Sunday, March 8, 2015
Homeless In Ft Worth: Who and What is a Homeless Person?
Homeless In Ft Worth: Who and What is a Homeless Person?: I may cause some offense among those of you who read this posting. But, if the shoe fits then wear it or change something. When I talk ab...
Who and What is a Homeless Person?
I may cause some offense among those of you who read this posting. But, if the shoe fits then wear it or change something.
When I talk about a homeless person, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Some scruffy, dirty, bearded guy who is hanging out on a street corner? Or maybe something similar to that description? What you just did when you read the word or hear the word “homeless” is that a profile immediately came to mind. We all do this and we all (or at least those who are honest with themselves) profile people, place people into a category or a box that we have been taught by our society. It’s true. I am just as guilty as anyone else except I try extremely hard to not do this.
As a homeless person myself and having seen up close and personal people who live with that label, I’ve seen that there is as much variation among the homeless community as there is amongst those who are not classed as homeless. Let’s take this one step further. What is homelessness? Really. There are all kinds of definitions so just for the sake of simplicity let’s consider a “homeless” person as someone who lives in a shelter, a camp, under a bridge or an abandoned building and may not have the means or desire to live as a “normal” person does.
When I interact with a ‘homeless” person I find that I have to vary my technique, language and style as much as I would do if I was interacting with a “normal” person. There is that much variation amongst all of us. The only real difference is our personal reactions or how we deal with our lifestyles. Yes, some of the people classed as “homeless” are that way because they want to live that way. There are others who have physical or mental problems that keep them there. Others are just simply down on their luck. The bottom line here is that the reasons they are in that position is unique to each one of us.
When dealing with a “homeless” person there is no one cookie cutter approach. Much as we would prefer it to be that way just to make things simple for us trying to help. I’ve been accused of not being as compassionate as I should be when I deal with some “homeless” people. The reason is that they are all different. Once you get that then the way you deal with anybody will get both easier and harder.
Yes, there are those who deserve gentle treatment and help with getting things done to improve their situation. There are others who can do things for themselves but would rather act otherwise to get you to do for them what they can do for themselves. Then there are those who “got game” and work the system. You know who they are too if only you or I would stop long enough to see where they fit in. What I get accused of from time to time is that I take a hard line with some people because I was once like that. I had the mindset myself that it was easier for me to let someone hand me something, whether it was money or food or something else I needed, than it was for me to get off my backside and take care of business on my own. You just have to know when to draw the line because the level of assistance needed differs as much as it does for everybody. There is no one way to help those who are in the “homeless” category.
Keeping this in mind will help you as much as them in the overall scheme of things. Today I still need help but even with that said I can a do many things for myself that I would much rather others do for me.
Just my two cents worth…
When I talk about a homeless person, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Some scruffy, dirty, bearded guy who is hanging out on a street corner? Or maybe something similar to that description? What you just did when you read the word or hear the word “homeless” is that a profile immediately came to mind. We all do this and we all (or at least those who are honest with themselves) profile people, place people into a category or a box that we have been taught by our society. It’s true. I am just as guilty as anyone else except I try extremely hard to not do this.
As a homeless person myself and having seen up close and personal people who live with that label, I’ve seen that there is as much variation among the homeless community as there is amongst those who are not classed as homeless. Let’s take this one step further. What is homelessness? Really. There are all kinds of definitions so just for the sake of simplicity let’s consider a “homeless” person as someone who lives in a shelter, a camp, under a bridge or an abandoned building and may not have the means or desire to live as a “normal” person does.
When I interact with a ‘homeless” person I find that I have to vary my technique, language and style as much as I would do if I was interacting with a “normal” person. There is that much variation amongst all of us. The only real difference is our personal reactions or how we deal with our lifestyles. Yes, some of the people classed as “homeless” are that way because they want to live that way. There are others who have physical or mental problems that keep them there. Others are just simply down on their luck. The bottom line here is that the reasons they are in that position is unique to each one of us.
When dealing with a “homeless” person there is no one cookie cutter approach. Much as we would prefer it to be that way just to make things simple for us trying to help. I’ve been accused of not being as compassionate as I should be when I deal with some “homeless” people. The reason is that they are all different. Once you get that then the way you deal with anybody will get both easier and harder.
Yes, there are those who deserve gentle treatment and help with getting things done to improve their situation. There are others who can do things for themselves but would rather act otherwise to get you to do for them what they can do for themselves. Then there are those who “got game” and work the system. You know who they are too if only you or I would stop long enough to see where they fit in. What I get accused of from time to time is that I take a hard line with some people because I was once like that. I had the mindset myself that it was easier for me to let someone hand me something, whether it was money or food or something else I needed, than it was for me to get off my backside and take care of business on my own. You just have to know when to draw the line because the level of assistance needed differs as much as it does for everybody. There is no one way to help those who are in the “homeless” category.
Keeping this in mind will help you as much as them in the overall scheme of things. Today I still need help but even with that said I can a do many things for myself that I would much rather others do for me.
Just my two cents worth…
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Life After Homelessness…
Far too many people think that the transition from homelessness to a more “normal” lifestyle is a simple thing. Going back to work or having some sort of income and getting into housing are all that are necessary for the transition along with some easy lifestyle adjustments. Others may have a very general idea of the problems a homeless person faces during the transition.
In truth, there is no one solution to the problem. No one size fits all solution. Each homeless person, myself included, is a unique set of problems that must be addressed when the ex-homeless person arrives in his or her new home.
In every case there are some serious adjustments to be made and depending on the person these adjustments can be easy or hard for that person. All sorts of factors come into play. How long were they homeless? Are there any mental health issues? Are there addictions? What kind of support do they have? The list goes on. It’s really not that simple.
Speaking from personal experience, I can say that I have not even come close to being adjusted to this new lifestyle of mine. I have been working and living in my apartment for over a year now and I still think in terms of my old homeless lifestyle. In some ways this is good because my job now is doing outreach work to help the people who I used to hang out with. I can bring a unique perspective to my job that my co-workers don’t always understand without having directly experienced homelessness themselves.
But there is a down side too. In the last year since I left my tent in the woods, I have literally had at least 4 pretty serious meltdowns. Stresses that other people take for granted and can easily cope with are not easy for me. Job performance issues, money issues, social issues of all sorts and at all levels are only some of the things that cause me problems. Then there are issues that arise from my drug and alcohol addictions. Especially now that I can afford them. Or how about just dealing with the people, on a daily basis, with whom I used to live around, talk to and get high with. Only now I am on the other side of the fence, having to show them that I can do this.
Having a support or peer group helps. Talking to people I trust makes a difference. Writing in this blog does too as does just keeping a journal. I’ve talked to my manager at work. I’ve taken some classes designed to help me adjust to the new, not homeless lifestyle. After more than a year I am nowhere near readjusted to all this. i also now know that if I had just tried to do this on my own without all these other people, new people, people who want nothing more that to see me succeed, I would have by now lost my job and my new home.
But, keep in mind that what may be working for me WILL NOT work for anybody else who is coming out of homelessness. Everyone is unique with unique problems. There is no one size fits all solution to the problem.
One thing is completely clear. Just putting a homeless person into an apartment without ongoing and sometimes long term support of all kinds is not the solution. The “Housing First” approach is a good approach as long as there is the support needed to make the adjustment either through case management and an active support network for as long as it takes after moving that person into housing. Otherwise all you have done is moved a homeless person into a position where he or she will, not can but will, fail in the long run.
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