Homeless and Lost:

Come Immerse yourselves in a world where the homeless population at times is lost in the shuffle of the healthcare system.

By: Judi Damiani

 Sunday, May 25th 2025 

•   In a chaotic age, people on the fringes of society, such as those who are homeless, do not have enough resources to recover and heal from their time spent houseless. I see fear when walking around Portland and Gresham where people are asking for help, but fear they will not receive it. With regards to healthcare, mental and physical conditions are not being taken care of in enough time. As the chart below notes, 38% of people within the survey had “at any time in the past experienced homelessness, and then in the past 12 months resisted or skipped going into a healthcare facility” is due to cost (KFF survey, 2023). That is a high number and reflects how low income or homeless people are afraid of consistent healthcare because it is hard to keep up with it in unsafe conditions. 

•  Things are starting to change but not fast enough to assist the thousands of people struggling to survive homelessness and take care of their health. Resources are scarce and this problem is like a gaping hole that will never be filled unless the structures in place are changed. According to a “fact sheet” by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council or (nhchc), “The Solution: Housing is Health care” (NHCHC, 2019). Housing is a major factor of homelessness and of poor health within that community; to fix this problem it will take many steps and years of hard work. Time heals all wounds, just don’t pour lemon juice over the cuts of bias and the housing crisis, and the world, specifically the U.S., will have a chance for a better future. 

• Why should you care as a reader? Two questions might appear in response to your thinking. Why should people care or have their tax dollars used to provide housing or healthcare to the houseless or donate additional funds to those causes if it doesn’t affect them? Another question that comes up often is, didn’t they do this to themselves? No, homeless people usually do not choose this life, but because of various factors, such as limited affordable housing and rising costs of living, it is hard to make it without living on the streets for millions of people. They are human beings who should have access to healthcare just as someone who lives in a house does. If we don’t help them, who will?

Further Resources: 

National Alliance to End Homelessness- "What Causes homelessness"