I stayed at my girlfriend’s apartment all day. She left to bring her son back to his father’s. I really did nothing but watch shows all day and scroll around on my phone’s.
I have one month left of this homeless experience. I’m extremely burned out and dejected. Although I’ve learned how to live homeless and access all the resources I need to survive in Massachusetts, I have no motivation for it. It’s taken a psychological and emotional toll on me like no other experience. Having to document the experience has given me a responsibility that I no longer desire. I lost the motivation to interview people and ask questions. Understanding the depravity and suffering of people, which is exacerbated by poor behavior on all socioeconomic levels has caused me to question my own existence.
People take care of the things, places, and life forms that make them feel good. There’s millions of pets in Massachusetts. The majority of them are well cared for to my understanding. Yet there’s people that live outside or in horrible conditions, because they are not desired by the majority of the public. Do we live in a society that takes better care of its pets than it does its people? Feelings and thoughts around shame, humility, dignity, and depression have caused me to realize that society as a whole is willing to turn a blind eye on human suffering because it’s uncomfortable to look at.
I believe at the core of most people is a desire to be loved. It costs nothing to show people kindness, compassion, and some level of care. Yet I believe that’s a hard step when it comes to caring for people that struggle to care for themselves. I am of the opinion that people who struggle to care for themselves are those who are in the most need of love and care from their fellow people.
At this stage of understanding I strongly advocate for shelter first, which is different from housing first. Shelter first offers people living outside some form of shelter immediately. Housing first will leave somebody outside indefinitely, if no shelter is available, until housing is secured which sometimes doesn’t happen. In one instance I had a homeless man with high needs in Lawrence have a housing opportunity come through from rapid rehousing about a month after doing a housing intake with him, the man wanted shelter, but there was no shelter space available. When the housing opportunity came through, he had already overdosed and died.
Next I advocate for stronger homeless outreach initiatives, with the offering of shelter first along with other services, resources, and human engagement and connection.
Lastly I advocate for safe supply, this is a program that has been successful in Canada and offers people alternative pharmaceutical versions of the drugs they are addicted to in the street, which gives them more functionality, connection to health providers, and upsets the illegal narcotics trade. This is a program I believe would be successful with people in the street who suffer with the most severe addiction issues.