Lucy May at WCPO does such a great job reporting on the topic of being homeless in Cincinnati. Her recent article was no exception.
Read: Family Homelessness is up, but Greater Cincinnati is Making Progress
Lucy and I found ourselves discussing an unusual challenge that we frequently face in the fight to end homelessness. Namely, one of the biggest challenges is helping people understand who is actually homeless in Cincinnati?
People’s perceptions frequently do not match reality.
I want people to possess a better understanding of who is homeless. If people understood how many kids are homeless, they would help. If people understood how people are often homeless because of challenges that could have just as easily befallen any of us, they would help.
Said another way, it is the myths of homelessness that keep the collective good will of our community from being targeted toward helping the homeless. If an average citizen, when asked to picture a homeless person, imagines an older person with a bottle of alcohol in their hand, it is unlikely they will want to volunteer or help. But if that same person knows that almost 2,000 kids were homeless in our community last year, and instead pictures one of those kids, they might be more inclined to act.
So who do you picture when you imagine being homeless in Cincinnati?
A single adult? A third of our homeless people are part of a homeless family.
An older person? More than half of our homeless population is under the age of 35.
Someone who is unemployed? Many homeless people maintain employment even while sleeping in a homeless shelter, which is no easy task.
Someone with a drinking problem? Less than half of our homeless people have an alcohol problem, not drastically different from the approximately 30% of adult Americans in the general population who have abused alcohol or suffer from alcoholism, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
So when we discuss homelessness, it’s important we shed the stereotypes and assumptions we might have about who is homeless. By understanding the realities of being homeless in Cincinnati, I believe people will act to end homelessness.
Your Turn!
Knowing that thousands of people experiencing homelessness are children, and that most people who are experiencing homelessness are younger than 35 years old.
How does that change your perspective? And does that change how you will respond?
