Giving homeless people housing ends homelessness, but it’s just the beginning of the answer to the crisis of homelessness, because homelessness is not the real problem, it’s just a symptom of the problems that land people on the street.

Recently, a number of my chronically homeless friends have moved from homelessness to housing, and that hasn’t been an easy transition. Although they are grateful to be off the street, they continue to struggle with mental health problems, substance abuse issues, and the difficulties of living in relationship to others.

Here’s what some of them have to say:

“I can’t sleep inside.”

“My apartment echoes. My tent didn’t.”

“I used to have my own place, just like this. One day I walked away from it. This is making me remember why I left.”

“Sometimes it feels like the walls of my room are closing in on me.”

“There’s people all around me, on the other side of the wall, every time I open my door. On the street, I could just walk away — get away from people. I can’t do that here.”

“This is hard to get used to. You get adjusted to surviving on the street.”

All of my friends are receiving services to help them with the mental health, substance abuse and relational issues they’re struggling with. And they all have supportive friends who care about them and are involved in their lives. I’m thankful for the housing first program that moved them off the street. Housing may end homelessness. But the real work of rebuilding lives has just begun.

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