Just the Beginning

Homelessness is not often synonymous with employment. The very nature of homelessness implies an incredible deficit that must be overcome. It stands to reason that if a person is homeless, they must also be jobless. But these terms are not mutually exclusive and over the years at Samaritan House, many of our residents were employed at various places. It’s impossible to say how many, but it’s likely that a significant number of people experiencing homelessness are employed, have an employment history, or are seeking employment.

Statistics are interesting because you can make them say whatever you want. Polls can be skewed and numbers wrangled to transform majorities into minorities and vice versa. So, while hard numbers were difficult to ascertain for this topic, I hope the sentiment peeps through in spite of the lack of concrete numbers. Homeless people who are employed often face the same challenges as many other workers: low wages, underemployment, and temporary and sporadic opportunities.

Unemployment for the homeless is often due to a combination of obstacles such as lack of experience, physical or mental health barriers, challenges related to re-entry from incarceration or hospitalization, and homelessness itself. And while each one of these, by itself, can be crippling, the culmination of a few of them can be downright debilitating. During times of widespread economic hardship when the job market tightens and more applicants compete for fewer opportunities, homeless applicants are at a distinct disadvantage. We  can take a look at some of these factors in my next blog, later this week.

To combat this problem, programs can focus on a few key factors to help this population achieve economic security. After all, ending homelessness will never happen if we don't address the issues that render a person homeless. Permanent housing is never permanent until employment sustainability is achieved.  For this to work, a few key components of these programs should include:

A coordinated system of training
Employment development
Financial literacy education
Mentoring
Traditional supportive services

Employment services can help people build the skills necessary to increase their income, attain financial independence, and maintain housing. Such services have also been shown to increase confidence and positive mental health outcomes, even for populations traditionally believed to be unsuitable for regular employment. Integrating homeless populations into the workforce is also important for reasons beyond building confidence and self-sufficiency. Employment reduces the burden on social services, broadens the base of taxpayers, and encourages scalable community collaborations and partnerships to address issues of homelessness, unemployment, and poverty.

It sounds a bit trite and simplistic, but it is the truth: the entire community wins if there are economic opportunities for the homeless. In all my years of working and interacting with homeless people, one overwhelming theme constantly expresses itself. This is the desire of most people to work. Employment allows a framework for autonomy and an opportunity for the individual to make the proper steps toward permanent housing. But having a job and keeping a job are two entirely different things.

More on that, next.