What Rose Haven Guests Wish You Knew About Homelessness
Rose Haven guests had the opportunity to respond to the prompt, “What do you wish people knew about homelessness?” Some guests preferred to keep their responses private, but others wanted to share their responses with you. Here’s what they said…
“That we are grateful for the assistance we receive. Without the generosity of others we would not be able to survive as well as we do. We are not all bad people. Many have strong held values and moral integrity. We can also contribute to society if given opportunity even if we can’t ‘work’ we would love alternative ways to earn money when we can’t hold a job.”
“Well, it’s a 24 hour survival thing. It’s very dangerous and lonely. I’m not happy at this time.”
“It sucks being homeless hardly any privacy people stealing other people’s personal belongings no respect no remorse.”
“Nowhere to go and weather is beyond extreme (cold and hot). Money only goes so far and no money half the month or so and no place to go behind four walls like on weekends when some day shelters in area [are closed].”
“The loss of self-worth associated [with homelessness], the isolation, the depression, the decrease in ambition, drive, and motivation. The will to keep trying because the world has given up on you—therefore you give up on yourself because it feels like proof that you no longer matter because you’re not worthy of a shelter or housing. Also the courage and challenge to ask for help when I personally was taught that I’d be punished for.”
“You would be surprised where some of us have been before we got here. Engage us and strike up conversation… what you may be curious about, a lot of us would be glad to tell you. Tuck and roll off that high horse it’s a long way down – I never thought I’d be here either. After COVID, 64% of families in the US have been 1 pay day or medical crisis away from sudden and catastrophic $ crisis and/or homelessness.”
“I do not like being pitied for living outside. I’ve survived some pretty severe abuse and domestic isolation and abuse and I do not have to suffer at the hands of another trauma victim who controls my life, and keeps me shut away from the world any longer. I believe and know now—homelessness freed me from that co-dependent, sexual, emotional, and physical abuses. If someone hurts me I can walk away and know that I do not have to stay with an abuser to survive.”
“Please don’t judge us all because of the poor behavior of one person. I am decently educated and fairly well spoken… Lastly, be kind! If we have enough to be ok that’s plenty!”
About the Responses
Guests addressed misinformation and stigmatization from the larger community in their responses. What was unexpected was the diversity, complexity, and intimacy of the responses provided by the guests. Guests used the prompt not only to explicitly correct misinformation or challenge stereotypes but also to share stories of the physical and emotional experience of homelessness, as well as their experiences navigating social services. Some guests wanted to share positive experiences with homelessness such as a preference for being in nature rather than living a traditional lifestyle or describing homelessness as a freedom and escape from domestic violence.
This writing exercise allowed guests a means to reduce feelings of invisibility while encouraging empathy from the larger community. Regardless of how participants chose to respond to the prompt, many of them expressed emotion, describing incredibly intimate feelings and experiences related to their homelessness. While many did aim to address misinformation, most expressed a desire for empathy from community members and an opportunity to share their stories. As one participant shared: “Engage us and strike up conversation… what you may be curious about, a lot of us would be glad to tell you.”
We need more caring people like you to engage in community with our guests, whether that’s through volunteering your time or donating so that we can continue to do the work that we do in meeting basic needs, reducing the harms associated with homelessness, and getting folks into housing. At Rose Haven we strive to go above and beyond for our guests because every person deserves their humanity, autonomy, and a community that listens. Thank you for taking the time to read a bit about our guests today!
Want to learn more about homelessness in our city? We want to learn what you know!
Take our quiz to see how much you know about homelessness and see if you can identify common myths!
About the Author
My name is Sarah Smith and I am a student intern at Rose Haven studying Psychology at Lewis & Clark College. When I’m not at school or working at Rose Haven, I run a small outreach organization with some friends in my neighborhood, distributing food, water, hygiene items, clothes, safer drug use supplies, and outdoor survival gear to my neighbors who are living outside.
Over the course of my time doing outreach, and throughout my shifts at Rose Haven, I have had the opportunity to hear stories from people living outside about their experiences with homelessness. Again and again I hear from people that they wish their housed neighbors would take time to get to know their stories and learn about what it’s like to be homeless. As someone who experienced temporary homelessness as a teenager, I understand what it’s like to feel invisible to the larger community, and was moved by these stories to initiate a project that gave Rose Haven guests an opportunity to share experiences of homelessness with their housed neighbors.
For my senior capstone project, I decided to write about misinformation and stigmatization of people experiencing homelessness, while advocating for opportunities to uplift narratives of people with lived experience to increase empathy and dispel stereotypes. If you’re interested in learning more about my project reach out to research@rosehaven.org.
