Do the Stigmas Given by Society to Homeless Individuals Contribute Further to Their Loss of Personal Identity, Individual Purpose and Relevance in the Societal Structure?

...

Living in the van soon became a challenge, not an adventure, as Blanton explains. “…I washed up in public restrooms…and when the heat made me too sick to walk the 50 feet to the public restroom, I used a bucket and a trash bag as a toilet” (1:27, 2:14). Blanton explained that, “The speed at which I went from being a talented writer and journalist, to being a homeless woman, living in my van took my breath away” (3:16). Blanton then questioned why she felt so different in her life during this time as her talents, integrity and values remained the same.

Did Blanton succumb to the homeless stigmas set forth by society by assuming the homeless identity causing her to loose faith in her individual identity and purpose in life? Blanton’s story suggests that to be true. Blanton described the apex of her homeless experience when she stated, “If I killed myself, no one would notice” (3:54). Salvation from this stigma came for Stanton, not by future success and eventually finding an apartment, but by coming to the realization that her true identity was that of a writer, not a stigmatized homeless identity, synonymous with hopelessness and invisibility. In her reflections on assuming the identity associated with the stigma of homelessness, Blanton indicated that her homeless experience revealed to her three aspects of society. In her realizations, Blanton explains that, “Society equates living in a permanent structure, even a shack, with having value as a person”; Blanton continues about her homeless experience stating that, “…I failed to realize how quickly the negative perceptions of other people can impact our reality, if we let it”, and finally, Blanton concludes her findings about the homeless stigma through her experience stating, “I failed to realize that homelessness is an attitude, not a lifestyle” (0:45).

Blanton is surely right when she stated that her experience revealed to her that homelessness was an attitude. An attitude society continues to perpetuate that impacts an individual when they become homeless, because, as she might not be aware, recent studies published in Psychology Quarterly have concluded that “[Homeless]Stigma is not only likely to have negative consequences for their [Homeless people’s] self-esteem, and psychological well-being; it also suggests the possibility that they [Homeless people] will face discrimination in social relations, employment and housing which will contribute to the perpetuation of their Homeless condition” (Phelan, Jo et al. 335). At the same time, I also believe Blanton’s experience reveals to all of us that the stigmas society perpetuates about homeless individuals gives them an altered, negative identity that, in turn, deepens their desperation and loss of individual identity and hope for a better life.

In addition to proving that the homeless stigma furthers a negative identity in homeless individuals, another theory was also explored by the Columbia Professors in their volume in Psychology Quarterly about modern-day society’s thoughts about the homeless stigma. It was proven through recent surveys and studies that individuals in modern-day society are generally more inclined to support the notion to feel compassion for the homeless population compared to our historical societal counter-parts, but at the same time, are mistrustful of governmental support programs and apathetic towards how to change, employ or execute policies to change their homeless circumstance. These findings state that, “People express greater support for the principle of helping disadvantaged groups, than for the actual policies aimed at enacting those principles” (qtd. in Phelan et al. 324). The authors’ theory that we, as a modern society, are hypocritical in the way we express that we want to help and support the homeless and disadvantaged, but at the same time are apathetic to taking action to support the homeless and improve their circumstance is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem seen throughout history up to the present day, of stigmatizing homelessness and disadvantaged individuals without providing a proper solution to change, alter, or eliminate the stigmatism. These findings tell us that the stigma associated with homelessness is still prevalent in society and continues to be perpetuated, even in the modern-day.

Yet, some readers may challenge the view that society is perpetuating homeless stigma through historical societal practices of shaming the homeless and blaming the individuals who are homeless for their circumstance. Some may also argue that homeless stigma does not make homeless individuals feel worse about their situation, because as Columbia University Professors also reported in their findings, “ The [current] level of compassion expressed by the public is surprisingly high, and the propensity to blame them for their situation, surprisingly low” (qtd.in Phelan, Jo et al. 325). This suggests that there could be movement in modern society to change the stigma and move towards finding solutions to society’s long-standing issues with homelessness. This theory is elaborated by the Columbia University Professors through a series of surveys and studies conducted in the early 1990’s that conclude: “The official treatment of poor [And homeless] people has become less harsh” (Phelan, Jo et al. 335). Although I grant that this progress can be seen in the modern-day society through the establishment of a myriad of government assistance programs, proactive organizations to promote positive changes for the lives of the homeless, increased volunteerism, philanthropy, and less evidence of societal blame of homeless individuals for their circumstance to uphold a status quo, I still maintain there is still a very deeply rooted stigma placed on the homeless that I feel, can cause homeless individuals to remain in a perpetual cycle of poverty and hopelessness.

In summary, studies have shown that societies have created and carried the homeless stigma throughout a significant amount of time in history through to the present. Research concludes that the homeless stigma associates shame and blame with poverty and homelessness, and creates a separate identity for an individual who is homeless that supersedes any previous individual identity, once assumed under the homeless stigma. In addition, it has been proven that while it is not as prevalent in today’s society, it has been common for a society to blame a homeless individual for his or her unfortunate circumstance associated to homelessness and poverty to uphold a status quo in order to shift blame from the shortcomings of the societal structure. It has also been shown that in modern-day, society as a whole tends to be more empathetic to the plight of the homeless and individuals living in

...