Ppl who never been through homelessness are blissfully unaware of how much work is entailed in staying afloat and navigating the system to abate criminalization and the ability to ever obtain housing again.

I say that as someone who had the luxury of places to stay, a vehicle , a working phone and a partner that was not working so able to pick up the meetings and paperwork sprang on us.

Not only are u working more hours to secure income to hold on to what little u have AND being a parent. But Then u also gotta run around town to turn in paper work. Spend every night looking for houses u will be denied cuz of the unlawful detainer.

Spend every night calling shelters and other resources with waiting list hoping to get something. On top of combing through the resources that well meaning ppl pass onto u which feature dead end phone lines , no more funding or applicants.

Go to legal offices trying to get a lawyer ( since everyone thinks a legal resource is the end all be all ) only to be denied and shamed.

The list goes on and on. Eviction is basically state sanctioned "discipline" against poor ppl to justify gentrification and exploitation of the poor. The legal system is in on it. The property owners and real estate is in on it.

The non profit organizations that actually receive funding are in on it and still pat themselves on the back. The case workers and social workers are in on it and justify it with ableism and other discriminatory attitudes about who "deserves" resources.

And that's just the *institutional* aspect of it. That's not getting into the way labor triples for poor ppl without access to everyday tools to complete daily task.

When i think about things i learned in a course about mental health first aid it's no wonder why homelessness often goes hand in hand with indivs with disabilities, MI or other layers of marginalization.

The classifications of what makes a person mentally"well". (Maslow's hierarchy) is measured by ppls ability to complete everyday task abd responsibilities. And yet if ur poor it's the last thing society gives you access too without exorbitant amounts of labor.

Pretty much mirrors the Guardian / ward relationship policies that the govt imposed on Natives.