World Homeless Day 2022 has come and gone, but I would like you all to remember that we don’t need one day in the year to address homelessness.
This is something that has to be addressed every day, and it starts with us as a society.
This is what you can do to make a difference:
1. Acknowledge a homeless person today, tomorrow and whenever you feel comfortable doing so in the future. It’s the one thing truly homeless people value the most: a sense of belonging.
Remember that every homeless person has a story, and somewhere in that story is something tragic, sad or shocking that resulted in a chain of events without a support network that ultimately led to the condition and situation of that person before you.
He or she did NOT choose to be homeless.
It is that desire to belong somewhere that sees various ostracised groups in communities coming together under the banner of homelessness: the aged, those with physical and mental disabilities, ex-prisoners, and drug abusers are all ostracised groups that form a community defined by society as being “HOMELESS”.
Herein lies our first reason why we haven’t managed to even scratch the surface of how we should address homelessness: Homelessness is a state and not a trait, and hence you can’t put people in shelters and then consider them assisted.
That is not assistance. That is imprisonment!
Those defending the current model, which we as a province and City chose to finance and support, is an emergency and a temporary measure, and we need it but only as part and parcel of a ladder of homeless accommodation options, even if these are contained in one building.
Shelters are for when you have just entered homelessness and need immediate and emergency access to a bed.
They were never meant to be offered as permanent places of accommodation.
The services they offer are also meant to be of an emergency and temporary nature.
To end chronic homelessness, we have to offer dignified, supportive and transitional but also independent living spaces where people are given agency.
Without that fundamental need met, we can forget all the rest.
Chronic homelessness will continue to get worse.
The homed residents will become more frustrated and less generous, and desperation will lead to an increase in opportunistic crime, and the whole cycle will continue with more and more of your money being budgeted for safety and security and ineffective social programmes.
2. Seek out or grab the opportunity, should it arise, speak to previously homeless people. People with lived experience of homelessness.
They can inform you about every aspect of homelessness and help you make informed choices about making a positive contribution to those still living on the streets.
3. Work towards establishing a homeless hub within your community. It’s easily achievable for every suburb with the involvement of the public, businesses, churches, local police stations, ward councillors and the homeless. This is going to become key if we as a City want to end chronic homelessness. You will, in so doing, be giving responsibly.
4. The City's “Give Dignity” and “Give Responsibly” campaigns, although based on an ethical and sound concept, cannot claim to be the best option to help those living on the streets.
Those funds benefit only the already over-funded temporary solution options that both the province and City already support.
None of those working on or already providing long-term solutions to benefit homeless people are funded or receive any of the money you donate and end up having to close their doors. Also, realise that none of it reaches those individuals still living on the streets or the organisations that are directly involved in assisting them.
Should you, in your heart, feel you want to help a homeless person or person or organisation that truly helps the homeless directly, please do so!
Make sure, in any case, that you make informed decisions when donating towards organisations.
Ensure that their impact is what they say it is and that your donation is doing what you expect it to do.
Being registered or supported by the City or province is not a guarantee that your donation is going to have the impact you are told it will.
Here are a few more suggestions I have also made in my concept of a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness of how every individual can help:
5. Align your efforts towards ending homelessness and not managing it.
6. Learn about what other initiatives and projects are happening and how your contribution can foster the ecosystem of solutions to end chronic homelessness.
7. Spread the word #EndHomelessnessCPT: we need everyone to understand why it is important to end chronic homelessness.
8. Have a conversation with a friend, family or colleague and bust the myths.
9. Become an educated and ethical landlord.
10. Give and inspire your community and organisation and community to give their time and energy towards being part of #EndHomelessnessCPT
11. Make the most of your influence. This is an important cause to drive systemic change around. Use your influence to ensure that this framework and plan are embraced.
12. Move the conversation towards permanent and supported solutions.
I will next week start interactive discussions with you all on my 10-year concept plan to end chronic homelessness, which I released yesterday for World Homeless Day 2022.
* Carlos Mesquita and a handful of others formed HAC (the Homeless Action Committee) that lobbies for the rights of the homeless. He can be reached at [email protected].
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Newspapers.
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