Being homeless can be an incredibly difficult and traumatic experience. Those without a permanent place to live face numerous challenges and hardships on a daily basis. In this article, we will explore some of the major difficulties faced by people experiencing homelessness and look at what it takes to survive living on the streets.
Finding food and water
One of the most basic human needs is having sufficient food and clean water. For people living on the streets, meeting this need can be a constant struggle. Homeless individuals often rely on free meals from shelters, food pantries, soup kitchens, and charitable organizations. However, capacity at these places is limited, and meals are usually only served at certain times of day.
Those who cannot access free meals may be forced to dig through restaurant trash bins and garbage cans. Nutritious food is often hard to come by for the homeless. Many end up surviving on fast food, packaged snacks, and other foods that are cheap and readily available. Panhandling or dumpster diving for returnable bottles/cans may provide enough cash to purchase some food. Finding potable water can also be a challenge. Some public buildings and restaurants may allow access to water fountains and restrooms. But beyond that, the homeless have few options other than purchasing bottled water, rainwater collection, or finding natural sources of water.
Finding shelter
Sleeping without shelter leaves homeless people vulnerable to the elements, theft, and violence. Many cities lack adequate shelter space to meet the needs of the homeless population. Even when beds are available, shelters often have rules that make them unappealing or inaccessible (sobriety requirements, early curfews, lack of privacy, restrictions on pets, etc). As a result, many homeless people sleep outside in makeshift structures, vehicles, tents, or existing covered spaces like building alcoves.
Sleeping outdoors or in a car makes one vulnerable to temperature extremes, precipitation, and public harassment. Many public spaces like parks have outlawed overnight camping. Finding a safe, undisturbed spot to sleep can be difficult. Those sleeping in vehicles may get ticketed for illegal parking or dwelling. Outdoor sleepers need adequate sleeping bags, tents, and padding to stay warm and dry. But these supplies can be costly or get stolen.
Protecting personal safety
Living without secure shelter leaves the homeless vulnerable to crime, assault, and abuse. Isolation and darkness compound the threats to personal safety. Homeless women and youth are particularly at risk. Many homeless individuals sleep during the day to avoid becoming targets at night. Seeking out well-lit areas with public activity and avoiding isolation can provide some safety. But having no door to lock and walls to protect oneself leaves the homeless exposed.
Carrying all one’s belongings makes the homeless easy robbery targets. Having no place to securely store possessions means the homeless risk losing their survival gear and identification documents. Hygiene and appearance also suffer when living rough. Poor hygiene and disheveled clothes can draw public scorn and prejudice. Some homeless conceal their status to avoid harassment.
Accessing healthcare
Homelessness presents numerous barriers to receiving medical care. With no residence, scheduling appointments with doctors is difficult. Keeping prescriptions filled regularly can be impossible. Paying for treatment and medication is extremely challenging. Public hospitals provide free emergency room services but cannot address chronic or preventative health needs.
For the homeless living outdoors, staying clean and hygienic is close to impossible. This leads to more frequent infections and disease transmission. Skin infections, respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis, STDs, and blood-borne diseases are common. Finding public restrooms to maintain sanitation is difficult. Life on the streets is inherently hazardous, with more frequent injuries from violence, accidents, and life in close quarters.
Mental health challenges
Mental illness and substance abuse problems are widespread among the homeless population. Often, these issues are exacerbated by the trauma of living without stable shelter. Regular access to counselling, psychiatric medication, and support services is close to impossible for those without a permanent residence. Many homeless turn to drugs and alcohol as a form of self-medication.
The transient lifestyle of homelessness makes it difficult to form long-term relationships and establish social support networks.Loneliness, isolation, and lack of community take a heavy toll. Depression, paranoia, and other mental health conditions are prevalent. Suicide rates are higher among the homeless. Being estranged from loved ones and mainstream society can lead to a downward spiral emotionally.
Finding work and income
Securing employment to earn money for food, supplies, and shelter is extremely challenging without a permanent address, phone, clean clothes, or place to bathe. Many homeless lack education or job skills as well. Employers are often reluctant to hire unkempt or unstable homeless people. Those who do find work end up in transient seasonal, temp, and day labor jobs that may not last.
