Chronic Homelessness

What is the makings of homelessness? There are millions of people on the street, in transitional housing, in shelters, many live in their cars and sometimes live like this for years. Part of my job is interviewing the homeless who are in crisis, need medication, or simply need to make a connection with somebody. Today was no exception. A gentleman came in who had been living in a make shift camp for over ten years! When he told me his age I was shocked! He was a few months younger than me and looked fifteen years older!

Living on the street, abusing substances can take their toll. We see it at the crisis center on a daily basis. The common thread - no social support. In fact the social support system tends to get blown apart in the chronic population because social intimacy tends to be feared.

The stories seem to be the same. A tragedy in childhood. A death of a parent or caregiver. Abuse. Living in foster homes or group homes. Turning to substances for relief and suddenly they are 18 years old and out on their own. What can a person who is adult on the outside and an angry, abused kid on the inside do at this point? Many turn to drugs / alcohol, steal, go to jail - my client talked about numerous encarcerations. If work is found it is natural to feel judged, paranoid that people are plotting against them, and get in arguments with authority figures.

There are programs around the Los Angeles area for the homeless to go but going to shelters, and other facilities takes courage. Some are so crowded and so much violence happens around the area that many people avoid the care they require.

I admire facilities like "The Village" in downtown Long Beach because their first priority is giving each person the dignity they deserve. Dignity? For the homeless? Absolutely. You try living their life for one day. No home, no food, no social support. Many haven't eaten a hot meal for months! And bathing - that is a huge luxury. Anything that is valuable most likely will be taken from you. Everyday is a fight for survival.

My client survived by being angry and drinking. However his health was faultering and has to stop. Now add into the mix the cravings of the substance that is trying to kill you.

I was homeless for a weekend. Yes, that's right. I had lost my home, stayed with a friend who was the exact opposite of supportive. Let's just say when the going was bad this person loved to stab at wounds and turn the blade. So I decided to find a friend I knew in Hollywood who owed me money and I could crash on his couch for a month. Well, since he was not at home the first night, I camped out on his doorstep. I knew he would show up shortly then woke up in the morning in shock. The next night was the same until somebody woke me, asked me why I was there and ultimately told me my friend had been evicted.

Whether we are homeless or high functioning executives people are all the same. What makes us different is only in the mind. As a past girlfriend told me, "We are magical poofs of dust for a mere lifetime and then we are gone." We all eat, shit, bleed red, and then die. Period. All in a magical poof I guess. Circumstances create homelessness and the desire to just give up. Other circumstances can spark something deep inside somebody who has lost hope and lives in a cardboard box. My job is to do the latter.

Peace.