Don’t Read This While Eating

Homelessness 101: Watch where you walk when you’re doing street outreach with people who sleep outside. (Hint: No bathrooms.) I forgot to share this golden rule with a friend, so I offered to clean his shoes for him. As I cleaned, I thought about my recent conversations with some folks who are struggling with how to balance compassion and accountability as they deal with sanitation issues (and the accompanying health hazards) from homeless people who are living on their organizations’ property.

Both want to be loving and extend hospitality, but both also must consider the needs and the safety of others who are the primary users of their buildings and grounds. My friends are facing difficult decisions, and in both cases, their homeless “tenants” are my friends, as well. So I sympathize all around. And I thought, as I cleaned my outreaching friend’s shoes, that living in community and caring for one another and negotiating each other’s boundaries isn’t always easy. And I thought of what my friend had said on our ride home: “Why would somebody use the bathroom right there where they sleep?” And I realized that there are some parts about homelessness that we never talk about in public. But it’s part of the reality.

I explained to him that most of our homeless friends don’t do that. (Keep in mind that there aren’t bathrooms for people who sleep outside. And I wish someone would provide some. But even if there were bathrooms, they most likely wouldn’t be right where people sleep, because we have people sleeping outside all over downtown and all over the city.) Most people who sleep outside are fairly discreet about where they choose to “go” outside. But sometimes people get drunk. Or high. Or they have some mental health issues. And so they may not be using the best judgment at the time when nature calls. (And there may be other reasons, too.)

I remember one of my cop friends telling me about driving up to an intersection and seeing one of the homeless guys we know using the bathroom right beside the road — in broad daylight, with cars going past him. They stopped and gave him a ticket. (I don’t think it fazed him. He had some issues that probably prevented him from understanding that his behavior was inappropriate.) But they also hooked him up with some people who could help him address his issues. So yeah, always watch where you walk when you’re doing street outreach.

P.S. I am thankful every day for the new housing support teams and Mitch, Dale, Buffy and Raymond. They are bringing housing and hope to chronically homeless people (my friends!) in Guilford County. God bless them!