A Closer Look
By viewing homelessness as an insurmountable crisis, we avoid personal duty. Reframing homelessness as a collection of individual experiences strengthens community investment and localizes policy initiatives.
OPINION
Caitlin McGinty
11/8/20262 min read
Until working with Heart of the Homeless, my connection to the homeless crisis had little depth. Growing up in the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia, I was aware of rampant socioeconomic inequality, but only as a concept. Like many people in my neighborhood, I opposed homelessness on principle while training my gaze forward, albeit regretfully, past signs that read “anything helps.”
Homelessness is pervasive across Canada and the U.S. alike. It is a crisis we quip about when someone else becomes a billionaire. However, the scale of homelessness absolves individuals, conditioning us to deflect from personal responsibility. While we cannot solve homelessness alone, we can cultivate individual sentiment towards our community members who experience it. Doing so reframes each homeless person as defined by specific experiences (a culmination of unique, often predisposing factors) rather than an anonymous group described as a problem.
In Waterloo, Heart of the Homeless’s outreach initiatives lifted this veil. For the first time, I was invited into community spaces I previously ignored. We hosted biweekly game nights at a housing society and built relationships based on mutual interests and enjoyment of each other's company.
When ownership at this shelter changed, and several members of the community were no longer permitted to stay at the home that housed them for years, I did not simply feel discouraged by my region's lack of housing. I felt angry that the incoming organization could be so cavalier about taking someone’s home. I felt appalled that the founder and “mom” of the grassroots tiny-home village was removed from her position without her consent. I felt devastated that my friend was relocated a 30 minute car ride away from the family and routine he built in Kitchener (nevermind that he did not have a car or a paycheck to finance the transit). I felt scared for another member who told me she hadn’t slept in three days because she had nowhere safe to put her belongings after being thrown out.
I had feelings directed at something tangible. Similar to how a skydiver does not recognize the height until they are closer to the ground, my understanding of the issue took form the closer I got. And by looking closer, generalized action transformed into targeted rally calls specific to Waterloo.
I have carried this perspective with me to Philly. I am aware that the people I pass are not simply debris on the landscape of my otherwise functioning city. When an encampment is cleared I see it both as a systemic failure and a community concern.
Localizing your perspective means building relationships and listening to residents, becoming familiar with high-need donation items, carrying Narcan, or paying attention when local zoning laws are being debated. Taking a personal interest in the well-being of a community by addressing the things closest to you leads to transformation on the larger issue, which frequently feels out of reach.