Who exactly are the people behind those worn down faces? What caused their lives to spiral downward at such a rate that they resigned to living under an open sky instead of under a roof?
Sometimes when we pass by and see them bundled up in layers of coats and blankets on an icy winter day, we shudder to imagine what it might be like to be in their shoes, and simply hope we never have to find out.
The Saratoga County Housing Alliance (SCHA) has another idea in mind.
In commemoration of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, the SCHA organized an event called “A Day Without a Home” in its efforts to raise awareness about how hard it actually is to live without shelter.
During the experience, participants were given scenarios as if they were someone who was homeless and had to seek out services to provide for their most basic needs, including tasks such as finding shelter, food or clothing.
What participants experienced was just a simulation of a day in the life of a homeless person—but for people who really are homeless, finding these basic needs is an every day reality, and an increasing number of these people are actually normal. Along with people who have mental health issues or chronic addictions, an increasing number of “average Joes” are becoming a part of the homeless population in Saratoga County.
“[The homeless] are now more people that are losing their jobs,” said Cindy Phillips, co-chair of the SCHA. “It’s families that can’t afford their rent anymore, or they can’t afford food because they’ve lost their jobs.”
SCHA Coordinator Laura Weil agreed, saying a lot of homeless people aren’t what they are often stereotyped as.
“It really is a lot more families now, a lot of people that you wouldn’t think would be homeless,” Weil said. “The so-called ‘middle class’ is really experiencing it now.”
However, much of the homeless population is also made up of citizens who have mental health issues, addictions and/or problems with substance abuse who have a hard time getting off the streets due to their illnesses, according to SCHA co-chair and Executive Director of Shelters of Saratoga, Peter Whitten.
“Some addictions are chronic—once they are addicted they have decided that that’s the life for them,” Whitten said. “I’ll never forget this guy—I’ve seen him three times in the last three years-the last time he left he was hanging his head, sitting on the shelter steps, and the girl that was with him said, ‘Well, we’re drinking. That’s what we do, you know.’ And it was like ‘That’s our life, we drink. That’s our escape, it’s who we are.’”
Weil added that sometimes they are choosing their situation because of their diseases.
“There is a misconception that sometimes they’re not trying hard enough to get off the street,” Weil said. “Sometimes that’s true, but in the way that they have a disease—they’re alcoholics or have substance issues, and funds have been cut so they’re not getting the help they need anymore. So yes, they’re on the street, but they really don’t want to be—they’re just not well enough to make the effort to stay off the street.”
But when the weather gets cold, the homeless population that refuses the shelter’s help has to find other ways to stay warm in the streets.
“I’ve heard there are people sleeping in hallways of buildings—they know where they can go where there’s a door unlocked,” Phillips said. “I’ve had police report calls that people are in dumpsters. If it’s a really cold night, people know where to go.”
“When the weather is nice and the weeds grow tall, they have a place to go,” Whitten added. “It’s like summer campers just camping out on open ground, anywhere where they can be out of sight. But when the weeds start to lose their leaves and the weather gets colder, they have to find other locations.”
Phillips said that there is a population that doesn’t want to live in the shelter because it “has rules, and they don’t want to follow those rules, so they decide they want to be out in the cold.”
Whitten said that staying with Shelters of Saratoga is no free ride.
“We case manage folks and meet with them twice a week to say, ‘Hey, what are you doing looking for work, or finding a place to live,’ or ‘What’s going on with your addiction counseling?’” Whitten said. “We’re not about warehousing. We’re really trying to get to the key point—the goal is a permanent change from your homeless status.”
The shelter requires guests to complete daily chores, leave the house during business hours to look for jobs or shelter, attend case management meetings twice a week, and enforces a curfew every night. All of these tasks are required to instill a sense of accountability in the shelter’s guests and encourage a sober and structured environment.
Whitten said that even those that find jobs still have a problem getting housing in Saratoga Springs.
“The absence of housing is the deal-breaker in this city,” he said. “It’s more difficult here because of the high property values. There’s plenty of people looking for low-income apartments who are stable in their life and have jobs. But when you’re trying to get someone in who has an $11/hour job who is still fighting some demons in their life—there’s just no place for them.”
Though they can be hard to come by, there are some success stories by people who have climbed up from rock bottom back to the top.
“There was a gentleman who was down and out, living in a car,” Phillips said. “The case managers at the mental health clinic got him into services and groups, and about a year later the gentleman ended up getting a full-time job and was able to afford an apartment on his own.”
Phillips added that the man was very thankful for the services he was provided during his homelessness.
“He wrote a letter thanking us for the support we gave him, and it just brought tears to your eyes when you read that,” she said. “You don’t have very many success stories, but that was a great one.”
Weil said that sometimes they know it’s a success story because they don’t see them again.
“You’re used to seeing them once a year or once every six months, and when you don’t see them again you know they don’t need your services anymore and they’re out on their own,” Weil said.
After the “Day in the Life” event was held, the experience was followed up by a round-table discussion at City Hall, where participants discussed what they learned from the day and brainstormed ideas on how to improve services or access to services for people dealing with homelessness. Saratoga TODAY readers can look for an article on the round-table discussion in next week’s issue.
Weil said that after hearing some formerly homeless people speak at a panel a few years ago, she has learned that the most important thing is to never give up on anyone.
“Some people at the panel said, ‘It took me four times in rehab or five times in different counseling programs before it finally clicked,’” she said. “So you can’t give up, because even though you’ve seen them four times, the fifth time might be the time it sticks and they really might be able to get into housing and stay with their program. You have to keep going.”
To learn more about the Saratoga County Housing Alliance, visit their website at www.saratogacountyhousingalliance.org. To learn more about Shelters of Saratoga, visit their website at www.sheltersofsaratoga.org.
