CHANGING THE
PERCEPTION OF
HOMELESSNESS
May 2017
Eric Hintermaier
Discourse 300 | Erica Stone
CHANGING THE PERCEPTION OF HOMELESSNESS
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Changing the Perception of Homelessness
The Problem: Modern View
When we hear the word “homeless” what comes to mind? Commonly, it is similar to
words like dirty, lazy, poor, drunk, drugs, and cardboard signs. So often this is how society views
these individuals. But why? As a society have been trained to view homeless individuals as
lesser. People in general tend to look down on communities with less wealth. Affluence feeds
arrogance which leads to ignorance. When people become wealthy the distance between them
and the poor increases. Usually, this leads to a disconnect with that community entirely. The
wealthier people become the less they are able to see from the poor perspective. Such a lack of
perception has created a systemic trend for many generations. While the wealthy worry about
having more, the poor worry about having enough. Mindsets such as these, mixed into modern
society has led to homelessness.
In an interview with Kanas City local pastor, Nick Pickrell, who has had over 10 years’
experience working with and engaging the homeless. We spoke specifically on the perception
of the homeless in society. He is currently a pastor at a church in Kansas City with a program
called the Open Table. The Open Table leans into the idea that we are all human individuals and
we all deserve to be treated with respect and empathy. The program creates a space where
those who see a need to bridge the divide between the affluent and less affluent to engage in a
community as brothers and sisters of the same humanity (Hintermaier, 2017). When asked
“what the most common view of homelessness that people have in our society today?”, Pickrell
replied that the most common view is that, “the people experiencing homelessness deserve it.
They are lazy people who are drug addicts, and they should never be given money because they
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will just spend it on their bad habits” (Pickrell, 2017). A preface is necessary to say that he does
not believe this view, but he is saying that it is simply how the vast society tends to view the
homeless.
It is important to define what homelessness actual is and means. The National Health
Care for the Homeless Council defines homelessness several different ways, but the following is
the most all-encompassing. The NHCHC defines: a homeless person is an individual without
permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room
occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent
situation (“What is the official definition of homelessness?”). Defining persons in this way opens
up the category or homeless to many more people. Our view of the homeless has grown over
the past decade.
We as a society are able to see the broader scope of homelessness and how truly
inflicting it can be in society. This is to say, homeless can be adults living on the street due to
losing their house or it could also mean a teenager who got kicked out or ran away from home
and is now surfing from couch to couch in search of a steady place to land. Whichever way
individuals find themselves homeless, it almost always has something to do with money.
Causes: The Edge of Poverty
Homelessness has many different causes but it tends to be mainly attributed to poverty.
In the United States of America, 43.1 million live in poverty today. This makes up 13.5% of our
population here in the United States (Bernadette D. Proctor, Jessica L. Semega, Melissa A.
Kollar, 2016). For many, poverty doesn’t just mean being low on money, it can mean they are
just one incident away from being homeless. In 2014, 17.8% of the Kansas City population was
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homeless due to poverty and other afflictions and vices (OpenData KC). Poverty forces those
affected by it to live life day to day, wondering how to make ends meet. It is difficult to plan for
possible future issues when it’s hard to provide for tomorrow’s meal. Those who live this close
to the line can’t seem to afford mistakes. For many who are oppressed by their poverty, one
mistake: one missed paycheck, one car malfunction, one sick day could result in them
ultimately having to give up electricity, food, or even their homes. Afflictions like these are
ruthlessly present in our world today. It causes many difficulties for those in poverty trying to
rise above it.
As much as these individuals try to improve their situations the issues still keep getting
worse. A study done by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reveals that
