“Homeless is a lie” That is a quote from Elon Musk a man that is rich enough he could probably end world hunger. He also stated, “Its usually a propaganda word for violent drug addicts with severe mental illness.” This is from a man that has never had to experience any of the problems that causes homelessness.  He had also stated earlier that “A significant portion of so-called “homeless people” in American cities are clearly not sane in any meaningful sense of the word. The word “homeless is a lie, as it implies that all they’re missing is housing, as if they just got a little behind on their mortgage payments.” This is a man that looks at the homeless through the eyes of someone of privilege. This sounds like a man that doesn’t want to understand the problem of homelessness and would rather it just go away. We tend to think of this as just our own problems in the United States but the problem is much bigger. What are the reasons for Homelessness? According to Human Rights Careers web site there are 10 reasons for Homelessness. We think of homelessness as just an American problem but world wide there are 1.5 billion homeless people in the world.  

The first problem that they list is Stagnate Wages. Since 1970 minimum wage has gone up 350% where the consumer price index has gone up 480%. We have a system at the bottom of the scale just will never be able to dig themselves out and are in fact falling farther behind.  Around the year 2000 Elon Musk’s net worth was about a billion dollars. Now it is over 450 billion dollars and rising.

The second problem is Unemployment. Losing one job can lead to making someone homeless. You can say that there are plenty of jobs but if you lost your home and have no permanent address who is going to hire you. You get caught in a downward spiral that is very hard to get out of that very well could lead to mental illness.

The third problem is lack of Affordable Housing. If you are earning minimum wages, it is almost impossible to pay rent let alone save up money to even buy a trailer let alone a house.

Lack of Affordable Healthcare. As many as 62 percent of all bankruptcies include significant medical debt.

Poverty. What are the causes of poverty? Low and stagnant wages. Being not able to afford the basics. I think that poverty is a by-product of capitalism.

Mental Health and Drug Addiction. The lack of support services. Poverty and bankruptcies are just a few of the problems in my opinion can lead to mental health problems.

Racial Inequality. Let’s face it, racism is alive and well in America. A country that turns words like diversity and inclusion into bad words is a country that is going to be big on racial inequality.

Domestic Violence. Half of the women in this country will face some form of physical violence from a domestic partner.

Family Conflict. I have read that 1.6 million young LGBTQ+ people end up homeless each year.  

Systemic Failures. That is when society fails to identify and support people at risk of becoming unhoused. Failures in correctional services, healthcare services, and child welfare are very common problems.

For someone to state that Homelessness is a lie is just a person that doesn’t want to look at the problems that can cause homelessness and has no intention of wanting to even try to solve the problems of Homelessness.

I am a survivor of Hurricane Ian that hit Southwest Florida September of 2022. Over two years after that disaster you can see the scars everywhere. Thousands and thousands of people were displaced. Some people lost everything. There was a tent city that sprang up under the Ft. Myers Beach bridge. People lived there for months. It is one of the many images from that disaster that is etched into my memory that I will probably bring with me to my grave. What many of us witnessed was what would be a Systemic Failure. We have the ability to fix bridges and roads but repairing lives is another story. We always hear about the successes but never about the failure. After about 6 months the people were forced to move. Where did they go? I am sure some have rebuilt their lives but I am just as sure some are still struggling with the poverty that a disaster like a hurricane can case. You can say that it isn’t the Government’s job to cure homelessness after a natural disaster but then you shouldn’t complain about the homeless.

For Musk to say that Homelessness is a lie is just an irresponsible statement that just feeds the intolerance that is such a big part of what this country is. Many would just like the homeless people just go away. It has been discussed that the government should put up tent cities and all the homeless rounded up and put in those cities. They claim that way they could then get the proper care that they need. This doesn’t seem like a solution. It is essentially locking people up in tent cities like they were criminals. Wasn’t that done in the past. It almost sounds more like a final solution than an attempt to get people help. Where is this help going to come from. Would there be medical facilities in place before you build and filled these tent cities. Would there be job training and job recruiters there on site. Would there be counselors for the emotional and drug problems that some of them have. To be successful it would be a gigantic undertaking and then if you hadn’t solved the problems that causes homelessness in the first place then isn’t there always going to be a new batch of Homeless. What I fear is people would go from the prison of poverty to a real prison set up and run by the Federal Government which are more like concentration camps than anything else. The world has seen how those worked.  

Before you can take on the problem of Homelessness you must first take up the reasons that make people Homeless. Don’t just hide the problem away behind barb wire. Solve the problem.