Ghost people

Before reading this post I want to press upon you that I really am no expert on American society having been in the States for only 3 weeks. Therefore this observation is simply that, an observation. With that said it is something I have seen over and over again this past month and after speaking to a few locals I don’t think it’s all in my head.

So homelessness is obviously a global phenomena and I would be a fool to say otherwise but there really is something about homelessness here in the USA that stands out in a big way. In London, like any major city, we have a massive problem with people living on the streets: Whether it’s down to substance abuse, mental health issues or young runaways there are always people that slip through society’s net and end up sleeping rough BUT I really do have to question just how big the holes are in the net here in the USA.

Homelessness in the USA by state

Firstly, the number of homeless people that I see every day is so much more than what I’m used to. Both in Washington DC and here in Denver the parks, city centres and cultural quarters seem to be home to hundreds of homeless people. These malnourished, dirty and bedraggled individuals, often shouting at cars or mumbling into paper bags (archetypical hobos many of them) are a stark contrast to the lavish museums, shiny malls and multi story car-parks which surround them. As a personal example, whilst walking from my apartment in uptown to a craft store on one of the main roads I passed 8 people talking to themselves, that’s 8 people in 3 miles! This was so striking that at first I thought everyone must be using Bluetooth…

Homeless people on the 16th Street Mall in Denver

And yet, despite being so much more conspicuous and vocal than I have ever experienced before (and living in such landmark and popularised areas) these people are ghosts: A dirty woman stands weeping in the middle of the park and families walk by feeding the geese; A sunburnt man with a cardboard sign round his neck shouts racist remarks at passersby and people look right through him.

Now I’m not advocating that we all become ‘good Samaritans’ and rush to ‘help’ these people (In some cases you’d have to have a deathwish!) I’m simply astonished at how much these people become the wallpaper to everyday life here in Denver. In London a woman shouting at traffic would be given a wide berth but I believe that at least it would turn heads, but not here. When I’ve asked local people about the situation a number of them refer to homelessness in the USA as more of a lifechoice or a subculture. A few have made comparisons with the way these people live and the Occupy movement, a sort of rebellious counterculture if you like. Now I do see the logic in this to some extent, and perhaps for some it is a choice, to be honest I haven’t stopped to ask. But whilst I know it would help us all to sleep at night if we could pass off all these people as eccentrics who simply enjoy a life on the streets… I just don’t quite buy it. Firstly here in Colorado the weather is extreme to say the least, I still haven’t experienced the coldest months but I’m prepared for months of heavy snow and subzero temperatures contrasting with the current sunburn inducing heat. Cold like that can kill you, surely nobody would chose to sleep rough when it’s -15c outside or when your sleeping quarters quickly become a snowdrift? Well at least nobody in their right mind and that leads into my next point.

Many of the people I see walking along aren’t just quirks they’re seriously disturbed, if living rough is really a choice then surely you need to be compus mentus to make that choice? Junkies and paranoid schizophrenics are hardly a rebel subculture, and are not the kind of people that should be trusted to look after their own best interests. Whilst I understand that they may not function in society at all, and dragging them into our care is no doubt a tremendous struggle, it does upset me to see SUCH a failure in the duty of care.

Ok, so I’m really no longer entirely sure where this is going and I fear its disintergrating into a bit of a bleeding-heart rant as I haven’t really got any solutions to offer. All the same I would like to end on one point: As much as Britain takes a wrap for being a ‘nanny state’ that allows ‘freeloaders’ and the ‘workshy’ to take advantage there is something to be said for a state’s duty to care for its people. I think that perhaps Britain has gone too far one way, but having lived here for only a few weeks I feel that there is another extreme operating here in the USA.