Outside Perspective

THE OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE

In understanding the homeless population, many people who have had only an outside perspective lack the ability to fully understand the overwhelming difficulties this population faces. Many people who have had an inside perspective have come closer to tightening the gap in understanding the hardships and seeing individuals in a broader socio-economic and situational context. If an outside person has not visited such facilities such as the Costa Mesa Motor Inn and Isaiah’s house, the outside perspective can only limit the intelligence one will possess about these average everyday individuals and their families who really just need some “real assistance.” Many people have a bias opinion about the homeless population without really knowing what may go on at other “complicated” assistance facilities.

There are facilities available to the population, yet all their rules and regulations deter the target population from utilizing the services. In some eyes, this is seen as the homeless’ fault, yet those who believe that are the people who have had limited contact with these individuals and their families and do not understand the difficulties that some of these facilities put on their clients. The outside perspective questions why the homeless would deny themselves shelter and a meal, but do not see at times they are compromising their own personal freedom by entering the shelter. Some assistance shelters have a minimum stay and population standard such as males only or mothers and children. What will happen if there is a whole family wishing to stay together? No smoking, alcoholics, and drug user policies have also deterred individuals in pursuing assistance because the assistance only applies to people who are “fully” clean.

Though many individuals express concern for the troubles of the homeless, some outsiders express concern about successful programs bringing in numerous outsiders with numerous social problems. What needs to be seen is that the advantage of having more facilities offered with more funding would assist the homeless receive more concentrated services from social services. This in turn will get more of the population off the streets and receiving the proper assistance they need.