Traumatic Stuff
“I do need this blanket, but I can’t possibly carry it with me right now. Can you hold onto it for me until it gets colder, and I can call you when I really, really need it?”
“I pick all this stuff up, and as soon as I do, people come through and trash the place all over again.”
“I have some of this trash bagged up now, but I have to wait until it gets darker to put it in the nearby dumpster. The business owners get real fussy when people put stuff in their dumpster.”
“I’ve got a couple tarps and another tent set aside for when they get out of jail so they have a little something to come back to.”
“Sorry there are so many candles. I love candles, and I really hope one day soon I can put them all over an apartment of my own.”
“Have y’all seen my chicken running around here anywhere?”
“How does someone go about getting into the work that y’all do? Because once and if we ever get out of here and back on our feet, we want to give back somehow and help others.”
“I need to get back to the doctor to get another ultrasound. All my ultrasound pictures got burned up when the trailer I was staying in burned down.”
“You want a knife sharpener? Or do you want some of these cool cups we found?”
“I walk these woods day and night making sure nobody dies of an overdose out here. Sometimes you’ll find them getting high right in the middle of the trails.”
(A few moments later we meet someone on the trail with their drugs in their hands. They are immediately given Narcan.
Client: “I’m sorry to cause all of this today.”
(Had to have 911 called because they were actively overdosing when we arrived.)
ROC Member: “Hey, we are just glad you are still with us, standing, breathing, and talking. You had us really scared for you! And we want to keep seeing you! Are you at all interested in getting into treatment? We have resources that can make that happen for you.”
Client: “I don’t know; I have never done that before. I’m just so afraid! I don’t have anyone! I am all alone out here…I started using pain pills when I was 15, and the doctor told my parents to start giving me those pills, and it has just snowballed from there.”
ROC Member: “We hear that you’re afraid of going to treatment, but it’s looking like you have plenty to be afraid of here too. Please consider this opportunity, and know there is no judgment from us if you ultimately decide against it. And also know the offer always stands if you decide you want to later. We will continue to love and care for you no matter what. We are not in the business of forcing people to do anything, but instead we are in the business of offering opportunities and being there for people in need.”
Client: “Thank you! You all have been such a godsend for me.”
Traumatic Stuff:
A while back someone who works in a different field asked a group of ROC members:
“What is the psychology of people who are homeless having so much stuff?”
There are multiple answers:
Survival. A feeling of needing to hold onto everything so that you feel you are prepared for anything.
Bartering. If something can be held onto and then sold or traded, then it is worthy of being kept.
The Elements. Belongings being either stolen or ruined over time are the harsh realities everyone experiencing homelessness faces. So stockpiling happens as a result.
Lack Of Access And Privacy. From the perspective of an observer, it may appear like someone experiencing homelessness has an abundance of belongings. When in reality the person would like to dispose of most of what is being observed but has no efficient way of doing so. And many times other people continue to add more and more without someone’s consent.
Community. Sometimes stuff is kept, reserved, and set aside in order to assist someone else at a later time.
Consumerism. Consumerism infects us all here in America, whether we are housed or unhoused. Those of us that are housed tend to have better hiding spots for all of our stuff compared to those without a house.
Trauma. People experiencing homelessness experience loss after loss after loss, trauma after trauma, and life can feel completely uncontrollable. Trauma over time changes how our brains function, especially in the decision-making sector of the brain. The decisions of what is worth holding onto and what is not become blurry. A small sense of control can be had through keeping every possible thing, even down to the smallest, dirtiest, and most useless item. Those that feel they’re valueless tend to put a value on any and all things. Sometimes this value is seen as a monetary value, and other times the value is an emotional one. We have heard stories of how a particular item reminds them of someone they loved or of a happier time in their lives.
Hope and Hopelessness. Some folks seem to be collecting a full house worth of stuff with the hope of one day being able to live inside a house and instantaneously being able to turn it into a home. Other folks seem to have lost all hope of ever living inside again, and so they make a collection of stuff that will aid them in settling into their maze that they will call home.
Home Is Where The Heart Is. And there is meaning to the stuff that fills it.
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#TraumaticStuff
