Written by Lara Hupperten
Homelessness is a well-known description of a situation in which the affected person lives on the street with barely enough to survive. But there is no official definition since 1992, which causes difficulties in solving the problem of homelessness. The best description in Europe is most likely ETHOS, which is the European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion developed by FEANTSA.
Little has really change and most people use the word homelessness in its most limited sense to refer to people sleeping rough, which means in the street. Many people experiencing homelessness need to beg for money and search for a safe corner with limited protection to none to sleep on. Additionally, the number of homeless people continually increases. 7.98 billion people are living on Earth right now and around 100 million are considered homeless.
Many citizens have seen someone lying on a bench with dirty clothes and all his or her belongings next to him or her, and we all should admit that we are passing by most of the time without even noticing them.
3 Common Misconceptions & How to Overcome Them
Most people become homeless due to to drugs or mental health issues. To overcome this misconception, governments must collect greater data regarding the causes of homelessness and promote the results to all ages of society i.e. kindergarden to university, the workplace and even residencies for the aged.
People experiencing homeless are lazy and do not want to work. To overcome this misconception, we must build safe bridges of communication, so those with and without housing can have heart-to-heart conversations. Knowledge leads to greater understanding and empathy.
There’s an excess of services and support to help homeless people. To overcome this misconception, we must give people suffering from poverty a space where they can explain the opportunities and limits of the support they receive. The majority of the services that are provided are assistance based instead of empowerment based, which means that people are able to have a comfortably numb life instead of one s/he is excited about.
A lack of interest in overcoming the gaps and prejudices of poverty leads to a lack of knowledge and ultimately a lack of recognition, which the follow interviewee highlights in her quote.
“Society tends to believe that homeless people deserve to be where they are without knowing their individual stories. Consequently, most people pass them by on the street without acknowledging their existence.”
A comment on this issue drives this point home.
The same individual even shared his thoughts about how to address some of the stigmas.
Homelessness can happen to everyone. It could be the loss of a job because the company is closing or the financial situation of the state or nation, especially during conflicts like Ukraine, which leads to higher bills and inflation.
Homeless people face difficulties that deteriorate their physical and mental health at a faster rate than when they have a safe place to call home and a steady job. Unfortunately, most of society tends to rely on prejudices instead learning more about those affected by poverty. We have learned to categorize people by their appearance and their economic position.
Once we recognize the circle of prejudices, we can start overcoming them.
“People should become more open-minded to the others suffering from homelessness.”
The way of thinking needs to be changed, so more human beings have access to the services and support promised to them by their national, regional and local government. Also, the media needs to go beyond click bait, and participate in the process of empowering people out of poverty. For example, service helplines like the Homeless Helpine can be included as a call-to-action at the end of each piece of news. People experiencing homelessness need a voice to tell their individual stories, which will provide greater clarity to their real situation; and a presence by being included as an active, working citizen, which is the aim of Homeless Entrepreneur’s HELP program. We won’t end homelessness for a 100 million people in a day or a year, but we can start reducing it today!
“Hope is failing and succeeding while always proceeding.”
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