The Hamilton Spectator

Homelessness a never-ending problem, unless ...

We’re good at reacting, but no one wants to invest in preventing it from happening

ALEXANDER T. POLGAR Alexander T. Polgar, PhD, is an author who a decade ago wrote “Because We Can — We Must.” It’s every bit as relevant now as it was when first published.

Homelessness is now an exponentially growing global problem. There are no signs of it abating. In fact, by all accounts, the expectation is that it will continue to grow.

To solve this problem a second strategy must be added to the many current reactive measures in place. No sooner is one homeless person successfully removed from living rough it seems there are two to replace that person. Arguably there is an endless supply and accepting this reality warrants the design and implementation of the second strategy. Specifically, preventing, cutting off the oxygen, to what feeds this global problem. Sadly, but to be expected, there is no discernible talk of this. Like with all social problems curiosity is restricted to what is, not how it got to be.

If there is no understanding of how some bad situation came to be, there can only be mitigating reactions to it. Prevention is simply impossible. The best we know is that the sooner a newly made homeless person is taken off the streets the better the results. This, however, is not a preventive strategy. It is a very effective reactive one.

The second strategy, the preventive one, must start with answering the “how it got to be” question. This requires a global massive study. Perhaps locally initiated but for certain designed to spread to at least every developed country. Not at all an unusual or unrealistic strategy. International studies are funded and conducted constantly. Mostly academics but also nonprofit service agencies conduct all sorts of medical studies; factors that contribute to cardiac health, political/government studies; various implementations of ideologies such as democracy and economics; the social and economic benefits of mothers gainfully employed. Funding an international study, starting at home, is just as worthy of a substantial research grant as the ones sited above and the many more form which mostly a few benefit. Namely the researchers and the providers of the solution “cure.”

Based on five decades of clinical experience, curious study and constant reading there is a very discernible theme to the genesis of every acute and chronic psychosocial problem. Moreover, the theme is the same here as it is there as it is everywhere. The theme is failing individuals during their formative years and subsequently until it all culminates in a disaster. The failures start in the family, spread to the community and then aided and abetted by society, its various policies and infrastructures, especially its educational systems. Notwithstanding that this contention is probably obvious to some, the awareness of a few is far from sufficient to create the will and marshal resources to design and implement preventive strategies based on empirically sound data.

A well designed, internationally expanding study is an unavoidable phase in the prevention of this global problem of homelessness. It is as if our collective noses have to be rubbed in the mess of our creation before we can act to prevent it from happening in the first place. Cleaning up the mess should no longer be enough.

Preventive measures certainly will be onerous but very doable, with plenty of knowledgeable and skilled people to start and maintain the work. Work that will require constant innovations, outcome measures and probably five generations of time to complete. All this, many probably are saying, just to prevent homelessness? No. Homelessness is just one symptom of the malaise that has and continues to define humanity since the beginning of our time on this planet. The preventive measures will serve to activate the various innate developmental potentials with which everyone is born. The measures will prevent not only homelessness, but also addiction, maladaptive coping, criminality and all that is bad and wrong with being tribal like racism and prejudice to name just two of the worst.

Last but not least the preventive measures will not jeopardize the income of those carrying out the reactive strategies. The first, on the ground, responders to the human malaise gradually can be reassigned to preventive work until their reactive work will no long be needed (nearly as much). Why bother with all this paradigm shifting and lots of new/different work? The answer is because we can do what needs to be done and accomplish what is possible.

It is as if our collective noses have to be rubbed in the mess of our creation before we can act to prevent it from happening

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2021-10-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-15T07:00:00.0000000Z

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