Written by Avery Berlin
A recent study published in Catalan News found that in the last 13 years, the number of people sleeping on the streets has increased by 62%. Figures that estimate homeless people do not only include those who are sleeping on the streets, but also include people staying in public and private shelters, hostels, temporary housing, and more. The Homeless Care Network (XAPSLL) estimates that almost 3,000 people sleep in public and private shelters, while almost 900 find shelter in informal housing (Nearly half of the homeless people in Barcelona have lived on streets for over two years, 2022).
Homeless shelters around the world have provided a safe haven for people living on the streets. In addition to shelter, these facilities often provide food, clothing, amongst other resources. These needs are essential for survival, however, homeless shelters can overprotect residents and prevent them from reaching their fullest potential. “2015 Diagnosis,” a document detailing the situation of homelessness in Barcelona describes homeless shelters as “a first step.” They explain how homeless shelters can create a “revolving door effect,” meaning that homeless populations are often not receiving the attention they need at a specific facility, so they might move to another facility, beginning the entire cycle again of finding a shelter and receiving services (Marco et. al, 2015).
Salvation Army of St. Petersburg Emergency Shelter in St. Petersburg, FL
In addition to this “revolving door effect,” there are many drawbacks of homeless shelters. In a discussion with Nikki, founder of Lux and Black, a London-based clothing line of ethically sourced clothing, she explained the advantages and disadvantages of homeless shelters.
“The system to help [the homeless population] is not reflective of their needs, nor does it help the homeless efficiently or effectively enough to go back into the world of work and be more productive members of society.”
She also mentioned that despite the shelters providing basic necessities, many problems still remain. Men and women are often in separate areas while sleeping, yet this might also separate couples and families. Despite drugs and alcohol being banned from the facilities, people still find ways to sneak them in, which can create an unsafe environment for other residents. On the same note of an unsafe environment, theft of possessions often takes place while residents are sleeping, further creating problems for residents who already have so few possessions that cannot easily be replaced.
“The intricacies and luxuries we take for granted like being able to go online, have a laptop, and help of our friends and family, they don’t have, so it’s incredibly hard to get out of this cycle. They need so much in order to be able to apply for and be successful in a job application, but there isn’t easy access to this at all. This part of the process is very flawed and pretty much only allows them to work cash in hand jobs, which isn’t sustainable. They need an address to be able to put on their job applications so they can apply for more permanent work.”
Clinton Amam, writer and Homeless Entrepreneur in Nigeria
Despite all of the above problems, Writer and Homeless Entrepreneur Clinton Amam defined a list of the positives of homeless shelters. First, shelters can provide a place for like minded creatives and skilled people to meet each other. In addition, he described how this community can be a newfound family to make you feel at home that can also reduce depression as the homeless now have people to talk to, play, and interact with. However, despite these advantages, he explained how homeless people in shelters were prone to bullying, fighting, possible disease outbreaks, and harsh rules that might not be in your favor. In Clinton’s opinion, homeless shelters do not provide the support or help with plans for their residents to leave their current state or place.
“With determination, skills, space, and support, there is a possibility or even high chance that they can get back on their feet as active and working citizens.”
Homeless Entrepreneur’s mission is to promote economic empowerment and poverty reduction via work and active citizenship. Homeless shelters, on the other hand, provide a sense of temporality and lack the resources that the homeless population needs to be able to break the cycle in order to become motivated, active, and participative citizens. Homeless Entrepreneur offers extensive resources to assist homeless people in getting out of their situations and transforming them into active members of society. In specific, the Launchpad Housing Program “is designed to turn a liability in the housing sector into an asset for addressing homelessness.”
The Launchpad Housing Program creates opportunities for local organizations such as governing bodies, NGOs, and hotels to create social impact by identifying homeless people and relevant opportunities for both parties. During the pandemic, Homeless Entrepreneur created the #HomelessHostelsWork program, encouraging local accommodations and businesses to turn their liability into an asset for the homeless population, allowing both the businesses and homeless people to benefit from the partnership. The Launchpad Housing Program also encourages local NGOs and governing bodies to be more creative and leverage their current resources to develop social impact and opportunities for the homeless population.
Despite the ability for homeless shelters to provide resources to people in need, these shelters must be temporary solutions to help the long term goal of ending homelessness. Homeless shelters often do not identify talent or the goals of individuals, creating a constant cycle of temporary resources that do not contribute to the end goal. Homeless Entrepreneur has developed resources to push these individuals to reach their fullest potential, which likely cannot occur solely with the help of homeless shelters.
