Reflections on Working with Homeless People

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12326
• Author: Jonathan Cobb
• Date: 01 March 2020
• Published date: 01 March 2020

Reflections on Working

with Homeless People

By Jonathan Cobb*

AbstraCt: As a housing case manager in a homeless shelter, I work

closely with homeless people every day. While there is an important

place for the tools of social science in understanding the challenges they

face, we should not distance ourselves emotionally from the homeless

and treat them as stereotypes rather than as unique individuals. My

main task in the shelter is to help the guests find their way through the

almost impenetrable maze of government programs that are supposed

to assist them in finding housing and work. Yet, about one-third of

homeless people struggle with some form of mental illness, which

adds to the complexity of serving them in a shelter. Physical disabilities,

substance abuse, and criminal backgrounds create additional obstacles

for a large number of homeless people. Those problems are often caused

or compounded by homelessness. The primary cause of homelessness

does not lie in the people themselves but in the capitalist system.

Homelessness will remain a chronic problem until we create a society

and economy in which accountability is localized, and communities on

the scale of neighborhoods are strengthened to the point that they can

respond to problems humanely.

Introduction

The modern city would seem almost unrecognizable without the sight

of scraggly-looking panhandlers holding cardboard signs and asking

for change. Tents are set up next to freeway overpasses, and sleeping

bags are strewn across the sidewalk under whatever cover is available.

As far back as I can remember, the sight of such people tugged at my

heartstrings. I could not understand the callousness of adults who

actively discouraged me from giving them any money, saying that they

were alcoholics and drug addicts. Even if that were true, I wondered,

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 79, No. 2 (March, 2020).

DOI: 10.1111/ajes.12326

© 2020 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc

*Housing case manager in a homeless shelter in Portland, Oregon (USA).

Email: silversoul7@yahoo.com

384 The American Journal of Economics and Sociology

why would such people be beyond the scope of compassion? Why

must we insist on moralizing about people who have the least? And

is it true? Why do people fall through the cracks and end up without

housing?

It is important to understand homelessness in abstract, statistical

terms, but scholars sometimes need to be reminded that the object

of our concern should always be people, not data. I, therefore, offer

the following reflections on my personal experience as a reminder

that knowledge of how the system treats people without housing will

help us understand the people who are faced with this hardship. In

addition, this hands-on perspective provides the basis for a critique of

the economic system that generates homelessness and a vision of a

system that could correct the problem.

About two years ago, I began working with the homeless as a

residential advocate (RA) at a low-barrier shelter in Portland, Oregon.

“Low-barrier” here means that the shelter does not require sobriety or

employment and has no defined time limit. In those two years, I have

had a chance to get to know the residents, hear their stories, serve

hot meals, and intervene in disputes. I have made calls to emergency

services and had to perform first aid on at least a couple of occasions.

I have also worked in a residential shelter. In contrast to a low-bar-

rier shelter, a residential shelter has drug testing, participation require-

ments, and time limits. When a person comes into this shelter, he or

she is assigned a case manager and required to work toward housing

goals over a four-month time span. Each month, residents are required

to attend a certain number of group meetings in order to qualify for

another month in the shelter.

I have seen the kinds of drama that might reinforce negative ste-

reotypes of homeless people. Drug addicts can spin out of control.

People with serious mental health issues sometimes act out in ways

that would frighten people in a public setting. Sometimes, homeless

people are rude and unpleasant. Others have serious anger issues,

including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But for every hostile

or negative experience, I have had many pleasant ones with people

who are simply having trouble getting back on their feet. Some were

elderly and could not work. Some had disabilities. Some were just