HOW TO HELP SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WANT HELP?

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HOW TO HELP SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WANT HELP?

Hayden Bruck


Let me first answer that question with a response. I believe that there aren't homeless people who do not want help. Sometimes though, they might be too afraid to ask for help or not know where to get it. There is also that some homeless people don't see shelters as a place to get help. They see it as a place where they are treated like children or places where they might get their stuff stolen. 

 DAVID PIRTLE, someone who was once homeless, once had this to say about shelters. All I can say is that my fear of the unknown, of what might be waiting for me at that shelter, was worse than my fear of the known risk, you know, of staying out on the street. That was where I was comfortable. And I think people, we're creatures of habit. We get comfortable in the most uncomfortable positions, and that becomes home. (NPR)

How are we supposed to help people who are too scared to get help because they don't know what will happen? The stigma around shelters needs to change. Shelters need to be a place where everyone who needs it is welcomed and not judged, and they don't have to worry about waking up without their shoes on their feet. There needs to be a way to make sure no one is denied because there is no room. Perhaps there is some alternative that can be offered.  I also think the biggest thing we can do is get the homeless people to trust us, and even a small act of kindness can change a person's life.


NPR. (2012, December 6). Why Some Homeless Choose The Streets Over Shelters. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2012/12/06/166666265/why-some-homeless-choose-the-streets-over-shelters.

https://www.npr.org/2012/12/06/166666265/why-some-homeless-choose-the-streets-over-shelters

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