"So we punish them for it—in part, I believe, because it shames us; it exposes some of the central lies we used to prioritize progress over beloved community"
two things: 1. I think it is important to stop having such a rigid idea of thinking of homeless people as different than housed people. I have gone to church since I was born. The second I ran out of unemployment unexpectedly and ended up in a homeless shelter, people treated me completely differently I knew and slandered me for years to the point I could not start over at a new church without people introducing me as - hi this is Naomi, did you know she is poor lets be nice to her because she is poor( after I was no longer homeless) All I wanted was life to be normal again. 2. part of the reason people sleep outside is because we have 3 month and month long stays at shelters and 3 year waits for housing... for example. and Churches need to stop thinking of shelters as a solution to homelessness and preventing homelessness as a solution. I volunteered for years in Flagstaff AZ at church and I only needed help for one month on a 2 month lease and instead of being willing to help me with one month of rent they thought an eviction on my record and living in the local temporary homeless shelter would solve a problem. People I volunteered there with who live in Minneapolis thought it was so nice to romanticize the shelter. If I did not get evicted I would probably been able to avoid any long term homeless situation. Also, homeless people who take the bus do not get more used to it than people who have a car. I had one pastors wife assume I was a different kind of a human being who must have adapted in a way she could not since she was not poor. Money does not make people a different species.
"So we punish them for it—in part, I believe, because it shames us; it exposes some of the central lies we used to prioritize progress over beloved community"
my jaw dropped at this!!!!!!
two things: 1. I think it is important to stop having such a rigid idea of thinking of homeless people as different than housed people. I have gone to church since I was born. The second I ran out of unemployment unexpectedly and ended up in a homeless shelter, people treated me completely differently I knew and slandered me for years to the point I could not start over at a new church without people introducing me as - hi this is Naomi, did you know she is poor lets be nice to her because she is poor( after I was no longer homeless) All I wanted was life to be normal again. 2. part of the reason people sleep outside is because we have 3 month and month long stays at shelters and 3 year waits for housing... for example. and Churches need to stop thinking of shelters as a solution to homelessness and preventing homelessness as a solution. I volunteered for years in Flagstaff AZ at church and I only needed help for one month on a 2 month lease and instead of being willing to help me with one month of rent they thought an eviction on my record and living in the local temporary homeless shelter would solve a problem. People I volunteered there with who live in Minneapolis thought it was so nice to romanticize the shelter. If I did not get evicted I would probably been able to avoid any long term homeless situation. Also, homeless people who take the bus do not get more used to it than people who have a car. I had one pastors wife assume I was a different kind of a human being who must have adapted in a way she could not since she was not poor. Money does not make people a different species.
Your last line is perfect!