Steve lost everything to a sweep

(NEW ORLEANS, LA  2014 ) My friend Steve lost his home of 12 years yesterday. He lost his clothes, his documents, his photos, his books, his cookware, his bed and absolutely everything he owned and needed. He felt safe there. He didn’t bother anyone and no one bothered him. Officials came and took everything he owned and destroyed all his treasures as he was passed out drunk a short distance away. EVERYTHING he worked to build is now gone. Now all he has is the clothes he was wearing.

If you lost everything you would call your insurance agent. He doesn’t have one.  He didn’t own the land where he lived and he didn’t pay rent.  Basically, Steve has NO RIGHTS. He was not warned of his eviction. He was not offered any help or social services for his loss.

I heard a homeless service administrator say on a news interview that the people living on the streets have it too good.  Perhaps they should even outlaw feeding them in public too. They have done so in other cities.  She said that maybe if life became a little harder for them they would decide not to be homeless anymore.  

In Steve’s case, he is a chronic alcoholic. If he doesn’t have alcohol he goes into withdraw. At this point the alcohol is killing him but he needs it. So he drinks. He stays out of trouble.  The only person he ever hurts is himself. Now the only structure he did have is gone. Nothing remains but a mud puddle. If he thought he had nothing before now he will truly know what it is like to not have anything.

If a person is down and out and living on the edge in the United States they have no civil rights. They can be arrested and jailed for silly reasons. Federal courts have ruled that harassment of the homeless is unconstitutional and yet this goes on daily. Sweeping away the homeless to deter their presence is a common strategy to end homelessness in every city. For the record, it doesn’t end it, it only make life harder for people who are already struggling.

I wonder what it would take to shift the consciousness of how our society deals with this epidemic? Presently what they are doing does not resolve the issue. I wonder if the person who ordered the destruction of Steve’s home would have done so if they ever met and spoke to him? I bet they have no idea who he is.  All they know is that he has no legal right to reside there and they have the right to sweep him away and they did.

Steve still lives there in the same spot. He still drinks.  He just doesn’t own anything anymore, no bed, no pillow, no roof to protect him from the elements.  Steve is a sweet, kind and polite man who has no ability to cope with his disease.  Even after loosing everything he owns, I doubt he is going to choose to stop being homeless.