The Homeless, The Mentally Ill, and The Ignorant

Meds Can Reduce Homelessness, but The Homeless (and Advocates) Don't Get It
Huffington Post, October 20, 2009

Some advocates for the homeless believe that housing is a ‘right’ and are devoid of any responsibilities, like taking medicines. Other advocates for the homeless want to present the homeless as being high-functioning well-educated, previously employed individuals who are temporarily down on their luck. I don’t deny this may be true for the majority of homeless, but these advocates shouldn’t deny there is a giant percentage who don’t fit this mold.

I should have known from the title that reading this article was a very bad idea. What this writer doesn't get is that it isn't as easy as saying "you need medication." We're all in situations where we know what is "good for us" but make choices to do different things instead.

I have severe hearing loss in my right ear, it started when I was in the second grade. My left ear was pretty close to normal so I tried a hearing aid in the right ear in elementary school but it didn't help much so I stopped using it. I had to say "what?" a lot and people sometimes thought I was ignoring them but I found ways to get by, usually undetected.

In middle school I nearly failed a class one quarter because it was lecture based and I needed to have a notetaker for one of my college classes but I just blamed it on the teachers voices.

I worked in residential care with adolescents for a few years. I couldn't hear when kids were talking to me if they were on the "bad" side and I couldn't hear the gossiping or the plotting. At that time I briefly considered getting a hearing aid but I was off to grad school in a few months so I decided to let it slide.

I went to grad school, did fine, got out, and got a job.

More recently my work began to suffer. I do a lot of training and I couldn't hear the questions that were asked. When it got to the point where I couldn't hear conversation at the quiet dinner table I knew I needed to seek out some help.

As soon as I got a hearing aid I began to realize that what was "normal" for me for so long was no where near "normal" for other people. During all of that time up to now I thought I was functioning just fine, that I had a grip on things. Now I'm starting to realize how much more successful I would have been if I just stuck with that hearing aid that I had in the third grade rather than going it on my own.

How am I any different from the person who decides that they feel better without their meds? The person who says "I don't need meds, I can make it on my own"? Or the person who says "I can't afford my meds so I'll have to give it a shot without them"? I am no different, and neither are you.

These are people who are experiencing homelessness and mental illness, NOT "the homeless mentally ill." This writer never once referred to them as "people," he just called them by their illness and their housing situation. That is not what makes a person a person. I am not a "hearing impaired." I am a colleague, a friend, a blogger, a daughter, and maybe someday a mother. Or maybe someday homeless. But none of these things alone will ever define who I am.

Please think before labeling people. It just makes you sound ignorant, especially when you label yourself as an advocate for "the ___". How about "homelessness," "treatment for mental illness," or "people experiencing homelessness/mental illness" instead?

Us and Them

Maybe you've seen it already. Maybe you still don't believe that it's happening. Or maybe it's you. Around the country people who never dreamed of becoming homeless, people who have well paying jobs, people who own BMW's, and people who thought they had a safety net are finding themselves joining the ranks that they once thought only consisted of addicts, the weak, and the mentally ill.

Identity Crisis Accompanies VA Family's Financial Slide
Washington Post, October 6, 2009

Ron Vazquez was not a drunk. Not a drug addict. Not mentally ill.

For weeks, he repeated those phrases to himself and to anyone else who would listen. He and his wife used to fight over walk-in closet space and which BMW to buy. Yolanda Vazquez is the quintessential PTA mom -- organized and energetic. Ron's the classic Little League coach -- involved and enthusiastic. They were not drunks. Not drug addicts. Not mentally ill.

They were not homeless. Except that now, they are.

The Vazquezs are not alone. Around the country families that never dreamed that they would find themselves in a shelter are there. But they still see themselves as different from the "real" homeless people. As the oldest daughter says "This is where I live. It's not who I am." While I don't think the family should view themselves as derelicts and the scum of society, it saddens me that families that find themselves in this situation don't see the humanity in the "real" homeless people. There are plenty of people who struggle with alcoholism and mental illness but do have stable jobs and high salaries. Some of them have their illness under control while others are just successful at hiding their illness. Either way "those people" pass as one of "us" every day.

We are no different from "them." All that makes us different is that in this crazy world some of us have it easy and some of us didn't. The next time you see someone panhandling, or sleeping on a park bench, or slipping into a shelter remember that they shouldn't be pitied and you can't "save" them. Remember that if things were different you could be them and think about how you would want them to treat you if the tables were turned. Because, no matter what you feel, "they" are one of "us" too.