It is helpful to say “they” and “them” and “their” instead of “we” and “us” and “our”. It is amazing the amount of power that we give to words. By defining the homeless as something other than ourselves, we give ourselves some breathing room. They are not us. They are something different. They are another group entirely.
Some of them make it easier for us by striving to be something other; to be something different. They embrace their “other”-ness by becoming what we have beheld as wrong and bad and different and, most of all, worst of all, worthy of our pity. With signs held not high, but low in manner that connotes weakness, they ask for your change because they are a vet, or they need to get home, or they need a cup of coffee, or a myriad of other reasons. For a while, the trend was honesty. Signs read “Fuck it, I need a beer” and “Need money for weed!” We rewarded their honesty with a giggle and the change that was in our pocket, happy that they had told the truth. It was their truth but it was not the truth.
So, it is really a nice little arrangement. They put on their show. They audition. They size us up too. One person told me that the best way to get someone is when they are a couple and they look to be on a date. The guy is often willing to give some change because he wants to look good in front of his date. Another is to ask for specific amounts like two quarters. If the person was going to give any money at all, there is no way they would pull out a pile of change from their pocket, extract two quarters and give just that. It is likely they will give all of it.
We play the game too. We walk in a wide circle around them so as not to be close enough to ask. We walk still enough to not jiggle the change in our pocket, or we carry no change at all specifically for that reason; so we can pat our pants as we walk by and give sad little glance. Emerging from restaurants we proffer leftovers, not thinking that anyone would not want to eat the picked over remains of your dinner. Some will take it readily but most will decline. When they decline, we say, “See, you must not have been hungry.”
These games are all well and good, but they are not the truth. Little Sally holding the sign is not trying to get back home to Nebraska. Leftovers and spare change even with the best of intentions will not get someone off the street. The most shocking truth of all is that this part, this face of homelessness that we see everyday, it is all just theater.
Most estimates put the number of homeless in Atlanta at between 15,000 and 22,000. The variance is based on what one could consider homeless. High estimates place people who are moving in and out of hotels and people who live with relatives as homeless rather than in transition. Still, even at the low end of the estimate, I saw about 100 homeless give or take. So we should be asking ourselves, where are the other 14,900 plus, and why are they not in the street asking for money?
My guess would be pride. A number of the people I saw curled up in corners or going to huddle in cars were just plodding away, day in and day out, trying to make things happen in their lives. They were waiting for the library to open so they could check the want ads and their e-mail to see if anything had come in. They were standing in line outside of staffing places waiting for a job. They were standing in line at food banks so they did not have to beg for money for food. The vast majority of the homeless were simply trying to get their lives on track or back on track.
Ironically it is pride that often keeps people on the street and that street goes both ways. A lot of the services that are available to people go unused. They do not want to talk to a counselor about their problem. They feel they have it under control or they are embarrassed that it even got to this point, even if it was due to circumstances beyond their control.
We see also that the organizations that can help and even those mandated to help by the government do not reach those they are supposed to be helping. It is overcoming that pride that will solve this problem. There need to be people out there, on the streets, bringing these people out of the cold, reversing the stigma, and helping them to solve their problems. It is especially important for youth because their most available inlet into the system has become the police when it could be as simple as someone handing out a flyer.
I would say that my overall assessment is that the homeless in Atlanta are simply people who have problems and they need help, even the scammers, but the stop gap measures are not going to do it. If we are talking about the man or woman, boy or girl sitting outside of the restaurant begging for change, they likely do not need a meal, but perhaps drug or alcohol counseling. The man in the corner talking to himself likely does not need change, but perhaps medication of another sort. The core problem of why they are out there needs to be solved. I do not think this will come as a surprise to anyone. We have the tools, we just need the resolve.
No comments:
Post a Comment