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Myth:  Homeless people live in the streets.
Fact: About 50% percent of homeless Americans lived in shelters in 2019, according to HUD’s survey. Others do sleep outside or in locations not meant for human habitation. (State of Homelessness: 2020 Edition from the National Alliance to End Homelessness). But many “unsheltered” people live in vehicles.
According to the Vehicle Residency Research Program, “People living unsheltered come from all areas of our society, but for many a singular item can be identified as their primary resource and home – their vehicle.  In Seattle, “sleeping overnight in a vehicle” (or vehicle residency) is the largest category of unsheltered people, comprising over 30% consistently since 2001.” Seattle Vehicle Residency Research Program from the Seattle University Institute of Public Service. 

“While many communities across the U.S. struggle to develop brick-and-mortar shelters, vehicle residences are privately owned and occupied throughout American streets now. I believe that cities need to do more to assess the true number of local vehicle residents, to provide them with a place to park and access to vital social services.” from an article by Graham Pruss, research fellow Vehicle Residency Research Program.

Myth:  Family homelessness is episodic and rare
Fact: More families experience homelessness in the United States than in any other industrialized nation. 

Family homelessness has become a chronic problem, with families accounting for 37% of the overall homeless population and 50% of the sheltered population. 

One in 30 American children experience homelessness annually; 51% are under age five. More than 2.5 million children are homeless each year in the United States. 

This mythbuster was submitted by Michael Yoder, Executive Director of Associated Ministries.

Myth: People choose to be homeless.
Fact: This myth is dangerous and allows us to ignore the trauma of homelessness and neurobiological effects trauma has on humans. Being homeless is stressful, humiliating, exhausting, and dangerous. It is a hard day-to-day existence for men, women, and children.

Some people may choose to sleep outside rather than in a shelter because they fear having to leave their pets or possessions outside. They also may not want to leave their community of others living outside. They may also be living with serious mental and physical health conditions with symptoms that make it difficult to have the capacity and ability to make rational decisions. In addition, some shelters and housing programs have strict criteria that potentially “screen out” the most vulnerable people.

When we take the time to engage and listen to someone’s story, we often hear they are not “choosing to be homeless” but rather the other choices available are undesirable, have been tried or misunderstood. For now, their current situation is better than the alternative because they have become accustomed to living unhoused. Homelessness is traumatic and complicated and solutions are not a one-size-fits-all.

“Shouldn’t people experiencing homelessness give up their pets?” “Wouldn’t life be easier for both the person experiencing homelessness and their pets?”

From Pets and Homelessness (September 22, 2020)
Indeed, pets can create additional hardships, including:

• Inability to Access Shelter
• Difficulty Accessing Transportation and Other Services
• Strain on Limited Resources
• Public and Law Enforcement Criticism

But, pets are also a life-line for many people, especially those with a history of (or ongoing) trauma. Pets can offer:

• A Consistent Relationship
• Responsibility and Purpose
• Social Interaction (pets provide a conduit for interactions with other people)
• Protection and Safety

Two questions for pet lovers everywhere:

1. If you suddenly lost your housing, would you give up your pet?
2. When temperatures are freezing and the only shelter available has a no-pet policy, would you leave your friend outside on their own or stay out there with them?

MYTH:   All Veterans come home to a place to live
TRUTH:  There are over 37,000 homeless Veterans in the United States

data source

Submitted by coalition member Monique Brown, USA(Ret.), MNPL
Founder / Executive Director, FOB Hope

MYTH: Homeless People Should Just Get A Job

How many times have you heard this stereotype come into conversation about homelessness? Research from the Homelessness Policy Research Institute shows otherwise in finding:

TRUTH:

People experiencing homelessness are unemployed or underemployed at disproportionately high rates, but many want to work.

Institutional barriers to employment include inhospitable labor market conditions, discrimination in hiring practices, bureaucratic red tape, and strict shelter policies.

Evidence-based interventions for individual barriers emphasize recognizing the unique needs and challenges of people experiencing homelessness.

Policy recommendations for overcoming institutional barriers include “Ban the Box” and “Ban the Address” legislation, employment-based intake questions, and hiring people with lived experience of homelessness at service provider agencies.

To see more from their research: https://socialinnovation.usc.edu/…/Homelessness-and...

To learn more: https://www.geekwire.com/…/homelessness-employment…/#homelessmyths#endhomelessness