“Voice of The Homeless” By Guest Contributor Laura Boronski
Time to speak the truth. I’m sick of the negative attitude toward the homeless population. There. I said it.
I’ve been advocating for and working in the pro-life arena for decades. I’m a mother of 8 and the youngest of 13, a singer, songwriter, and speaker, who loves God and His people.
My work started with unborn children and women in crisis pregnancy, but branched out naturally to homeless women in crisis, teens in crisis, families in crisis, and eventually to the general homeless population of men, women, and families in the Myrtle Beach area. I have heard some comments recently regarding the homeless that really upset me to my core. “Aid for the homeless isn’t part of the pro-life movement”, or “they’ve thrown their lives away” or this brilliant nugget; “don’t help them, or they won’t leave”, as if “they” are some kind of leper, that we need to just send away. How ignorant to think that by helping them get their lives back and regain their independence, they would choose to remain homeless! I promise you, most of these men and women do not want to remain homeless; they simply have no other choice right now. Many of us have the safety net of family or friends around us that can help us through a rough time. Many of “them” do not. Having spoken to dozens upon dozens of my homeless brothers and sisters over the past couple years and having heard their wildly different stories, I can tell you the vast majority of them did not “throw their lives away”, rather, they had a series of events or traumas that led to homelessness, followed by another series of events or traumas and the accompanying shame and embarrassment that kept them there in the hopelessness that is homelessness and in some cases led to, or exacerbated, drug use. We need to stop having such a negative attitude toward our brothers and sisters in crisis! This issue bothers me so much. I remembered something a wise man (my father) once told me: “If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re just a part of the problem”.
OK, Pop, I hear you. I compiled a list of 20 questions to ask a wide sample of the homeless from the various shelters and surrounding camps to allow you, the public, to hear the voices of our homeless and hopefully change the stigma that goes along with them.
Out of the dozens of interviews conducted, 37% were in their 50’s, 11% 40’s, 33% in their 30’s, 14% 60’s and the rest 20’s and teens. Yes, teens.
What caused their homelessness?
Eviction, abuse, job loss, divorce, losing a roommate, housing costs, death of a partner or loved one, disability, illness, drug use, sex trafficking, alcoholism, or a combination of all the above. Many of us are one catastrophic event away from becoming homeless ourselves. I believe the current statistic is that 64% of us are one paycheck away from being homeless.
What keeps/kept them homeless?
Many get a job, but still can’t afford to rent an apartment; many can’t get a job without an address but can’t afford an address without a job. There’s also embarrassment, shame, and not knowing where to go for help. Many women with children don’t reach out for help for fear they will have their child or children taken away. This is so very wrong. One young mother lost her job, then her apartment; was living in her car trying to make ends meet and was petrified to go for help. Even though she had found work while her child was in school, (daycare was not an option due to expense) and she was making barely enough money to keep the car on the road, parking wherever she could to dodge the police for another night, and feed her daughter and herself, she knew if she went for help she would have had her daughter taken away. Is this just? Thank God for family shelters that keep families together while everyone gets the help and guidance they need to get back on their feet!
What do they wish you knew about the homeless?
“We matter!” “We are people who care”, “Not all of us are out to mug you or hurt you”, “We are not all drunks or druggies”, “We bleed like you”, “We’re not all the same”, “We are real people!”, “We’re not just beggars”, “We matter!”, “We are people too, not just a statistic, not leftovers the world has thrown away!”, “Drugs is a stereotype and not how we all become homeless!”, “We just need help and hope!”, “It happens so fast. One tiny thing can go wrong, then a series of things, and before you know it, you’re homeless and your needs keep piling up.”
What can we do to be a part of the solution, you may ask?
Do something to help these people become independent, working, productive members of our community again. By supporting the local shelters and rehab programs therein, you can be a concrete part of the solution! Through these shelters, willing participants receive drug rehabilitation, mental health services, counseling, job training, parent training, and 50% of those helped achieve a positive result and end up no longer homeless. Many turn around and volunteer their extra time to help with the shelters that helped them so much. Why doesn’t every county have this kind of shelter/rehab available? Wouldn’t it be more cost effective than just treating people at the ER and sending them right back out onto the street? We do have many soup kitchens and outreach programs through communities and churches that help supply necessities. One homeless man I spoke to said, “If you can’t find food out here, you’re not looking”. With winter coming we need to realize that our brothers and sisters in crisis need much more than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a pair of gloves. Let’s all do better. Let’s be a part of the solution. This starts with how we perceive our homeless friends, so more of us will be willing to volunteer, support, or just champion efforts to rehabilitate our neighbors in crisis. I will continue to do my part through volunteering at these great facilities and raising awareness in any way I can in print, on the radio, and hopefully even through our TV news stations. If we all pool our knowledge and our efforts, we can make a difference and help someone get their life back on track. The men and women I talked to have taught me so much. I cannot go into all of it in this article but will be diving deeper via radio interviews and social media platforms after the release of this article.
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Laura Boronski is a Catholic singer, songwriter, home-schooling mother of eight, motivational speaker, and parishioner of Pier Giorgio Frassati Catholic Church in Carolina Forest. Through her church and as well as personally, Laura is one of our dedicated volunteers, serving in our Men’s Shelter Kitchen for Community Dinner.