How We Can Help

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Imagine finally sitting down on some park bench, wanting to just rest your eyes regardless of how cold it may be, for sleep is the only time you don’t have to face the harsh reality of what your life has come to. Imagine living day to day searching for your next meal, or some gloves to keep your fingers from freezing, or even a soft mattress to sleep on with walls around you to keep the cold, winter wind from reaching you. Nearly 2-3 million people experience homelessness every year (Bray, 2009). Every day, nearly half a million are out on the streets or in shelters (Hayashi, 2016). And the numbers are rising. To understand how to help the homeless, one must start with what homelessness truly means, what factors cause one to become homeless, and the effects, both physically and mentally, on those who are homeless. Anyone can become homeless. However, there are ways to prevent that and there are ways to aid those already on the streets, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

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There is no one definition for homelessness, for it all depends on how broad a subject one is referring to. Some would not consider those in shelter of any kind, whether in state shelters or residing in relatives’ homes, as homeless (Bray, 2009). Many believe homelessness should include all those without their own shelter, regardless of whether they are in a state shelter or at a relatives’ place. There are a number of factors that come into play when pushing a person to homelessness. Factors such as unemployment, debt, bankruptcy, lack of affordable housing, etc. Some of the effects that come along with being homeless are poor health and no health insurance, mental disorders, physical disabilities, drugs and alcohol abuse, and a lowered life expectancy (Hayashi, 2016). However, there are a number of solutions as well. “Housing First”, a policy that states the homeless should be housed first and most other problems will recede (Hayashi, 2016). Health will improve once a person has a clean, warm shelter to reside in. Once off the street, there will be less exposure to drugs and alcohol, germs, bodily harm, etc. Homelessness refers to a broad group of individuals; ones with jobs, others without, ones with the protection of a state shelter, others on the streets, all are considered to be homeless.

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One of the leading causes of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. The price an average two-bedroom apartment is, is severely larger than the federal minimum wage (Griffith, n.d.). A person would have to earn around $21.21 an hour to be able to afford a typical two-bedroom apartment and the federal minimum wage in some states is $7.25 (Griffith, n.d.). One of the reasons why there are more and more homeless is because of the hardship to afford even a one or two bedroom apartment. “A surplus of over 11 million households currently spend more than 50% of their income on rent” (Griffith, n.d.). The federal minimum wage is not enough to allow a typical household to keep up with rent and bills. 

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There is no one factor that leads one to becoming homeless. There are many effects, physically, emotionally, and mentally, that occur to a person once they do become homeless. In fact, what causes homelessness and what occurs after the fact are intertwined. “The sick and vulnerable become homeless, and the homeless become sicker and more vulnerable.” (Hayashi, 2016). Health and any medical issues, such as medical bills and health insurance, may lead to homelessness, but once homeless, one’s health will deteriorate enough where bills and insurance will have to come into play. It resembles a downward spiral: because people can not afford health care, they become sick and in turn lose their homes. Those without homes and health care already become sicker and in turn die.

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Some would believe that drug and alcohol abuse leads to homelessness. That is true in some cases but it is usually the other way around. Once one becomes homeless, one tends to fall to drugs and alcohol (Hayashi, 2016). As health deteriorates and more people turn to drugs and alcohol, life expectancy deteriorates as well. The life expectancy of the homeless is drastically lower than the average life expectancy in America (Hayashi, 2016). On average, life expectancy is 80 years. For a homeless person, life expectancy is as low as 42 years (Hayashi, 2016). It is no surprise as to why the homeless turn to drugs and alcohol.

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One solution to the rising homeless crisis is building a community of tiny houses to shelter the homeless. These communities include a number of tiny houses along with, “shared community kitchens, community meeting space, counseling offices, storage, donation huts, security huts, and plumbed bathrooms, showers, and laundry facilities.” (Lee, 2019). These communities provide aid not only for the homeless but for the overloaded shelters. Shelters are generally overpopulated and take in occupants based on gender, making it hard to shelter couples and families (Lee, 2019). Those aren’t the only benefits of these communities. These communities can be built within the year with a budget in the hundreds of thousands compared to building shelters that takes years and millions of dollars (Lee, 2019). Both time and money is saved building these communities. This is an effective way of keeping the homeless off the cold streets and in warm environments with their families. It keeps the shelters from overflooding and it allows for the homeless to slowly adjust to living in a home again. However, there has been some controversy as to whether this is the solution to ending homelessness or if this is the easy way out that can only lead to creating more shanty towns (Lewis, 2017). This is one of major concerns about  this project, which is the reason this project hasn’t left the grounds of Seattle. 

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People generally look away from those standing on the sidewalks by the stoplights. People do their best to put those asking for change out of their mind. Looking away, putting them out of mind, going on with your day, doing all of those things will not solve the problem. Homelessness is a very real issue that will not go away by simply wishing it away. It is also highly naive to think it will not affect one's own self. The truth is, anyone can become homeless. Anyone can lose their job, their home, their family, their health insurance, their clothes, their food, their warmth. Once one is in that situation it won’t be easy to get out either. One will fall into drug and alcohol abuse. One will lose hope. It is important to look at homelessness through a clearer lens and identify ways in which anyone can help. Building communities in which families can reside together, volunteering at local shelters, donating to the cause. Even then the real question is not what can you do, but what will you do? What will you do to help solve this worldwide issue?