January: Understanding Homelessness

There is no way we are going to be able to explain homelessness in a single News Brief. A little bit about their culture though, from our perspective of course, and within communities a little north of Boston is a nice place to begin. Studies in the social sciences, with great mentors and professors, the concept of different societies, or social networks, and/or any group of people, being - culturally bound - caught my attention and stayed. Today, this concept is pertinent to comprehending our homeless community members. They have become a culture unto themselves.  

Now please do not head down that path or that ideology of – culture bound syndromes – implying mental illness. We are looking simply at a subculture within our mainstream culture. I am sure a few finger-pointers like the idea of there being something terribly wrong with the homeless population, meaning a syndrome is to blame. Many folks also seem to think that homelessness happens involuntarily, when sometimes it is a volitional choice made with a person’s healthy autonomy. For most of those living out on our streets, yes, it is an unwanted and non-desirable state of affairs, no doubt! Some find it a place they’d rather be though, instead of what is currently available to them for living spaces. 

Another misconception is that addiction is what puts them out on the fringes, which is directly (and indirectly) often the case; yes, agreed! Why though? Most of our cohort of HADs (Homeless Addiction Disorders), meaning folks from our outreach efforts since 2015, acquired an addiction disorder long before entering homeless lifestyles. Why? The reasons are multiple and multifaceted, and water under the bridge. 

Seems many already have their answer as to why. I assure you my reader, it’s different from what you think! Did we completely lose interest in innocence until discovery of guilt? Or how about misdiagnosing and determining your own rationale as to why someone's state of affairs is such and such. Without proper education and/or robust enough data to do so, you may well be doing more harm than good! A large portion of our addiction disordered community is rooted in this same sort of behavior: making unwise and uninformed self-medicating decisions. Apparently, some of us with homes may be inciting counterproductive leadership with our hasty uninformed demand for resolve. I mean, the powers that be want your vote, correct? We too, may be engaging in similar self-defeating fixes as did many of our homeless addiction disorders. Mostly, things like subjective bias, dogma, and propagated bull crap are imposing on clarity of analysis and instigating cloudy conclusions. Most addiction disorders came from seeking relief, searching for a way to feel normal, or to fit in and be compliant with the herd’s rules and regulations. We've worked with many who pushed themselves to conform until it broke them. They simply need to belong somewhere now, and our homeless subculture provides that sense of belonging for each other, albeit Gypsy style these days! 

Ok, enough of Doc's banter. Thank you very much, Mr. Erik Zeiler, for the following excerpt: which coalesces wonderfully with our Affirmation Element of an ARMOR Program. Erik assists with the Ritualization Element and often provides little trinkets and treasures at William Tell's Place.

Attachment Injury

The Recovery Dharma handbook describes attachment injury as follows:

[Attachment injury] is defined as an emotional wound to a core relationship with a caregiver, often caused by abuse, neglect, or inconsistency of care in early childhood. … Attachment injury may show up as a hesitation to trust people or a process, as a reluctance to be part of a recovery group, or as a core belief that we don’t belong

Recovery Dharma Inc, Recovery Dharma Second Edition, p. 10-11

The book goes on to explain that all humans desire a connection with other humans. When this desire is unmet, addiction can become an unhealthy surrogate.

If opening up to a recovery group feels uncomfortable, ask the question of why it feels uncomfortable. Maybe it’s because you’re reminded of painful experiences. Try to realize that the discomfort is not a sign of danger, but rather, you simply aren’t used to recovery circles.

The Kindness Cult

by: richard ebner

From the Administration

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This year’s selection of News Briefs will be focused primarily on resolving our homelessness crisis, especially those struggling with addiction disorders: family, friends, and/or active addictions, all-inclusive dialogue. The above video clip was from two years ago. A marble step up into the cabin (photo) was one year ago. Today, she is off the streets and tasting the freedom of remission. Housing first, done correctly, works! And what a wonderful way to start my new year as I transition into retirement status.

Doc LaBranche, PhD