There are individuals that choose to be homeless or want to lead a homeless life. However, the majority of the homeless do agree that they would like to have food, clothing, shelter, and a new road to a fetter future. Some decide to live on the streets of major cities as their true homes. Some of them did not have a choice but to become homeless because of financial and other personal situations.
Reason Some Choose to Be Homeless
- Freedom
We are all different. Some people feel pressured when they must follow a curfew, carry out home chores or contributing to a home in some way or another. So, freedom to move, sleep and do whatever they want is much more valuable to them than having a roof over their heads.
- Safety
Some homeless people argue that they feel safer out in the open, amongst other people in the city. This feeling can stem from a past traumatic experience they would have encountered living in a building with some type of abuse such as gas leak, fire or from others. Hence, being outside with a clear view of their environment is safer for them than sleeping inside a building.
- Guilt
Some people may have had mental health issues or disturbed childhood experiences where they were told that they were nothing and deserved nothing. Frequently, persons brought up in this type of emotional abuse develop a mindset that they don’t deserve living in homes and should have access to the basic amenities. Therefore, on the streets they feel much better because they feel they deserve to be there.
Homelessness- a global crisis
Homelessness has become an emerging urgent crisis and affects every county in the world. In 2005, the United Nations has estimated that there were 100 million homeless people worldwide. [2]
To understand the driving forces behind homelessness, we first need to look at the relentless rise in our population. Already in 2019, the world is supporting an unsustainable 7.7 billion with an annual rise of 1 %. The future prospect is nothing but horrific: 8.6 billion in just 10 years’ time 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.5 billion in 2100. [1] One tends to wonder if the world would be livable by then. The overcrowding from global over population will be more and more noticeable.
Solutions to Homelessness
Research has shown that investments in permanent housing is very cost effective in reducing homelessness. Some governments have put investments in this sector on different levels of priority.
Long term housing assistance has not only successfully reduced homelessness but has proven to be less expensive than constructing shelters and care centers. Supportive housing should be given to persons with disabilities and other special needs.
In Belgium, there are several shelters and care institutions provided by the Government to assist the homeless. The biggest homeless population is in Brussels, the capital of Belgium which is also referred to as the European capital because of the location of the European Institutions.
Some of the homeless people prefer to beg on the streets instead of occupying these shelters. The Government is also providing low-cost housing projects for low-income families. For example, the city.dev project in collaboration with the Federal Government of Belgium has been spearheading this project.
In Belgium for example, the Hu Needs programme which is supported by Semlex for Education, is a non-profit organization that provides a concrete solution adapted to vulnerable people while taking into account their environments, their sufferings. respective, their individuality and their background.
If there are other projects that you would like to share with us, please do not hesitate to contact us!
Written by Bhoomattee Surujdin for Semlex for Education.
Resources
[1] Gioietta Kuo- The Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere– copyright August 2019. [2] Collation for the homeless-We can end the homeless crisis- Retrieved from https://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/proven-solutions/
