A Broken and Fearful World

Oftentimes, the things that make it onto this blog are happy, sentimental types of stories about beautiful and very uplifting moments that take place in my work at the Campus. Don’t get me wrong, these moments happen, and, indeed, they happen every day. But, what I sometimes don’t convey here is the ugly and violent reality of homelessness. Typically in the front window of the sanctuary at Second, we have a bouquet of flowers, through Lent it has been an arrangement of bare sticks. It serves as a reminder that life not only includes Sunday mornings filled with Easter lilies but Friday afternoons of switches and thorns. So, in the spirit of this season of brokenness and repentance through which we currently walk, here are some observations about the harsh realities of life for both the homeless and those of us who work among them.

VIOLENCE

A reality of the streets is violence. At the Campus, we put violence into four categories: verbal, physical, sexual, and racial. Verbal and racial abuse (mostly the use of the n-word, whether done in a friendly or malicious way) are the most common types of violence we see—a couple of times a week, while physical and sexual violence are more rare—a couple of times a month, if that. The past week, as emotions began to flare with the final week of Room In The Inn looming large in the minds of our participants, was one that saw a higher number of violent incidences than usual. On Wednesday, there was a heated argument over a stolen bag that turned into a physical scuffle which involved nearly all of the staff members who were present, including me, being pushed around a little bit. Fortunately, we were able to diffuse the situation ourselves before anyone was seriously hurt, since it took the police over 30 minutes to respond to our 911 call.

Fortunately, no weapons were involved in that incident, which wasn’t the case a couple of other times this past week, when a woman used a brick to injure a man, and an intoxicated man pulled out a razor blade on one of our staff people. We all know that we work in a somewhat dangerous place, but we try to make sure we deal with volatile people in pairs and are smart about the way we handle things. (That last sentence was for you, Mom.)

ADDICTION

Probably 90% of the people we serve at the Campus have some kind of addiction problem. For many it is alcohol, for others it is drugs (mainly crack cocaine) and for a lot it is both of those. I have seen my share of intoxicated people, and it’s been easier to pick them out as time has gone by and I’ve gotten to know how individuals act when their drunk vs. sober. Once a man walked up to me and pulled up his shirt, undid his pants and pulled out a bottle of Listerine that he had been drinking. Mouthwash is about 25% alcohol, compared with just 5 or 6% in a typical beer. It’s also cheap and readily accessible.

I have knowingly witnessed two drug deals. One was in our bathroom, where I saw some large amounts of money being exchanged. Another was just outside our door at a picnic table, where I actually saw a man with a bag of crack. The funny thing is, when I confronted these people, they came up with the same kinds of excuses that school kids would come up with if they were caught passing notes in class. (“I was just giving him some money so he could call his mom on the phone…”)

HEALTH

Some of the saddest things we see on a daily basis are people with illnesses who have to live on the streets. Most of us take for granted the fact that we have somewhere to go when we are sick. Can you imagine having to live on the streets and walk everywhere when you’re seriously ill? It is not uncommon for our participants to have surgery in the morning and be back with us in the afternoon. Most of us don’t appreciate the fact that we have a bed to lie in to recover.

Physical illness also spreads quickly through the homeless population, especially in crowded shelters. Being crammed into a church van on the way to a church for Room In The Inn or sleeping in close quarters in a crowded mission, combined with a lack of access to the resources necessary for good hygiene and proper sanitation don’t do much to keep people healthy.

Besides the physical illnesses that I see on a daily basis, there is a large percentage of our population that suffers from mental illness. Depression runs rampant through the homeless population. Diseases that keep people from seeing reality often lead them to refuse our help. All too often, the pressures of life in homelessness lead people to threaten or attempt suicide. On a few occasions, people have expressed suicidal feelings to me, which puts responsibility on me to make sure that they receive help.

CHOICES

So often, people will say to me, “You know, 90% of homeless people choose to be homeless.” I would agree that many homeless people claim that they chose this lifestyle, but I don’t agree with them. There are few people who would opt into a life of having to depend on someone else, whether that someone is a social service agency or a group of church volunteers, for everything. Hardly anyone would rather sleep outdoors exposed to the elements night after night than sleep under a roof. It is most often addiction and mental illness that keep people homeless. When your mental state will not allow you to receive help or you spend everything you have because of an insatiable drive to feed your addiction, you probably won’t be able to keep a home no matter how inexpensive it is.

But, that doesn’t let the rest of us off the hook. The broken life of the homeless could happen to any of us at any time, and we are each prone to the same violent tendencies and illnesses as a condition of our humanity. We must make the decision to love people unconditionally, and make peace where there is violence, healing where there is sickness and hope where there is despair.