In Part I of this post, I briefly described my experience with becoming homeless. The difficulties I faced at the outset seemed insurmountable. There were byzantine government agencies to navigate, stingy assistance organizations, and judgmental people everywhere - including me.
Fortunately, there are conscientious, well-informed people still around who recognize the nature of the changing world. These people are working in positive ways not only to help alleviate the pain of those who are homeless, but also work to discover the root causes of homelessness and eliminate them.
In our area, there was a group of people who understood that there had been a major shift caused by the Great Depression of 2008. They knew that now there was an emergent underclass of ex-middle-class professionals who were becoming unemployed and homeless despite their education and experience - casualties of economic war rather than the societal dropouts that homeless are commonly seen as. This group assisted us and was instrumental in getting me back on my feet after my wife died. What this showed me was the effectiveness of targeting each person's actual needs instead of assuming that everybody is in need of help for exactly the same reason. This outlook is what helped me avoid becoming a casualty of homelessness myself.
Despite anything one may hear to the contrary, homelessness is not an insurmountable problem. There is far more good news than bad, and it is my hope that by sharing my story of good news in the war against homelessness, that I can counteract the hopelessness that not only makes things worse, but is not as warranted as some may believe.
Yes, there are still homeless people. But, we are slowly learning as a society to appreciate why it happens and provide real help rather than immediately judge all homeless persons as the dregs of society. By so doing, we can then eliminate the fear of the homeless that comes from the fear of becoming the homeless.
Fortunately, there are conscientious, well-informed people still around who recognize the nature of the changing world. These people are working in positive ways not only to help alleviate the pain of those who are homeless, but also work to discover the root causes of homelessness and eliminate them.
In our area, there was a group of people who understood that there had been a major shift caused by the Great Depression of 2008. They knew that now there was an emergent underclass of ex-middle-class professionals who were becoming unemployed and homeless despite their education and experience - casualties of economic war rather than the societal dropouts that homeless are commonly seen as. This group assisted us and was instrumental in getting me back on my feet after my wife died. What this showed me was the effectiveness of targeting each person's actual needs instead of assuming that everybody is in need of help for exactly the same reason. This outlook is what helped me avoid becoming a casualty of homelessness myself.
Despite anything one may hear to the contrary, homelessness is not an insurmountable problem. There is far more good news than bad, and it is my hope that by sharing my story of good news in the war against homelessness, that I can counteract the hopelessness that not only makes things worse, but is not as warranted as some may believe.
Yes, there are still homeless people. But, we are slowly learning as a society to appreciate why it happens and provide real help rather than immediately judge all homeless persons as the dregs of society. By so doing, we can then eliminate the fear of the homeless that comes from the fear of becoming the homeless.
The group that helped us, Project TOUCH of Temecula Valley, CA, is still going strong and making real positive changes to the lives of the homeless by working to make them ex-homeless. They have published a comprehensive resource guide (PDF document) that, while focused on the geographical area they serve, provides an excellent summary of the steps and actions to take when tackling the problem of homelessness from every angle. It is based on a history of continued adaptation and success in addressing the needs of both the homeless and the communities in which they live.
Illustration by Christoph Niemann
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