HOMELESSNESS MYTHS

According to this myth, there are some people who deserve support, care, and attention, and others who don’t.  

We have all made mistakes in our lives. If we are fortunate, we had a support system that was able to catch us and help us get squared away.  Just this week we heard from a man who had an apartment, job, and he was scraping by.  But then his car broke down.  To fix it would cost him more than he could afford.  There were no mass transit or carpooling options.  He had to choose between paying his rent and fixing his car.  He chose his car because if he didn’t fix his car, he would lose his job.  He knew that he would lose his apartment, but he figured he could sleep in his car until he saved up enough money to find another place to live.

What good does it do to ask if this man deserved to be homeless?

Furthermore, this judgment of being undeserving is often levelled at people who appear and act in a way that seems anti-social or disruptive.  People who are experiencing the impacts of poverty—hunger, homelessness, poor health, etc—have real needs.  They may not be using healthy strategies to meet those needs, but oftentimes there are no socially acceptable ways for them to meet their needs.  For instance, if you’re living outside, where are you supposed to go to the bathroom or dispose of your trash?  What is the socially acceptable way to meet those needs?

Real harm is done to others when we try to decide who deserves help and who deserves judgment and shame.

(Side note: this story is all too common and it speaks to the need for continuing to develop pathways for people to get assistance with those types of needs so that we can prevent them from becoming homeless.  There are organizations that are doing that.  One of the best ways that you can get involved in this process is through your church or any faith community in your neighborhood.  Local congregations are often the first place that people go with these types of needs.  You can donate to their benevolence fund or volunteer to be a support person who reaches out to folks when they call.)

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