One question I get asked a lot is, “do people choose to be homeless?” Others jump to conclusions by asking the question, “Why do people choose to be homeless?”
It’s a loaded question.
For one, if folks choose homelessness then it removes any responsibility from me to actually do anything to help them. I mean, it’s their choice, right?
Secondly, it generalizes a diverse population into a neatly packaged box that we can put on a shelf and forget about until a more convenient time.
If life was a multiple choice test and out of four options to “choose” from, “homelessness” was the best one, I imagine the other three would make most of us throw down our number two pencils and storm out of the room.
Most of the people I meet in the streets of New Jersey and New York City would trade their lives for mine in a hot second. Most are struggling with pain and trauma that I couldn’t even imagine.
Most of them were never given the education opportunities, the family support, or the access to influential people I had, let alone financial resources. Needless to say, I was never forced to consider “homelessness” as a possibility.
That by itself reveals my privilege, not their priorities.
Some people seem to be under the impression that homeless folks either want to be out there so they can be “free” to drink or use drugs, or that they struggle with some kind of mental illness. The reality might surprise you. Most people experiencing homelessness are not addicted. Most people who experience homelessness are not mentally ill.
Most experts agree that homelessness is largely the result of a lack of affordable housing due to skyrocketing housing costs, gentrification, as well as a lack of employment opportunities that pay a living wage (https://nationalhomeless.org/about-homelessness/). Homelessness is a complex issue. And every story is different.
There is one thing, however, that all homeless folks have in common, and it’s not the enjoyment of sleeping under the stars.
“Less than 4 in 10 homeless people are dependent on alcohol and less than 3 in 10 abuse other drugs, according to 2003 data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Between 20 and 50 percent of the homeless have a serious mental illness, according to 2013 data,
the most widely shared problem among homeless people is not substance abuse or mental illness — it’s trauma” (http://www.healthline.com/health-news/more-homeless-bedeviled-by-trauma-than-mental-illness-032715#5).
Anecdotally, I know this to be true. I meet people every day who have been abused by family members, sexually assaulted, robbed, hit by moving vehicles, seen death first hand either at home or overseas, neglected, born with a disability, shot, stabbed, you name it.
And yet, the stigma of homelessness persists.
I had one volunteer express consternation because he didn’t understand why someone making such a small amount of money would choose to spend what little he had on alcohol instead of food.
“That’s easy,” I said. “Food fills your stomach, but it doesn’t help you forget.”
We need to recognize that our homeless brothers and sisters are not simply rejecting society’s values or rebelling against cultural norms.
They are surviving.
They are playing the cards they were dealt; some cards are just better than others and some people are more skilled at playing the game.
So do people living in the street choose to be homeless? And what about the people who tell you they are choosing to sleep outside?
In my opinion, for someone to choose something there needs to be a viable alternative.
So, no. I don’t believe anyone chooses to be homeless. Until we are able to provide affordable housing, employment opportunities that pay a living wage, as well as mental health counseling, addiction services, and access to healthcare, we need to stop blaming the homeless for being homeless.
You don’t choose homelessness. Homelessness chooses you.