Saving up enough earnings to get into housing while homeless is nearly impossible for most. Many homeless rely on panhandling, recycling, or utilizing social services and charity. These are not stable long-term solutions. Deteriorating appearance and self-esteem also make job-seeking harder over time. Some homeless seek out illegal sources of income like selling drugs, theft, or prostitution as acts of survival.
Transportation challenges
With no permanent place to store belongings, the homeless must carry all their possessions everywhere by foot, shopping cart, or bicycle. This severely limits how far they can travel for help services, work opportunities, healthcare, and shelter. Public transit systems may provide an inexpensive option for travel but have strict limits on luggage and loitering.
Those living in vehicles face challenges keeping their vehicle fueled, insured, and mechanically sound. Parking violations and vandalism are constant threats. Walking everywhere leads to higher rates of injury from accidents and weather exposure. Transportation mobility is key to accessing services, work opportunities, and housing options across a wide area.
Obtaining identification and documents
Proving identity and eligibility for services requires documents like ID cards, social security cards, medical records, and birth certificates. Keeping these documents intact and protected from loss/theft is extremely difficult while homeless. Replacing them without an address, phone, transportation, or funds can be close to impossible.
Lacking these vital documents prevents access to many social services, housing programs, employment, voting privileges, and government benefits. Things like opening a bank account, cashing a check, boarding a bus, renting an apartment, and verifying identity become extremely challenging. Fees for replacing documents present another obstacle.
Facing public perception
Negative public attitudes towards the homeless make surviving on the streets even harder. Homeless people are often subject to scorn, prejudice, dehumanization, and discrimination from strangers as well as businesses and authorities. Panhandling laws, trespassing warnings, and anti-vagrancy ordinances make them targets.
Many people feel the homeless are dangerous, volatile, criminals, or substance abusers. In reality, they are a heterogeneous population facing poverty, misfortune, and isolation. Stigmatization and alienation from society only perpetuates homelessness. Those without homes internalize society’s disdain and feel enormous shame.
Coping with boredom and lack of purpose
The severe lack of activities, hobbies, goals, and sense of purpose experienced by the homeless can be deeply detrimental. With endless empty hours to fill, boredom, ennui, and aimlessness often result. Addiction, overeating, self-harm, and other destructive behaviors may emerge as means of coping and stimulation.
The lack of structure, routines, ownership, and productivity associated with having a home and regular job can chip away at self-worth. Finding meaning and motivation to keep fighting is crucial. Some homeless create artwork, write, form communities, care for animals, volunteer work, or take free classes as antidotes to emptiness.
Battling addiction
Substance abuse and addiction are rampant among the homeless as a form of self-medication and escape. Addictive habits like alcoholism, drug abuse, cigarettes, or gambling sap limited income. Obtaining sobriety and staying clean is extremely difficult when surrounded by other addicts and having few positive distractions.
Rehab programs, counseling, and support groups are much harder to access. The stresses and trauma of homelessness can trigger relapses. Staying sober often means completely avoiding certain areas and peers, which limits options. Addiction worsens many other aspects of homelessness like health, lawful income sources, public perception, housing eligibility, and mental wellness.
Keeping hygiene up
When living in a vehicle, tent, shelter, or on the streets, maintaining personal cleanliness is incredibly challenging. Finding places to shower, wash clothes, use restrooms, and properly dispose of waste and feminine products is difficult. Many public places restrict access to water and bathrooms.
Poor hygiene contributes to social stigmatization, illnesses, self-esteem issues, and difficulties finding employment. Simple routines like brushing teeth, washing hands, applying deodorant, and storing clean clothes become difficult. Things like wet wipes, bird baths, and neatly kept clothes can help somewhat.
Preventing or escaping violence
Life on the streets leaves the homeless extremely vulnerable to violence, assault, rape, robbery, and abuse. Avoiding predatory individuals, gangs, drug dealers, and pimps/traffickers is crucial yet difficult when resources and safe shelter options are scarce. Homeless youth and women face heightened safety risks.
Finding well-lit areas with lots of public activity can provide some sense of safety in numbers. But even public spaces have risks like harassment and beatings from strangers. Survival often means becoming hypervigilant about people’s intentions and keeping potential weapons on hand. However, arming oneself also invites danger.
