I hear the term Unhoused being said where the term Homeless used to be said. This term bothered me because I work with people this term refers to, and it seemed to me that “home” is not just a house. A building. Walls. I wanted to know if this term bothered anyone else, most especially someone who is in the situation of being unhoused or homeless.
One of the men I had a conversation with agreed that the word homeless was more fitting because home is a place to call yours. A safe haven. A place to go and to be. Somewhere to put your memorabilia/nicknacks, etc. Yes! My thoughts exactly.
However, then one of the women said to wait a minute. She indeed considered herself to be homeless, but, she said, when others read or hear the word “homeless”, she figured they then stopped reading or listening. The reason, she explained, was because she thought there was an expectation of negative behaviour attached to the word homeless. She went on to say that if people need to think in terms of her being unhoused in order for things to change, for help in obtaining a place to live, then she needed to be seen as and referred to as unhoused.
I have heard many, many times throughout my life, people making the comment, “Some people want to be homeless.” As a child, this innately seemed absurd to me, but what did I know. As an adult, with knowledge, experience, and conversations with people in this situation, I know this comment is absurd. The absurdity of this comment seems even clearer, to me, now when the word “homeless” is replaced with “unhoused”.
Whether homeless or unhoused, it saddens me to hear what a person in this situation believes; that her circumstance is likely looked upon as a behaviour.
Carol K Jones March 2024
Peer Support Worker
PEOPLE’s Connect
