Have you ever walked by a person that is homeless and been concerned that they might rob you, or thought “What if they come into my neighborhood? They might break into my house.” The thing you probably don’t realize is that you will most likely never be robbed by a homeless person unless you actually become homeless yourself. Have you ever been robbed? Have you been robbed in the last year? How about the last month or the last week? If you were homeless, you probably could answer yes to at least the first two questions- possibly all four.
Part of the reason you are not robbed more is because you have a lock on most of your valuable stuff; your front door and your car. If you couldn’t lock your stuff up, you would probably have your things stolen more often. For people who are experiencing homelessness, keeping an eye on your possessions becomes a full-time job.
You get up in the morning and you need to get something to eat, so you will carry the things that are extremely important; however, carrying your important things while you walk five miles to get food can really get old. So you may try to hide your things in a bush or behind a building for a short time. The problem is when you get back your stuff may be missing. Everything else you own, the things you can’t carry, are sitting in the open where anyone has access to them.
If you could just image how that feels for a second. Everything you own sitting in the open. You would be afraid to leave your possessions, even if you were to go to work. You get in this cycle of protecting your possessions. If you have a campsite, it becomes very difficult to leave your possessions and even your tent and go to work because they might not be there when you get back. Keep in mind that the people who steal from you are watching your every move. Even the things you’re carrying around only are one momentary lapse of concentration away from being taken.
I know when I go a period of time without consistent sleep I am more likely to make poor decisions. This is why it is so essential to have your own place in order to put yourself in a position to get out of this cycle. At a minimum, you definitely need a safe place to keep your most important worldly possessions so you can come back from work and have all your possessions still in tact.
