Portland, Oregon is a beautiful city with a large homeless population.
Just My Opinion:
HOMELESS HELPING THE HOMELESS
By Jennifer Troy
More Homeless Communities
Tiny house communities established by charitable agencies and social welfare groups for the homeless are sprouting up nationwide. The primary concern is getting people off the streets and into a safe place. A big step. But then what?
Still Lost
What happens now that food, shelter and a safe haven to sleep at night have been given to these people? Is there any real expectation that any of them will re-enter the 5 day-a-week work world? Will they be able to move on into non-subsidized housing? Is there a place in society for them to return to? Even though they are off the streets they may still lack social, physical and monetary resources to keep themselves off the streets in the future. These people have been lost and need help reintegrating back into the normal world. Training and/or re-training is needed. Learning how to compete for jobs, interviewing techniques, correct language use, clean and presentable dress. All these skills need to be learned, before self-sufficiency can be achieved. Without such training the risk is more damaged self-esteem and failure.
Reality Bite
As I see it, what needs to happen within these communities is a mirroring of what life is like for everyone else working their way through this crazy thing called life. Not just three hots and a cot. But, a safe place to relearn, or learn for the first time, the skills needed to function and be self-sufficient in American society. A place where they can be given a “trial run”, before facing the world again.
Bucking Trends
In many ways this runs counter to current trends. Many seem to think all we as a society need to do is offer subsidized housing forever to the chronically homeless. I believe that these people can do more and be more than we are asking of them. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime,” Chinese quotation. Let’s give them more than a bed, let’s give them an opportunity. Let’s teach them how to fish. This is where the idea of the homeless helping the homeless comes from.
