The Path Ministry

 In this paper, I will offer the three sociological perspectives on the problem of homelessness: Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionalism. I will examine these three perspectives for whatever valid points they may hold. (Note that I do not use the euphemism “unhoused.” This is because those of us living in shelters are, technically, housed, but still homeless. None of us in the shelter where I sleep refer to ourselves as “unhoused.” We are homeless, and no euphemism will change the reality of it.) I have been homeless since November of 2025, living in a shelter and surviving on food stamps and what little I get from financial aid. This gives me the opportunity to see the problem of homelessness more clearly than those who have never experienced it.             First, Functionalism. Extreme poverty and the resulting homelessness disrupt the stability of society by taxing resources, money that could be used...

  Being homeless is a constant uphill struggle. Everyone close your eyes. We’re going to take a walk through downtown Portland.  We’ve all seen the tents on sidewalks and people wrapped in blankets sleeping in doorways.  I have been homeless since November. Since then, I have conducted informal interviews with other homeless people. What I’ve learned may surprise you.  I am going to share with you some of the realities of being homeless: it’s illegal to sleep in public, the authorities can do anything they want to you, and the truth about the drug problem among the homeless. Roshan Abraham, writing for the advocacy organization Shelterforce, tells us that the ruling in the case of Grant’s Pass versus Johnson makes it illegal to sleep in public.   (Abraham)    Sleep is a biological necessity, so where are we supposed to sleep? Mos t long-term shelters require a referral from a caseworker, and most homeless people aren’t even in the system and don’t have...

  We've all seen tents pitched on sidewalks and people sleeping in doorways wrapped in blankets. People with nowhere else to go. The ones who aren't on the bottom rung of the ladder; they can't even reach that. One bad month, and you could be joining them, unless you have enough money set aside to cover six month's worth of expenses. A sudden illness or injury leading to a huge medical bill, your car breaking down and costing you half your monthly income, a divorce or death of a spouse, and it would be you in that tent. There are a lot of preconcieved notions about homeless people, mostly because nobody is talking to, and most importantly, listening to them. I want to challenge those notions by sharing what I have learned through my own informal interviews with other unhoused individuals. First of all, everyone assumes that,  because so many homeless people are on drugs, that they are homeless because of the drugs. However, out of all 130 of those I spoke with, not a si...

 Okay, you guys, all of you need to sit down, shut up, and listen to me. This message is for all of you. I've had enough with the way you are behaving. You're more divided than ever right now, but all you want to do is point fingers. You are all harboring fear in your hearts and hate for your fellow man. All of you. Tell me you refuse to fear the Other and make the effort to understand them instead, and you are the few who are truly "woke." Tell me you hold no hatred for another and you have done the work to address the hate and answer it with familiarity. Only when we face our fears and answer them can we be truly free of hatred. In this way, as well as others, you have failed me. You have chosen to ignore my lessons and my message. Here's how: If I were to come back, looking the way I do and living the way I live, I'd be thrown into a concentration camp before I could open my mouth. I was a brown homeless immigrant, you guys, telling people to be nice, which...

 I’ve written before about “trying to help,” specifically about the homeless population. To sum up the previous essay: Trying is a cockroach- and bedbug infested flophouse for five dollars or a voucher. Trying is making it illegal to be homeless, so they get arrested, lose all their belongings, get thrown in jail for a few days, then tossed back onto the streets with nowhere to go. What’s the point of that? Now I’ve seen “helping.” There is an outfit called Urban Alchemy here in Portland that helps you get into a tiny home and then into real housing. They approached our little group and asked if we’d like to be in their system. I spoke with one of them briefly just to get an idea of what they do. They’re helping, well and truly. I also got to witness something called the “free store” giving out clothes, hot food, water, even cigarettes and joints, on a first-come first-served basis, but the crowd I saw was relatively small. (I asked my friend Rose about this, and she says there...

 We’re all a little too easily offended anymore. Here’s an example: I had a conversation with somebody who sometimes needs a mobility device to get around. They were complaining because people keep offering to help them with things, stating that “I’m not your infantilization kink!” is an appropriate response when this happens. In other words, this person gets so angry at people who are at least making an Effort to be Compassionate that they will loudly, publicly shame them for doing so. This does nothing whatsoever but tell the person that being nice isn’t worth it and disabled people are jerks. Then, when they see an old lady crawling down the sidewalk, dragging a wheelchair and trying to control a German Shepherd at the same time, they can just step over her because they don’t want to “infantilize” her by offering to help. You choose to be offended. You choose your reaction when you do get offended. It’s not on them, it’s on you. The hundredth person who offers to hold the do...