The Ethical Dilemma Of Not Breaking The Chain Of Homelessness

                Anybody who has ever driven by a homeless person has contemplated “how did that person end up homeless?”  The simple response is “get a job” or “they are lazy and don’t apply themselves.” These are simple answers, convenient answers and for some homeless people possibly a somewhat accurate statement.  For some they are living out the consequences of a life of bad decisions.  Every time they came to a crossroads they invariably took the wrong direction.  They engaged in life styles that resulted in addictions and destructive behavior.  Most of these people grew up in “typical” U.S. homes with mom, dad, siblings and the dog.  It was their decisions that caused them to veer off course.  Is this true or a poorly conceived perception? 

three generations

                Then there are others who never lived in “Mayberry”.  Rather the family life modeled for them included dad out of the house, mom inviting a variety of abusive men into the home to share sex and drugs with and siblings running wild on the street while mom was absorbed in her own issues.  Police periodically arrived in the neighborhood and took someone away and occasionally someone in the neighborhood was shot or stabbed.  Most survived their wounds.  The stories shared on the front stoop of these homes talked about the addicted grandfather, the homeless uncle, the abused cousin, the drunken mother, the cousin who was never seen again.  This was multi-generational families living in poverty, addiction and homelessness.  For many of these children their “lot was cast”.  Bowman and Poppa’s data indicates that every year in the U.S. one in fifty students will experience homelessness during their K-12 school life (Bowman & Poppa, 2013).  Recognizing this cycle, is it ethical to allow the cyclone effect to continue to consume families?  How does society stand by and watch the next generation fall into despair?  Would we tolerate a family who lived in a hazardous home that resulted in multiple fatalities from past generations continue to dwell there before ordering the home demolished or restored?  Principle A, Do No Harm has been violated and Principle D, Justice are clearly violated in these incidents. 

help me find a house

                In 2012 Kilmer and his associates completed a research project which, in part, looked at how children of multi-generational poverty and homelessness were surveyed in how they perceived receiving public services (Kilmer, et al., 2012).   The sense of entitlement and normalcy to receive these services was significantly higher than those children who lived in more traditional home settings.

                The chain of poverty and homelessness is hard to break.  Clearly homeless people cannot generally do it themselves.  It requires their communities to come along side of them and help.  To not do so is unethical and immoral. APA Ethics requires the standards of conduct 3.4, Avoiding Harms  or 3.1, Unfair Discrimination.  Hopefully, the future will be brighter as communities chose to take their responsibility seriously and ethically.

References

Bowman, D., & Popp, P. A. (2013). Students experiencing homelessness. In E. Rossen, R. Hull (Eds.) , Supporting and educating traumatized students: A guide for school-based professionals (pp. 73-92). New York, NY, US: Oxford University Press.

Kilmer, R. P., Cook, J. R., Crusto, C., Strater, K. P., & Haber, M. G. (2012). Understanding the ecology and development of children and families experiencing homelessness: Implications for practice, supportive services, and policy. American Journal Of Orthopsychiatry, 82(3), 389-401. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.2012.01160.x