Staying organized
Since all their possessions must travel with them, organization is key for the homeless. Having items like clothing, hygiene products, medications, important documents, survival tools, food supplies, and money strewn about and mixed together can be disastrous. Keeping things efficiently packed, sorted, and compartmentalized is essential.
Key items should remain easily accessible so they are not forgotten. Things like bags, pouches, and carts help the homeless keep belongings organized and mobile. Regular inventory checks help ensure items are not lost or stolen. Being organized also helps maintain mental focus and discipline.
Avoiding legal troubles
Lacking knowledge of city ordinances and one’s civil rights makes the homeless highly vulnerable to fines, arrests, and harassment. Many common homelessness survival behaviors like panhandling, sleeping in public, loitering, public urination, and trespassing are illegal.
Interactions with authorities require diplomacy and awareness of laws. Arrest or jail time creates additional hardships and prevents employment and housing opportunities. Fines are typically impossible to pay off. Nonprofits can provide civil legal services to protect rights. Avoiding risky behaviors, intoxication,known problem areas and individuals, and confrontations can prevent legal issues.
Finding community and social support
Creating connections and community with other homeless individuals can provide priceless social support, friendship, safety, advice, and resources. However, some relationships can also enable substance abuse and other harmful behaviors if boundaries are not set.
Making friends outside the homeless community provides positive motivation. Volunteering, religious groups, 12-step programs, drop-in centers, and free events allow relationship building with housed individuals. Even conversation with strangers combats isolation. Human connection and caring bring essential comfort.
Combating depression and hopelessness
The extreme hardships of homelessness often lead to depression, despair, and loss of hope. Feelings of low self-worth, shame, loneliness, and disconnection are common. Suicidal thoughts may emerge without adequate coping mechanisms and social support. accessing mental health services can be extremely challenging.
Developing daily routines, pursuing meaningful goals like learning or creating, and cultivating optimism, gratitude, and self-esteem can help counter emotional pain. Social connection and community also provide comfort. Avoiding abusive behaviors, numbing out, isolating, and dwelling on misfortunes worsens depression. Healthy distractions uplift the spirit.
Asking for and accepting help
While self-reliance seems crucial, being able to humble oneself and accept help enables survival. Many organizations and charities exist to assist the homeless by providing meals, shelter, healthcare, counseling, addiction treatment, job assistance, transitional housing, and other services. Knowing where local resources exist helps immensely.
Accepting charity, outreach, or government benefits creates opportunities to stabilize. Making social connections within organizations builds community. Overcoming pride, fear, distrust, and shame barriers takes courage. However, no one recovers from homelessness alone. Being willing to take guidance and steps towards help leads to progress.
Cultivating resilience and adaptability
Homelessness can be mentally, emotionally, and physically draining. The ability to withstand setbacks, disappointments, discomfort, danger, and trauma requires profound resilience. Learning to adapt to ever-changing conditions andfind humor and gratitude amid challenges is key.
Having coping skills for stress, anxiety, grief, anger, and depression will prevent deterioration. Letting go of negativity and self-pity helps. Reframing thoughts in positive ways and focusing on present needs prevents overwhelm. Each day of survival builds strength, wisdom, and hope that circumstances will improve.
Conclusion
Surviving homelessness requires enormous courage, stamina, adaptability, and resourcefulness. Meeting basic daily needs like food, shelter, safety, and hygiene can be extremely difficult. Homeless individuals are vulnerable to health problems, violence, crime, and abuse. Many wrestle with addiction, mental illness, and loss of self-worth.
Finding legal free meals, temporary shelters, and social services helps. But resources are often scarce and difficult to access. Developing community and social connections provides crucial support. Staying sober, organized, mobile, and determined in the face of obstacles is key. Life on the streets is a hour-by-hour battle for dignity, safety, and survival.
Yet the human spirit is resilient. Despite the intense challenges, many homeless individuals display tremendous inner strength getting through each day. Their grit and perseverance are inspiring. With adequate resources and support, homelessness can be overcome. But society must extend compassion and practical assistance. The homelessness problem belongs to everyone.