homeless.

     The experience of homelessness may seem very remote to you; something you believe could never happen to you, a problem within an individual himself and something you have no power to change. It is easy to dehumanize those in situations we cannot understand. It is easy to shy away from experiences and lifestyles we are not comfortable with. It is a natural response to feel uncomfortable or avoidant when it comes to individuals on the street asking for your change or a cigarette or anything you can spare.
 

     Let’s have a look at the statistics of homelessness to give ourselves a bigger picture of the issue. In Canada there are approximately 30,000 people homeless on any given night, in the U.S.A over 500,000- yes over half a million- people experience homelessness on any given night. These are the daily averages, if you look at the total sum of people who experience homelessness at some point during the year the numbers are much higher. 

     Some of the biggest factors contributing to homelessness are for families: a lack of affordable housing, unemployment and poverty; and for single-individuals: also a lack of affordable housing often coupled with mental illness, substance abuse and/or abuse from a partner or relative.
 

Individuals and families who are homeless often become quite socially isolated due to the stigma associated with being homeless. This feeling of social isolation and a general diminishing of self-confidence often leads to or amplifies mental illnesses. If left unresolved the psychological impacts of being homeless often results in further or chronic homelessness within vulnerable individuals and families.

As I am now in Italy, I am witnessing another form of homelessness; the illegal immigrant. In Milan alone the central train station is essentially home to hundreds of people who’ve arrived in Italy (often by boat from Africa) and once here have nowhere to go, no money and no connections. These people do not speak the language, they do not have any real chance of finding a job and often the only opportunity for them to survive comes in the form of selling drugs.

The issue of homelessness is a global issue. It is an issue that will not easily (or ever?) be resolved. The inequality of a capitalist driven society ensures that the rich get richer and the poor stay down. However I ask of you to look at yourself long and hard and decide what kind of a person you want to be. If you are interested in making this world a fairer place, a happier place for everybody, then let’s try each to make a difference in all the small ways we can.

Sure, maybe you won’t be able to help a person get out of homelessness on your own, however small acts of kindness can restore a persons’ confidence and faith in humanity. Here is a discussion I feel is relevant to how we need to understand the humanity behind homelessness…

“When you see the homeless, it’s easy to think they are, in some vague way, quite different from everyone else you know. In an everyday sense, that’s true – everyone you know has a job, they pay rent or mortgage, they hate doing their taxes, and they worry about having enough money for retirement.

However, in a basic human sense, the homeless are just like you. They have hopes and dreams, perhaps hopes and dreams they see as shattered. They have the same basic wants and needs, but unlike you, they probably feel completely lost about how to satisfy those wants and needs.

You can start to understand the homeless and their experience by simply treating them the way you would treat anyone else you meet on the street – make eye contact, say good morning, say hello. Not only will you be able to better empathize with the homeless, this simple act will have a profound positive impact on them.

Yes, the homeless person is full of need, perhaps they’re desperate, and it’s OK if you don’t have the power to change their lives and circumstances right away.  No one has that power – except for the person that’s homeless.  Instead, you have the power to do the simple things that lead to great things, things that lead to opening doors, things that ultimately change lives.  The simple act of connecting is the first step — trust that this will lead to profound change, e.g., helping them connect with a local social service agency.”

-By Joanne Fagan from http://evasvillage.org/wordpress/understanding-homeless-step-homelessness/

     I challenge myself and everyone else to remember we are all humans and we all deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. Let’s reflect that through our actions, who we vote for and where we put our hard earned money. Happy Monday everyone!