The Criminalization of Homelessness: A Call to Action and Compassion

As I navigated the tumultuous journey from having a roof over my head to facing the harsh reality of homelessness, I never imagined that the very act of existing without a home could become a criminal offense. Yet, here we are, discussing the unnerving trend of states criminalizing homelessness—a topic that many prefer to overlook, but one that could touch any of our lives unexpectedly. Through personal anecdotes and a raw exploration of systemic failures, this episode peels back the layers of an issue that demands our attention and requires immediate action. 

Join us as we dissect the alarming intersection of poverty, legislation, and the lack of social safety nets that leave individuals like myself, and potentially you, a paycheck away from destitution. It's not just a conversation; it's a call to empathy and community solidarity. We're tackling the difficult questions and shedding light on the human stories behind the statistics. This isn't just another discussion—it's a personal testament and a collective plea for compassion, understanding, and societal change.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Free Concepts, unmask, where we
motivate, educate and elevate.
I am your host, shaniqua.
Thank you so much for listening.
Everyone so grateful for yoursupport.
Before we jump into our topic,I want to start off with prayer.
Father God, in the name ofJesus, god, we come to you, lord
, and we say thank you, god,thank you, god, for all that

(00:22):
you've done and all that you'redoing in our lives.
God, oh God, I thank you for mylisteners.
I ask that you give them anopen heart, an open mind, to be
able to receive the word thatyou have for them, god, and
continue to bless them whereverthey are.
God, I thank you for your mercy, your grace.
I thank you for yourforgiveness and, most of all,

(00:44):
god, I thank you for your love.
God, I pray for peace allaround the world and unity, that
we can come together, havecompassion for one another and
love one another right where weare.
God.
Thank you so much, lord, forthis platform to be able to
share my stories, my testimonies.
God, to be able to change livesfor the God, for the better.

(01:06):
In Jesus name, I pray, amen,amen.
So, guys, I hope everyone hashad a great week.
I want to talk abouthomelessness.
Did you know that it is illegalto be homeless in all states

(01:27):
except for Oregon and Wyoming?
It says more cities and statesmake homeless encampments a
crime, leaving low-income peoplewith few options.
As the number of peopleexperiencing homelessness
increases across the country,more cities and states have
passed laws making it illegal tolive out of tents and cars or

(01:51):
sleep in public places.
I really think that's sad.
I really do.
Truth be told, we're all abouta paycheck away from being
homeless.
Anything can happen with losingyour employment and not being
able to afford where you live.

(02:13):
Gas is up, rent is up,everything has increased
electricity, our phones,everything day-to-day has
increased.
The only thing that hasn'tincreased is our wages, and I
don't want to hear that messabout.
Oh well, if we increase thewages, then you know we could

(02:35):
flood the economy.
Heck, we burn money.
Okay, I rather to have morethan to have less.
And also, they've given 53million to migrants.
Now, I'm all for helping people,but we need to help home first
before we can extend help toothers.

(02:57):
We put into this country, webuilt this country.
We have for myself and as manyothers, but I've worked
40-something jobs in my lifetime.
A lot of my employment has beenadministrative work, hr working

(03:17):
for Fortune 500 companies, andI never thought I would see
myself homeless.
I've been working since I was15 years old and been on my own
since 13, and I tried to work sohard for my family so that we
would never be in that position.
Well, in 2021, I found myself inthat position of being homeless

(03:41):
.
My landlord came and said thathe needed his home back because
he was going through a situation, and at that time, my spouse
and I were going through a lotof difficulties and I felt as if
I really needed my peace ofmind more than anything.
I didn't care where I went,where I lived, where what would

(04:03):
happen, but once I left, Ididn't know where I was gonna go
.
I thought I could depend onfamily or friends and people
that I had helped along the waymany years and admired and put
on this pedestal, but theydidn't show up for me like I had
showed up for them, and I foundmyself and my daughter homeless

(04:25):
for about a year, maybe alittle more, and to know now
that it's a crime is ridiculousto me.
It saddens me that people arereally in need and they need
help, and it's a crime whichmeans you could go to prison for

(04:49):
being homeless, not being ableto pay your bills.
It's really sickening.
I never thought that I wouldsee the United States of America
turn into this.
You know we're put here to beable to love on one another,
encourage one another to assistand help one another, helping

(05:11):
people on their journey throughour knowledge and our wisdom
that we've gained through ourown experiences, each one to
each one.
They're also doing away withgigs such as DoorDash and Lyft
and Uber Eats.

