People are homeless by choice. I've had several seemingly intelligent people tell me this in just the last week. Short, clean and simple- all the hallmarks of a classic thought stopper. A thought stopper is simply a way to end a conversation before it gets too deep or makes us uncomfortable. Sure, there are those who don't fit into the whole work a job, buy or rent a house and be respectable paradigm of life today. I get it, hell my uncle was one of those people. But to simply dismiss the whole problem of homelessness with the idea that people choose to be homeless is more than a thought stopper. Rather, it's an absurdity.
The price of housing has gone through the roof. There is no place in America where one can afford a safe apartment while working for minimum wage. (feel free to prove me wrong on that.) Minimum wage is 7:25 an hour and has remained unchanged since 2009. Meanwhile, everything else has gotten more expensive including essentials like healthcare and groceries. The cost of a place to live has skyrocketed, especially since COVID. So what happens when one cannot afford a house for whatever reason, much less an apartment? The choices go from bad to worse. The best case, you can couch surf, hanging out with friends or family until you are able to get back on your feet. From there the options only get worse; sleazy and unsafe extended stay hotels, maybe a homeless shelter, a used tent in the woods or completely unsheltered on the ground somewhere. Simple minded thought stoppers do little to solve the problem.
Blaming the complex problem of homelessness on mental health issues and addiction are two more thought stoppers. Sure these two issues may play a role in some cases. We would do well to remember that there are over 2 million homeless children in our country. 38% of domestic violence survivors come homeless at some point in their lifetime. With all the talk of “support the troops,” it's mind boggling that there are over 30,000 homeless veterans. So while addiction and mental health may play a role they are far from the root causes of homelessness. In my opinion the worst thought stopper on this topic is dismissing homeless people as simply lazy. Doing a simple Google search one can see numbers between 40% and 60% of homeless people work. (A specific number? click here.) Low wages and part time work contribute to keeping people poor. For fun, let's pretend homelessness is just a choice. What does that look like?
People choosing to couch surf, shelter in a sleazy hotel, a tent in the woods or just out on the streets is a pretty strong signal something is very wrong with society. There are problems, serious problems. Just how is one supposed to function in a society with unaffordable healthcare, unaffordable housing, rising grocery prices, expensive daycare and a worsening economy? Not only are there less jobs, wages have stagnated for decades. These are the root causes of homelessness, not poor choices by individuals.
The solution is simple, enough affordable housing. Paying a living wage would also help. I know that's a big ask in our late stage capitalism dystopia. The question we have to ask ourselves is how bad are we willing to let it get before we demand action from government, the business world and ourselves? Extreme income inequality sooner than later leads to societal instability.
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