
Writer-in-Residence at a Homeless Shelter - prostoalex
https://www.guernicamag.com/homeless-and-nowhere/
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Mz
Makes me feel so much better about refusing to stay in a shelter during the
years I was homeless. A tent and control over my life were vastly more humane
than what I am reading here.

 _Homelessness traumatizes its victims. We might even call it a triple trauma.
First, your life falls apart: family and friends shut their doors; your
belongings disappear. This is a kind of living death. Then you’re traumatized
again, separately but relatedly, by the stress of living in danger. Shelters
are lousy with drugs and violence; streets are cold and your last possessions
are imperiled. You’re disdained by your fellow man. You’re lucky if the
despair doesn’t drive you to addiction, but addiction is a third kind of
trauma when it arrives._

And this is why we need to solve affordable housing. It is unconscionable that
we do this to so many Americans.

~~~
mercer
I had a few friends who were (occasionally) homeless, and they avoided
shelters at all cost. I've heard the same from friends who had experience with
or worked in mental hospitals.

Conversely, one of my best experiences was helping with organizing a massive
Christmas party for the homeless. It was... surreal and confusing and
confronting to see some very 'stereotypically' homeless people dancing and
flirting and getting drinks and snacks at the bar like, well, 'normal' people.

I feel that often best things we can do for the homeless and those with mental
health issues is to ensure that they feel like full human beings, rather than
at best objects of charity or pity. And, as you say, a core part of that is
making sure they have as much 'normal' in their life as possible. Having a
place to call your own is pretty fundamental to that, I'd say.

~~~
Swinx43
This! A million times this! We seem exceptionally good at marginalising those
in society that need normality the most. It boggles the mind that in the year
2017 we seem to still not be able to strike a balance between our humanity and
profit.

You cannot treat someone like an outcast and sub human and expect them to
recover into being fully functioning human beings again after such trauma.

------
rdtsc
That was a good article. After coming to US for college I decided to help in a
soup kitchen on Saturdays for a while. Well it was more of a breakfast pancake
and coffee kitchen but same idea.

It was eye opening how rampant mental disease is among the homeless. It seems
addiction for many was a way to self-medicate and or just get away from the
constant stress. One person I remember was a former community college
professor and he would come regularly. He was calm, intelligent, well read, I
forgot what he taught maybe history or literature. But then I also heard
stories from people who were there longer to be careful, sometimes he would
snap, see daemons and yell obscenities and so on.

Some people were always cheery and happy, that was surprising. Most were
quiet, looked down just took the food and left. Some would come for seconds
and would tell us they have a family, a child or someone else waiting for it.

Anyway the point was that it was a very good experience and taught me a few
things. It definitely dispelled the often repeated myth how homeless people
are just lazy and don't know how to manage their money and so on. It is a
pretty complex problem. I understand that a while back there used to be state
mental institutions. Those closed down and states just let the homeless out
onto the streets. Why don't they open them again, was a budget issue?

There was talk about YC trying out basic income, wonder if there is any space
there having a non-for-profit startup which provides a shelter like that with
psychological help and counseling. If it is worth disrupting coffee making, or
nutrition or taxi monopolies, maybe it is also worth seeing if there is
something to be done for those who need help the most.

~~~
FooHentai
>It was eye opening how rampant mental disease is among the homeless

Something I read some time ago that really resonated and I'll (badly)
paraphrase:

We think that a person becomes homeless when they spend their last dollar and
have none left for housing. But that's not true, and in fact they become
homeless when they spend their last social connection and have none left for
housing.

Framing it this way, for me, it became easier to understand why, in societies
without strong safety nets for those with mental illnesses, homelessness and
mental illness is so strongly correlated. Such people run out of doorways they
can darken, couches they can surf, and then have no further fallback option
short of being out on the street.

This isn't the only situation someone becomes homeless, of course. But it
seems a common one.

~~~
smelendez
This is an important point.

And weak ties get broken, too. (I've never been homeless, but I've seen it
happen to friends and acquaintances).

Things like going to church, browsing in a bookstore or stopping by the corner
bar to watch the game or Game of Thrones are doable when you're just poor: go
light on the collection plate, read a book and put it back, or nurse a $1 Coke
all night.

Walking in with all your possessions and in need of a shower is a different
story. You might have friends who will let you wash up and drop off your bag,
but can you get to them easily? Are they going to be home?

Maybe you should just head to your campsite early and save that favor for when
you really need it.

------
unabridged
Zoning is the major cause of homelessness. There are almost no cities where
you can set up a SRO or tiny houses and actually help people. If Bezos is
still looking for a cause I hope he considers setting up a free city, some
place probably in the desert where anyone can come to live for free.

~~~
humanrebar
There are tons of barely-zoned counties across the country. Places with dirt-
cheap land one could just set up trailers and campsites on.

The problem is that often those communities already have poverty problems.
What is the path to employment, permanent shelter, and (if needed) treatment?

~~~
unabridged
>The problem is that often those communities already have poverty problems.
What is the path to employment, permanent shelter, and (if needed) treatment?

Exactly, if you put them far enough away with no economy you will still have
to provide the resources for them to survive. At least in a dense city per
capita living expense goes down.

------
kwhitefoot
Sounds positively Victorian. Like the poorer class of workhouses.

