Homeless and Doing the Best We Can
Social Work Today
By Neal A. Newfield, PhD, ACSW
Vol. 4 No. 1 p, 6

If you go up to the second floor of the Bartlett House, a homeless shelter in Morgantown, W.Va., and look out the window to the west toward the river, you can still see the pipe that Bill Townsend, MSW, LGSW, lived in when he was homeless in 1984. Townsend currently works with the homeless in a four-county area as an outreach social worker for Valley Healthcare System.

“When I work with people, I truly do understand what they are going through. I have experienced it not just one time but multiple times. The first time I was homeless was when I was 18 and looking for a job.”

Homeless does not necessarily mean living on the streets. Sleeping on the couch at a friend’s house because you lost your apartment, doubling up and living with family in crowded quarters until you can find a place, sleeping in cars, under bridges, in makeshift camps in the woods, and at homeless shelters are also considered homelessness. The McKinney-Ventro Act defines any person who “lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence” as homeless.

In any given year, a 2000 Urban Institute Study* estimates that 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, will be homeless. Estimates of homelessness, based on the use of shelter beds, suggest that homelessness has been increasing over the last two decades.

How do people become homeless, and why are they not able to get off the street? The famous psychiatrist Donald Jackson was fond of asking: “Why should we not believe that people are always doing the best that they can?” This comment is both a question and a challenge. Can we see how the context of a situation can make apparently unreasonable behavior reasonable?

Townsend is quick to point out that “many homeless people believe that most people don’t understand. They think that people have a preconceived notion of why individuals are homeless. They are discouraged and alone in their situation. They do not feel comfortable in seeking help because they are labeled.”

In 2000, 11.3% of the U.S. population, or 31.1 million people, lived in poverty. The number of poor people in the United States has decreased, but the poverty that does exist has become more severe. Of those living in poverty, 39% had incomes that were one-half of the poverty level. A minimum-wage worker in 2001 had to work an average of 89 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom apartment. This figure is based on the assumption that 30% of the worker’s income would be devoted to housing and the rest to other necessities of living.

For people living on the edge and struggling to pay their rent, divorce, a landlord evicting them to sell their property, or an illness that keeps them from working can lead to homelessness. Twenty percent of the homeless work and despite their working have difficulty securing housing.

For those without jobs, Townsend is quick to point out that the situation is even bleaker. “On a daily basis, someone might try to get work, and they list the name of the shelter on their resume as an address. People recognize that it is a homeless shelter, and many times, they will not get calls.” A host of other problems must be faced. You don’t always get messages, and you have difficulty getting a driver’s license because you don’t have a residence, and to get a bank account, you need a driver’s license. If you are homeless and you are carrying around your money, you may be robbed.

Living on the street, your clothes and appearance deteriorate, which plays into discrimination toward the homeless, even by agencies that serve them, according to Townsend. “Many times when people come into agencies with dirty clothes and an unclean look, they are treated differently. Agency personnel are human, and it is hard for them not to react that way. Many homeless people experience this reaction when they go into an emergency room or see a doctor. They are sometimes treated by service agencies and medical services as not responsive to treatment or services, and the assumption is that there is nothing they can do for them.”

The U.S. Conference of Mayors estimates that approximately 34% of homeless adults have an addiction. Of those who are homeless, it is also estimated that 20% to 25% have a mental illness. Townsend’s caseload focuses primarily on people who would be characterized as chronically homeless due to multiple problems.

Townsend notes, “As a social worker working with the homeless, I know that many would be on the street were it not for the shelters.” Ironically, the very shelters that are a godsend are not usable by some of the neediest of those who are homeless.

“You can’t drink in a homeless shelter. Addicted homeless people don’t stay outside because they don’t know about the shelter. They stay outside because the shelter is going to throw them out when they drink, and they will have to drink unless treated,” Townsend says.

Those addicted to alcohol cannot go the night without experiencing withdrawal. Without regular drinks, they will likely have delirium tremens and face possible hospitalization or death. Alcoholics drink to feel normal, and who among us does not want to feel normal?

Compounding the problems of alcoholism treatment is the fact that alcohol addiction is a disease often characterized by multiple relapses. If you are a middle-class person with insurance and you relapse or leave the hospital against medical advice, you will probably be allowed readmission—not so for the homeless who relapse.

Townsend notes, “The homeless issue only seems to come around during the holiday season. Many people think about homelessness only during the holidays. For a little while, public attention is paid to the situation. You are a once-a-year issue.”

*All statistics cited are from the National Coalition for the Homeless Web site: www.nationalhomeless.org

— Neal A. Newfield, PhD, ACSW, is an associate professor of social work and documentary photographer with the division of social work at West Virginia University.