(05:31):
Now I DoorDashed for a year anda half because I was applying
for positions, but I neededsomething immediate and that was
the only thing that I couldactually do to keep food on the
table for my family and provideand keep shelter over my child's

(05:52):
head, and I'm so grateful I wasable to do that.
Because of my daughter, I endedup going to a great school and
she ended up being accepted tothe College of her Choice.
And it's not even doing awaywith DoorDash and they want to

(06:12):
pay hourly and not have them bean independent contractor
setting rules and things, and alot of people depend on that
money.
And it's so crazy because whenthe pandemic was here, everyone
just loved having DoorDash andUber, eats and Lyft and things
like that, because it reallyhelped them to not go out and

(06:36):
catch COVID.
A lot of people were afraid toleave their homes and go to work
and this was a better way, andit saddens me to see that we're
in this place right now.
I'm all for helping people,like I said, but if you didn't

(06:57):
put into this country and youhaven't worked, I think we need
to help the people that are here, the people that have been
working, the people that havegiven themselves to these jobs
or careers and put in their timeand paid their taxes.
I didn't pay.

(07:17):
We're not paying taxes to helpother people in other countries.
We need to get it togetherright here.
I don't know where this worldis headed.
I really don't understand it.
I really believe that we shouldhave compassion and empathy and
help one another.

(07:40):
It doesn't make sense toseparate families from their
mothers, children from theirmothers because they can't
afford life right now.
Everything is expensive andbefore anyone judges someone
else or turns their noses up,you can find yourself in this
position as well.
All it takes is losing youremployment or say you might have

(08:09):
family, but then if your familyisn't there for you, then what
is it that you do?
What can you do?
It's not a choice to behomeless, you know.
And, um, it's not fair thatpeople need help but they're
considered to be a criminal.

(08:30):
That's not a criminal, that's aperson that's fell on hard
times and they need help.
So it's not too much I canreally say about this, because I
have mixed emotions.
I'm sad but angry at the sametime, and I just don't
understand it.
I don't get it.

(08:51):
We all need help at one time oranother in our lives and, um,
I'm a person that never dependedon social services and it's
nothing wrong with socialservices, but that just wasn't
for me.
Waiting for a paycheck thatbarely even meets my rent or

(09:12):
groceries and things you know,it just wasn't for me, and
that's why I worked two or threejobs at a time to provide for
my family and put into thesystem the very system that now
is considering people to becriminals that have lost their
homes, that have lost their jobsand are just trying to make it.

(09:37):
They just want to provide fortheir family and they go through
enough as it is with theirpride and feeling down and out
and feeling bad about theposition that they're in, that
they definitely don't need to bearrested for not being able to
provide.
Like I said, we hey, we, weburn money.

(10:02):
That's crazy to me.
So there has to be somethingdone.
I don't have the solution tothis problem.
If you guys want to write inand discuss it as well or talk
about it and you have somethingto share, definitely send me an
email at free concepts podcastat gmailcom so we can go more

(10:26):
into this and talk about it.
But I just want to shed lighton this on homelessness and us
giving 53 million and, you know,giving all this money away to
people that, like I said, havenot invested into the United
States.
It just isn't fair at all andpeople need these gigs like

(10:50):
DoorDash and Uber Eats and soforth.
You know it's just sad and ithas to be a better way that we
can do things.
We have to be able to take careof home first before we can
provide or help and assist otherpeople, and I'm all for helping
people, but we have to helpourselves first.

(11:12):
It starts at home.
So I want to thank you so muchfor listening.
If, again, you have anycomments, please email to free
concepts with an?
S podcast at gmailcom.
I want to encourage you.
Anyone that's going through itright now that's just barely

(11:34):
surviving.
I want to pray for you.
I will be praying for you, butI want to pray for you that the
God touch these people right now.
Help them, strengthen them,show them that you are who you
are and you can make anythinghappen impossible, that you are

(11:59):
a God of love, a God of miracles.
I pray for you guys out there.
Stay encouraged, do not give up.
Do not give up, no matter whatit looks like, no matter what it
feels like.
Never give in and never give up.

(12:19):
The enemy wants to knock youdown.
The enemy wants you to throw inthe towel, but refuse to throw
in the towel, refuse to give up.
Stand 10 toes down and know andbelieve that they're going to
be better days, that you seethat this right here is only

(12:41):
temporary and that change iscoming.
There's been times that yourback has been against the wall
before.
There's times that you didn'teven think that you would be
able to make it, and still Godchanged things in your life and
he sent angels to help bless you.
Never give up on God.

(13:01):
Never give up on yourself.
Strive harder, be strong andknow that God is with you.
Even in the times and in themoments you don't feel like he's
listening or he's with you orhe's, you know, hearing you.
He's there.
Just call out to him.

(13:22):
He will show you the way.
Never be afraid of speakingyour truth.
Be true to yourself.
Allow positive change.
You are enough, and this tooshall pass.

(13:42):
Thank you so much for listening.
I encourage you to continuestriving.
Be the best version of you youcan be.
God has already equipped youwith so many gifts and skills
and tools.
Just sit quietly and hear fromhim and I'm sure that he will

(14:05):
give you the answers that youneed.
God bless you.
Have a wonderful week.