There is no such thing as a typical homeless person – challenging stereotypes

  A family man, a student, a talented young sports player, a musician, a daughter, a son and a wife. All without a place to call home.

Every person who has been homeless has a story. A ‘How I came to be here’ or ‘How I got out of there’ kind of story. I could tell you my own, but instead I want to use this blog as a way of addressing some of the issues surrounding homelessness.

Scenario one:

Nick and his wife have separated. It wasn’t planned and not wanting to outstay his welcome at the house they shared for 10 years, he leaves, not knowing where he is going. He tries an old friend but being in a relationship meant he dedicated most of his time to his wife and never seen his friends much. This particular friend has moved house, another has time for a cup of tea with Nick but then has to go and pick up the kids. Left with a few parting words…’Take care of yourself,’ Nick boards the next bus into town and goes to drown his sorrows.

1. Relationship breakdown, whether with family or a partner is one of the reasons some people could potentially become homeless.
2. The lack of a support network is one of the many contributing factors that could determine whether the outreach teams leave a card by your head, while you sleep in an underground station or whether you have a warm bed to sleep in.

Realising he has no one to depend on but himself, Nick checks in to a B&B for the night. The next few weeks are long and hard. Unable to pay the B&B rates Nick decides to move in to a backpackers hostel. He has missed work a few times. He told his employer he had a stomach bug. He didn’t want to tell them the truth. He was depressed. The backpackers hostel was cheaper and he thought that by living there for a short time he could save enough money for a deposit on a rental property.

1. The leading mental health charity Mind state that ‘The associations between mental ill health and homelessness are well known. A recent study estimated that between 30 and 50 per cent of homeless people have a mental health problem (compared with 10 to 25 per cent of the general population).’
2. Mind also state that 70% of people from the same study had a diagnosable mental illness before becoming homeless.

So what happened to Nick?

 Try and imagine you are in Nicks’ position. No friends or family to depend on, the end of a serious long term relationship, the loss of your home and feeling depressed.  This scenario could end in various different ways. Life is not always straightforward with simple clear choices to make. For a person who is homeless or vulnerably housed it is even less so. A change in someone’s personal circumstances could mean the difference between them having a place to call home… or not.