simple truths

I ended my previous blog, " Why Our Programs Will Never Stop Homelessnes, " on this note, "To fix homelessness, they don't need us. We need to need them." As a follow up to this, here is a story about giving charity wrapped in dignity... One day my mother asked me to run a quick errand for her. "Will you please go knock on Ms. Trudy's door and ask if she can spare a tablespoon of salt for the bread I am baking?" My mother asked. Ms. Trudy lived next door with her two young children. "Why Mother? We have salt. You don't need Ms. Trudy to give you salt," I replied. "Because, since Ms. Trudy was laid off from her job, she is having a hard time making ends meet. Lately, she has needed to ask us for help and I can tell she feels ashamed." My mother explained. "What does that have to do with borrowing salt from her?" I questioned. "Because dear, this way she feels like she has something to give back. Consider it a t...

 What if we are totally wrong about WHY there are so many people "experiencing" homelessness? We continue to pour money into a service-based model for dealing with homelessness. Hand out food, because they lack food. Hand out clothes, because they lack money to buy clothes. Hand out tents because they lack the ability to find shelter. Rehousing programs abound and millions of dollars flood in to get "these people" off the streets. However, the number of chronically homeless people keeps rising. [Chronically homeless as defined here is distinctly separate from those facing temporary lack of housing due to job loss, sudden eviction, etc.] Despite our greatest efforts, the problem gets worse. But, what if we are trying to fix the wrong problem? People do not remain chronically homeless because of an inability to find housing or work. If highly motivated, a person could take advantage of the many programs and pull themselves up from the trenches and back on their feet. ...