(cont.)
Sheltering the Unhoused
Losing ground to homelessness
Homelessness is almost entirely about loss. Loss of family, community, self. Loss of self-efficacy and esteem. In many cases, perhaps ironically to the rest of society, becoming part of the ‘homeless community’ actually gives an individual a place to belong, albeit on the margins of our society, but it is a place of belonging none-the-less1. For many, a shelter is the first place they find real, human acceptance, both within a community and perhaps in time, within themselves. It is a community with which they can identify and even find a sense of belonging, without feeling judged because of lack of money, home, trappings of wealth, and all the socially-accepted middle class “norms” we deem important.
In its purest form, a shelter is designed to be a transient space. It is a place where an individual experiencing homelessness can connect with resources that will help them find answers to what has happened to their life to take them so far from home. And, it is a place where they can hopefully, with help, map out a route back home to a place where they belong without fear of losing their place again.
In reality, however, a shelter is more than just a stopping place along the continuum of the social condition called ‘homelessness’. A shelter is a place of acceptance. Just as athletes gravitate to places where other athletes hang out, homeless individuals find comfort in a community that shares a common experience. In a shelter, individuals may find the acceptance that has often evaded them in their downward spiraling journey away from home. They can often find acceptance of who they are, in this moment, whether an addict, mentally ill, debilitated senior, chronically unemployed or a host of other labels used to eventually situate someone in what we perceive to be, the ‘tragedy’ of their homelessness.
As they begin to find themselves at a shelter, they begin to change their response to the challenges of their houseless status. They may then begin to examine their position and search for alternatives. The shelter can become that place where they are free to face whatever circumstance or demon has driven them there as they become accountable for where they’re at. It is a place where they are generally safe to explore possibilities for change to happen on their timeline, within their means and within their unique framework of possibilities.
Always interesting to hear the different perspecitves of homelessness.
Thanks for giving me a well written description of how life is on the cold and wet streets of Calgary. It took me a long time to finally find an organisation who is doing exactly what our organisation is doing for the past 12 years
If you wish to compare organisations, please do not hesitate and check out the streetlife in the heart of Europe; namely Luxembourg.
I am a canadian who has resided in Luxembourg since 1980 and am an active volunteer in the redaction since the year 2000.
Keep up the good work you are doing in Calgary and try not to give another bald headed man a comb or a toothless man a nice juicy steak. You can help some people, some of the time, but you can’t help everybody, all of the time.
Heads up and I hope to hear from you in the near future.
Yours Truly,
George E. Nixon
Thank you George for your encouraging words! And thank you for what you do. I shall definitely check out the work in Luxembourg.
so true — you can help some of the people, some of the time, but you can’t help everybody, all of the time.
Cheers!
Louise