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In terms of not accepting help, I've had people refuse to be put in a motel for the night or placed with someone who had a room for rent. That was primarily a c
by TallGuyShort 8y ago
In terms of not accepting help, I've had people refuse to be put in a motel for the night or placed with someone who had a room for rent. That was primarily a case of pride as they've usually been very newly homeless, but they end up sleeping somewhere unsafe and / or illegal, so I'd love to be able to break past that mental barrier for them.
In terms of being mad about help given, the strongest example in my memory was a group that was offering free hygiene kits (this came to mind because of the article's comments on dental problems) at a soup kitchen. Some people were very offended at the idea and thought it was given in a judgmental way. I can see why they might think that, but... they need those items. So how do you avoid giving that impression? They ended up having a bin of items instead of handing them to everyone - it definitely didn't get received that much better.
- nyghtly 8y agoI've distributed hygiene kits such as those in a shelter environment and most people were very grateful for them. It probably depends on the environment you're in. But the bottom line is if something isn't well received then don't offer it, or try to offer it in a different context. If someone was really dedicated, then they would sit down with one or two people from the homeless community and ask them what they want and how they want to receive it. Most of us aren't willing to do this, and that's fine. I think the problem is that we expect it to be easy to please a homeless person because they "have nothing." But in reality they are complex human beings like everyone else and they don't want to be treated as lesser.