What is like to be homeless? What is inside their minds? What are the barriers they face in their lives? I don´t know, you don´t know! It´s beyond us to know what it’s like to be in their shoes.
Every day I wake up in a warm bed under a roof. What is to complain about right? I might have in my life difficulties, problems, worries, like everyone else has, but what are these problems when you think of people who are struggling to survive OUT THERE, I mean literally! I am a lucky one!
Every time I feel down or struggling with something, I must put things in perspective and think: what about the others who don´t have food, home, and are all alone in the world?
If I am feeling down or sick, I contact my friends, or I find a service that can help me with or just stay at home in my sofa eating chocolate. If you are a homeless the struggle is completely different. They might not even know that they are depressed, where to look for help or they are too embarrassed to look for help.
Homeless people are a vulnerable population with poor health conditions for the most obvious reasons.
Is mental health related to homelessness?
There are studies that shows that people who are homeless are more likely to experience compromised mental health and mental illness than the general population and homelessness increases poor mental health.
As this article enlightens: “People with poor mental health are more susceptible to the three main factors that can lead to homelessness: poverty, disaffiliation, and personal vulnerability. Because they often lack the capacity to sustain employment, they have little income.”
If you think about it, not having a home hinders your capacities to care for your health and well-being. The living conditions of a homeless person are so precarious that they are more susceptible to illness, depression and suicide.
We take for granted the warm of our home, the softness of our clothes, the clarity of our mind. Let´s be thankful to what we have! Life is all about perspective.
Suurin osa Showcasen blogeista on toteutettu osana Laurean opintojaksoja. Koko koulutustarjontaamme voi tutustua nettisivuillamme. Tarjoamme kymmenien tutkintoon johtavien koulutuksien lisäksi myös paljon täydennys- ja erikoistumiskoulutuksia sekä yksittäisiä opintojaksoja avoimen AMK:n kautta!
Thank you for sharing your important thaughts. I agree that we should think more about people whom are facing serious life threatning problems, such as homelessness and mental health problems. We should be more content with our lives.
Thankyou for this post Susana! You are absolutely right about putting things into perspective. I feel like it is sometimes hard to remember that we are lucky with the essential things that we have like food and a roof over our heads etc. I remember last year when my project was to visit the homeless shelter, to see the smile on peoples faces when they had the chance to take a shower, or wash their clothes, or eat some soup. It was really nice to see that! I donate food and clothes every month to different homeless shelters around Helsinki/Vantaa, and that always reminds me to be more appreciative with what I have at home.