Interviews

I did two interviews. One with a well off, young white woman who will probably never experience homelessness. We'll call her Lady McLadyface, who is well loved and has a solid support system of fairly wealthy friends and family.
My other interview was also with a young white woman who we will refer to as Jane Smith, but someone who did not have a good support system and subsequently spent three years homeless.



Lady McLadyface


Q. What visuals spring to mind when you think of 'homeless'?

A. Hobo, fisherman's hat, old white man, unwashed, holy jumpers, ripped clothes, unshaven, sitting on a dirty street or lining up in a soup kitchen.

Q. What other thoughts spring to mind?

A. Alienation and isolation, sadness and despair, both what I think they feel and what I feel when I see them. Hungry, I don't know whether I should give them food or money, whether that would help or make it worse.

I'm pretty shy around strangers but I also know that lots of homeless people don't get much social interaction so I'm not sure if befriending them would help them or be condescending or potentially put me in danger. I wonder if they have any friends or family.

I heard someone say once that part of the 'student experience' of Wellington when they moved down from Palmy was to sit on the street and beg for money for a day, just for shits and giggles and to see how much they can get. I think that's pretty messed up.

I do wonder about the mindset of homeless people, if you know what I mean. Like someone can try to help them but if they don't want to help themselves or if they feel like it's no use then nothing's going to happen.





Jane Smith

Q. How long were you homeless for?

A. I was homeless for 3 years

Q. What age were you when you became homeless?

A. I was 14 when I became homeless.

Q. How did you become homeless?

A. My father's third wife was extremely psychologically abusive. One day she told my father she would leave him if he didn't kick me out.

Q. Did you feel you were in danger at any point, in any place you were sleeping?

A. I felt in danger less often than I should have, looking back on it (children think they're invincible). The places I slept were unsafe, yes.

Q. How did you find income to survive?

A. I pan-handled on the side of the street and occasionally sold photographs in art galleries. I also received food stamps when I was about 15. I got a job when I was 16 and stayed at a homeless shelter until I saved the funds to move out on my own.

Q. How did other people react to you?

A. Other people did not notice I was homeless unless I told them. I took pride in trying to look 'normal and clean' (stealing new clothes or getting them from drop-in centres, bathing in public restrooms with washcloths or in shelters, etc.). When I was pan-handling, I received more sympathy for being perceived as 'normal and clean' (probably didn't hurt being white as well).

Q. Do you think there's a lack of understanding or empathy from people who've never experienced homelessness?

A. Yes, there is definitely a lack of empathy towards the homeless.

Q. If you could say something to people who don't understand or people who are rude to homeless people what would you say?

A. I suppose I would just try to tell people to be more empathetic, and that they couldn't fathom the hurt these people have had to endure either by abuse, unforeseen life circumstances, or quite often, years of underlying institutionalised racism. But people don't really relate to those things either.

What I learnt from these two interviews is there is clearly a lack of knowledge and understanding around homeless people. Obviously as I only interviewed two people I can't speak for everyone, but I'm combining this information with other research I have done and evidence of what other people have said on social media regarding the homeless community.

Many of those who care and are compassionate have no idea how to help or how to treat a homeless person and as a result don't bother, and many people are just horrible. Rude and cruel and un-empathetic. there needs to be more information circling about homeless people, more of an understanding and more empathy, or at least less cruelty. I need to find a way to show people who don't understand that homelessness can actually happen to anyone for any reason. I need to find a way to relate to people who can't relate to homeless people. I need to reach out to them and help them understand.