HELLO MI NEIGHBOUR | Some root causes of homelessness

HELLO MI NEIGHBOUR! He called me recently to say that the family that sheltered him at night could no longer assist him and if I knew of anyone else who could. Sorry, but I didn’t, and even if I did, I couldn’t because I didn’t know him well enough to recommend him to someone who could. But I felt it deeply for him. Reality of life eenh.

Imagine being many miles away and hearing that your child who was once being sheltered by a Good Samaritan got turned out with no recourse but to seek shelter from the open sky. Can’t imagine the pain? Tough. Homelessness can be tough.

Talking specifically about persons who, due to the circumstance of life, have no comfortable place of abode: no electricity, no running water, no walls, windows or roof, etc. No stove to prepare a meal, no bathroom to get a shower nor a toilet for the release of waste matters. That’s called homelessness, and not many things on earth can equate to such dehumanising state of being.

Homelessness is a global issue. It affects rich and poor countries. A 2016 survey revealed that 1.6 billion persons worldwide live under conditions raging from inadequate housing to no housing at all. It is said that in the year 2020, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States of America accounted for over 1.6 million homeless persons on the planet. And what of the poor countries!

But it set me thinking: why are there so many homeless people in our world. Not talking about people who are not homeowners.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS

The UN Commission’s resolution recognises that people are often pushed into homelessness by a range of social and economic factors. “It could happen to anyone. It’s not always drugs or alcohol. It’s not always something external. Life happens. And life can happen to a whole lot of us.”

Let us look at some root causes of homelessness. While the cost of living increases worldwide, wages remain stagnant in most cases, thus making it almost impossible to cover everyday expenses, occasional emergencies and then turn around and save for homeownership. This trap only makes mankind more vulnerable to homelessness.

Unemployment is also a significant factor in distancing home ownership from the individual. Someone who has been unemployed for a while without any other source of income can easily slip into homelessness. Lack of affordable housing is another factor that can lead to homelessness, especially in the city.

Lack of affordable healthcare can also lead to homelessness: where people maybe forced to mortgage there homes to find money for health care, can push a family into poverty. If other family members or government organisations don’t come to their rescue in these circumstances, another family is added to the homeless stats.

Other contributors to homelessness include mental illness, drug addiction, racial inequality, ‘social distancing’, domestic violence and family conflicts. Stop before the ultimate price is paid!

While homelessness may occur due to laziness, procrastination, poor judgement and bad decisions on the part of the family/individual, we cannot ignore the homelessness which occurs when society fails to identify and support people at risk of becoming homeless. Failures in the areas of healthcare services, strong family values, child welfare, racial equalities, wages, and the provision of affordable housing in this context, will surely lead to ...! You got it.

But hear this, while survey has show that many of the homeless people are happier than many settled people, all of us should do all that is takes to ensure that the homeless live like the rest of us, that is, finding a place of rest at the end of the day; that is “loving your neighbour as yourself and doing unto others as you would want others to do unto YOU”.

And remember, there is an eternal home awaiting those who make the RIGHT CHOICE! So, if you did not own a home here, nuh worry yuhself.

KINDLY HELP US TO HELP A NEIGHBOUR WITH ITEMS BELOW:

Stove, bed, mattress, building materials, sewing machine, table, chairs, second-hand settee, etc.

To help, please call Silton Townsend @ 876 884-3866, or deposit in acct # 351 044 276 NCB. Alternatively, send donations to HELLO NEIGHBOUR C/o 53 Half-Way Tree Road, Kingston 10; Paypal/credit card: email: zicron22@yahoo.com. Contact email: helloneighbour@yahoo.com. Visit hellomineighbourja.blogspot.com Mr Townsend exclusively manages the collections and distributions mentioned in this column and is neither an employee nor agent of The Gleaner.