NATIONAL: Why So Many People Hate the Homeless

*****UPDATE: 12/12/2014: I found a blog called "SLO Homeless" that I really liked that dealt with a similar issue, entitled "Why Do Some People Object to Helping the Homeless", which you can read by clicking here. I encourage you to read it also, even though it was written way back in 2010 - local homelessness has only gotten worse since then. In fact, here's is the link to this "SLO Homeless" blog that you can go to by clicking here.

The "SLO Homeless" article referenced above makes these major points regarding why some object to helping the homeless:
- Not In My Backyard (NIMBY)
- It costs too much.
- Providing services will draw more homeless to the community.

The writer concludes with this:
"Sooner or later, we are going to have to come to terms with homelessness. And we are going to have to provide the resources necessary to empower each and every homeless person who wants to get off the streets with a viable opportunity do so. But before we can do that, we are going to have to move beyond our personal objections to providing effective and meaningful homeless support services to those who live on the streets of our communities. Continually raising objections to providing services to assist the homeless doesn’t solve the issue. All it does is put our arrogance on display for all the world to see."

*****ORIGINAL ARTICLE: 11/20/2014: I wrote an article entitled "The Unhoused Need Our Help", which appeared in the weekly publication in SLO, New Times. You can read the article on the New Times website by clicking here. Since I never know how long the link will stay "active", I have reproduced the article below.

*****The Unhoused Need Our Help
One of the largest roadblocks to helping the homeless get housed is that so many people dislike them. This dislike ranges from merely considering the unhoused to be "lazy bums" to outright hatred. 

But let's digress, shall we? Recently, while waiting (in the morning) for some prescriptions to get filled in SLO, I took my dog for a walk around the strip mall parking lot. I encountered 2 obviously homeless people and engaged them in conversation (note: I encountered them in different areas of the parking lot and believe that they did not know each other).

The first was obviously intoxicated, smelled really bad, and was outright rude, as the publicly intoxicated homeless often are. He solicited money from me, which I declined to contribute to him. I wanted to tell him that he should lay off the booze in the morning, but I resisted the urge to say anything about it. I also thought about calling law enforcement, but I didn't do that either (maybe I should have?). 

I continued my walk around the parking lot, where I encountered the 2nd homeless man. He also appeared drunk, though I was not as certain. However, he he did smell heavily of cigarettes. His hands were so smoke-impregnated that after he petted  my dog, I could still smell his smokey scent on my dog when I got back for the car to drive home! This man had a large cart filled with possessions, but did not solicit money from me.

Both men were friendly, but I still found them to be somewhat repulsive. I did see through their outer unpleasantness, and observed that they were kind but desperate men. These 2 encounters (once again) reminded me why so many of my friends, family and acquaintances despise the homeless.

These 2 men are not representative of the vast majority of the homeless in SLO county. However, they are (unfortunately) the de facto representatives of all the unseen homeless people, at least to the public. This tiny minority taints the opinions of the masses, and creates more obstacles to improving the condition of our communities' homeless population.

What, specifically, does the public find objectionable to these 2 men in particular - these 2 men that are not representative of our SLO homeless? Let's list them:
- Dirty, unkempt clothing
- Smell bad, including the smell of BO, alcohol and tobacco cigarettes
- Publicly intoxicated, especially in the morning
- Semi-aggressive panhandling
- Semi-offensive language and conversation
- Clearly unemployed and not longer able to enter the workforce
- Clearly settling in to this very public location for the day, with their shopping cart of stuff

No revelations here. Nothing new for me in these encounters. I interact with street people on an (almost) daily basis. But It did refresh my understanding of why the homeless are so despised, and also why I don't blame those who hold that opinion. However, consider that the vast majority of the SLO county homeless fit in one of the following categories:

- Veterans

- Mentally ill

- Disabled

- Children under 18

- Working full or part-time

So let's start with the above categories of homeless people - put aside the so-called "lazy bums" for a minute. Should we help them? Should they be able to safely live indoors and not in our creekbeds and under our overpasses? Do they deserve our help? Should we provide them with basic food resources? I say yes. 

After we do that, then let's deal with the tiny number who are still unhoused, like the 2 men that I met in the parking lot recently. 

IT'S THE SMELL... On a tangential note, this discussion of why so many despise the homeless, always reminds me of this scene in the classic movie "The Matrix". We love the character, "Agent Smith", played by Hugo Weaving, and this scene is classic, IMHO. Watch this incredible scene by clicking here.

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