Homeless and Sleeping

Photo credit: MART PRODUCTION

Last week the Supreme Court ruled that every state in America can fine, ticket, or arrest homeless people for sleeping in public places. 

Yes, you read that correctly. 

And while this may sound like the premise for a dystopian fiction movie or novel, it is real. 

So, in addition to being homeless and hungry and ostracized and ignored, you now are not allowed to sleep. And while homeless shelters are available to some homeless people in some cities, there are not enough shelters to accommodate all. 

Cruel and unusual punishment? The Supreme Court says it's not.

In addition to criminalizing sleeping while homeless, this decision also sets up housed people for scrutiny by the police by allowing them to use this new law to identify, question, and investigate people who happen to be sleeping in their car, at the park, at rest stops, at the beach, on the side of the road, during their lunch break, etc. for any reason, whether they are homeless or not. 

As someone who worked overnight shifts for many years, I can tell you that I was too exhausted to drive all the way home on some mornings and I pulled off the road and slept in my car for a few hours. I call this being a responsible driver, but the police will now call it "Are you homeless and Show me your ID and show me proof of your residence and the 4th Amendment doesn't matter."

So not only has the highest court in the land made life even harder for homeless people, they have moved our society even closer to a police state than it already is. 

We should strive to make life easier for people less fortunate than us. Not harder.

 

Source:  https://endhomelessness.org/blog/the-supreme-court-rules-on-homelessness-what-it-all-means/

His Name was Jordan Neely

Jordan Neely was only 30 years old. He was homeless, black, suffered from mental illness. And he was hungry. We know he was hungry because he told us he was. 

I can't believe no one on that subway had a piece of candy, a granola bar, a banana, or even a roll of Lifesavers to offer Jordan. He was hungry. Did anyone offer him food?

What they did offer was their muscle. Three men. Two white and one black. One of the men put him in a chokehold while the other two men held him down and kept him in that chokehold. They did this until he stopped moving and stopped living.

Now the media is describing Jordan as "disturbed", "homeless", "erratic", saying he "yelled" and "threw garbage at commuters".  And while I understand commuters were probably frightened by his behavior, all these descriptions point to a man who needed help. 

A civilized society would have done something - despite being afraid of Jordan's behavior - to help him.

Jordan Neely did not deserve to die such an untimely and undignified death. 

He just needed some help.  

Source:  aol news story

Homeless in Winter

Now that New England is cold, cold, cold, it makes the stark reality of homelessness even more upsetting. Whether it is raining or snowing or windy, homeless people are out flying their signs, trying to survive, trying to help themselves, trying to get food.

I see them up close while I'm stopped at a red light, and I see no happiness on their faces. I see red, windburned cheeks and eyes that have seen a lot. And I notice that they don't make eye contact with anyone. Just glance around, but their eyes never connect with mine. 

Sometimes I give them money and sometimes I give them the lunch I packed for myself. And their gratefulness somehow humbles me. And makes me even more sad. 

I think about them when I am home and when I'm trying to sleep at night.  

Here is one way we can help: 

https://nationalhomeless.org/

Things Homeless People Have Taught Me

I often think about homeless people. I try to understand how they feel. And grasp how awful it must be to have no security, no locked door to keep them safe, and no soft bed to crawl into at night.

Homeless people regularly try to sleep during the day. Sometimes they lay right across the sidewalk or sleep upright, leaning against buildings or telephone poles. They do this because they feel safer closing their eyes in the light of day and in plain sight. Because in the dark of night is when they are most vulnerable … when they are more likely to have their meager belongings stolen. Or get assaulted or even killed.

Not being able to sleep soundly and securely must be draining. Do homeless people feel exhausted all the time?

When I was fresh out of nursing school nearly 30 years ago, I worked the inpatient medical unit of a community hospital just outside of Boston. 12-hour night shifts. And I used to get admissions in the middle of the night of homeless people (mostly men) with various non-life-threatening diagnoses. We called them social admissions which really just meant this person needed a hot shower, a clean bed, nutritious meals, and a soft pillow to rest his head on ... just for a day or two, before going back to the streets.

These men were admitted to the hospital thanks to the kind and caring hearts of the emergency room physicians who had the courageous goodwill to not discharge them to the cold New England streets too quickly. It was often in the middle of Nor’easter snowstorms that social admissions occurred.

In my eyes, homeless patients earned a reputation for being the patients who never rang their call lights and never asked for anything. They never complained, they were never rude, and they were always humble and quiet. They gratefully and graciously accepted whatever food and care and comfort that was offered to them. I would have let them stay in the hospital forever if it were up to me.  

Those homeless men I took care of so many years ago taught me a lot. They taught me that homeless people are people, just like us. They have amazing stories to tell, just like us. They have friends and loved ones, just like us. They want comfort and safety and stability, just like us. They try to make the best of their situations, just like us. And they want and deserve a little kindness and consideration, just like us.