“What do we do about people who choose to be homeless?”
My gut tells me that in the next year, this is going to be a VERY important question for our country (even more so than it is now).
I have a simple answer… NOTHING.
We shouldn’t do anything about people who choose to be homeless because no one chooses to be homeless.
I have met tens of thousands of individuals while they were homeless and not a single one “chose” it.
“But Ryan,” people say, “I’ve met people who told me they chose to be homeless.”
Don’t be fooled.
There is a difference between “choosing to be homeless” and “giving up” after 1,500 failed attempts at getting back into housing.
If I had “given up” I would tell myself and everyone else that I “chose” this.
Let’s look at some statistics around people who are “chronically homeless” (over 1 year):
- 18% suffer from schizophrenia
- 19% suffer from bipolar disorder
- 20% suffer from an intellectual disability
- 50% suffer from PTSD
- 53% suffer from a traumatic brain injury
- 92% suffer from a personality disorder
None of those are choices. And they all can lead to homelessness if someone lacks family and community support.
Note: I intentionally didn’t include substance use in there (which is 72%). Obviously, substances are a factor in someone’s ability to get back on their feet again. I didn’t include it because—in my experience—substance use is most often than not a result of the other factors.
It is easy to answer the question of what to do with “people who chose” homelessness.
There is a far harder (and far more important) question: “What do we do about people who struggle with profound mental health challenges?”
For several decades the answer has been “Ignore them and hope they go away.”
For reasons a five-year-old could figure out, that answer hasn’t worked very well.
Many countries are being forced to revisit the question.
Our answer to that question will impact everyone.
Obviously, people who are homeless will be impacted the most.
A brutal, Darwinist, everyone-for-themselves answer will erode our collective morality.
That will damage everyone.
I don’t think that is being overly dramatic.
How a community treats its most vulnerable has always been the clearest litmus test for morality.
Peace,
Ryan
p.s. Oops! I did it again! I sent another heavy email. To make it up, here is a blooper reel of Robin Williams and Elmo on Sesame Street. If you can’t watch the full 1:15, skip to the 40 second mark. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2uMwkn3fNY