Understand
Homelessness is rarely a starting point: it is the end of a run of losses close together, a home, a job, health, a network. And it sustains itself through an administrative detail: losing your address means losing your papers, and without papers there is no job, no lease, no bank account. Breaking that loop is far harder than finding a bed for one night.
Take action
- Say hello and look at the person you are speaking to. It costs nothing and nobody has to ask for it.
- Answer if someone asks you something, the time, directions, where a washroom is open. That is often all that was asked for.
- Don't photograph or film anyone. A hard situation is not content.
- If you give clothing, give new socks and underwear: they are the most needed and the least donated.
- Push back on "they chose this" when it is said in front of you. That is where it spreads, and no one else will correct it.
Resources and help
Organizations
Tools
Did you know?
Go further
Nobody becomes homeless overnightThe UN does not describe a state, it describes a slide, and the reference typology counts thirteen steps before the pavement.8 min read
Housing First: the policy that reverses the orderThe usual order was: stabilise first, get housed afterwards. Housing First hands over the keys at the start, and the OECD has measured what that does.7 min read
Passing someone on the street: what helps, what hurtsFour seconds, no idea what to do. Two international texts answer, and they converge on one instruction you would not expect.7 min read
Myth and reality
"You can tell someone is homeless just by looking."
Sleeping on a friend's couch week after week, in a car, or in a home you know you will lose at the end of the month, that is already being without stable housing. The visible share on the street is the smallest one, and it is the only one people picture.
Recognize yourself in this page? You can talk to someone right now, free and without judgment: dial 811 and press 2 (Info-Social), answered 24/7. If things are really bad, 988 answers too, by call or text. Talk to someone now And if you are looking for resources near you instead, the directory is here. Open the directory