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Jerrel T. Gilliam: The many faces of homelessness

Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Jerrel T. Gilliam: The many faces of homelessness

Women, children and students are often overlooked

Homelessness has many faces. It could be the child walking down the street with a backpack of schoolbooks, wondering where his next meal is coming from. It could be the man sitting a few rows ahead of you on the bus, fighting an invisible battle with drug addiction. It could also be the woman pushing a shopping cart that contains her entire world down the sidewalk, in the rain.

The homeless population isn’t always easy to spot. These people may look the same as those with more resources, but they could be masking a deeper level of poverty. They also don’t always get the attention and care needed from those of us who have the means to help — and that’s a problem. Research shows that people without any shelter have drastically shorter lifespans compared to other Americans, potentially dying up to 30 years sooner than those who have shelter, according to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

Those facts are sobering, especially when you consider that most of us could be a few unfortunate occurrences away from being homeless ourselves.

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Just take the story of Monica, who was featured this past March in The Washington Post. Although she is a homeless woman living in Washington, D.C., Monica used to live in an apartment with her husband — until their sudden eviction from affordable accommodations forced them into a life on the streets. In order to survive and keep her day job in fast food, Monica must get ready for the day in a public bathroom to appear normal, hiding her homelessness from her co-workers so that they aren’t alarmed at a homeless woman handling the food. Monica’s story is not unique. In fact, we witness these stories every day at Light of Life Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh. We just can’t talk about them.

Women, in general, face unique circumstances when homeless. Many women are often pushed toward homelessness due to domestic violence. Out of more than 216,000 homeless women nationwide, 1 in 4 of them are driven to a life on the streets as a result of violent or aggressive behavior taken against them in the home. Additionally, 70% of homeless women have been physically assaulted by a family member or someone they knew.

Pregnant women, in particular, can be especially vulnerable to the conditions homelessness creates. A study conducted by Housing Matters found they are twice as likely to have a complication affecting their health during birth, an early or threatened labor, or a hemorrhage during pregnancy.

Another overlooked portion of the homeless population is children and students. In fact, the number of homeless children is at its highest level in over a decade. Homeless students attending public school in Pennsylvania alone increased by over 30% during 2015-2018. That’s 30,624 homeless kids in our public school system during the 2017-2018 school year — and this problem isn’t unique to Pennsylvania. Across the country during 2015-2018, enrolled students experiencing homelessness rose by 15%.

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The opioid epidemic has also changed the face of homelessness. On the West Coast, for example, approximately 65,000 homeless opioid addicts live in California, along with 11,000 in Washington and 7,000 in Oregon. While affordable-housing projects exist, acknowledging and treating the opioid addiction that plagues many of the homeless people in this area would go further than only addressing their homelessness by getting to the root cause of their problems. Providing this service is crucial, especially because those experiencing homelessness are far more likely to die of overdoses.

Additionally, a study examined 17,000 people over a two-year period, revealing that 60% of adults have experienced at least one childhood traumatic experience by the time they reached adulthood. Among homeless adults, 90% have experienced three or more traumatic experiences. Fortunately, these effects can be reversed in a safe, loving environment.

Homelessness is a crisis with many human faces and hands, all reaching out for support. Homeless women, children and addicts especially need support from their communities in times like these to truly turn their lives around. That’s why I’m grateful to lead Light of Life Rescue Mission, which helps the homeless and addiction-afflicted in Pittsburgh get the support they need. It’s here that my team helps clients identify the underlying issues that led them to homelessness and addiction, allowing them to take back control of their lives.

Those on the brink can’t improve their circumstances without compassion and generosity from all of us. Remember Monica’s story: Not all people on the brink of homelessness appear to be homeless. So, let’s make sure these people don’t fall through the cracks of society. You can help those struggling around you by listening to their concerns, sharing a warm meal, striking up a friendly conversation and referring them to a shelter with much-needed resources to help them get back on track.

Let’s come together and create welcoming, loving environments that will bring hope and healing to hurting people like Monica.

Jerrel T. Gilliam is the executive director for Light of Life Rescue Mission.

First Published: September 25, 2020, 4:00 a.m.

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