Too long have we watched and ignored those without housing. Those of us with housing have gone about our day and force the images we see of people sleeping on the street into the back of our minds. It is immoral for us to continue to watch our brethren languish on a sidewalk. In my profession, I have seen how quickly one can fall into homelessness.
I am sit on the board of the Abraham Pishevar Pro bono Clinic at the Los Angeles Mission. The goal of the clinic is to help the homeless with whatever legal issues they may have in order to clear obstacles that prevent them from obtaining housing.
I was honored to speak before the DNC poverty Council and follow such great public servants as Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Ohio State Senator Nina Turner. I spoke about how the disabled are forced into poverty without any way out and how we as a country must do more to solve poverty.
Disabled people can’t work. For many, today’s world lacks jobs that offer a fair, living wage or access to healthcare. This leads many to be unable to build savings. If someone in this position becomes disabled a denial of Social Security Disability Benefits can mean a life on the streets. I have appealed thousands of cases for disabled people (mentally and physically) who have been denied disability benefits and are sadly without housing. This includes people who went from supporting a family in a home to starving in a car. It can happen fast. It shouldn’t be that easy to fall into homelessness, but it should be easy to get out of homelessness. It has been my honor to help them find their way back into housing.
Housing is an issue that touches almost every other issue. It touches healthcare. Many homeless suffer from a mental illness that debilitates them. Proper access to quality, mental health treatment can be the simple solution to lifting them off the streets. Real access to quality, mental health treatment is unavailable to those without insurance so the mentally ill become bound to the sidewalk and homeless.
Housing is an issue that correlates with a lack of a living wage. If people were paid a proper wage they could save money, instead of gain debt, and prepare for unexpected loss of employment, disabilities, and childcare.
It is time to stop ignoring this problem. We owe it to ourselves to care for our brethren.