The Two Pandemics
In the earliest days of this pandemic, we fretted over what was to become of the most vulnerable among us, and that collective concern turned into an impressive series of actions across the country. Decision-makers, themselves surely concerned for those living on the margins, came up with various measures to assist. Even as the weather was getting warmer, spaces were made available in places like hotels to get people in off the streets and in proximity to where supportive services like meals, secure bedding, and health checks were made available.
In my city of London, numerous measures were implemented by civil society as well to reach out with impressive resolve to help, sometimes by donating money, food, or solace, but always with an eye towards inclusiveness.
That’s the word right there – inclusiveness. After spending years seeing the homelessness as something inevitable, or sad, or overwhelming, or a problem, COVID 19 successfully got us all to actually do something about it instead of making excuses. Our food bank in London, like so many other agencies, initiated a new lunch program for the homeless and the highlights in my mind were those of the city’s bicycle network heading out to agencies to deliver nutrition or a dynamically driven group of volunteers showing up in their cars every day, taking lunches directly to those living rough and in real need of knowing that their community was responding. My mind quickly returns to those images when the hard and grinding work of getting through this pandemic gets me down.
But most of us know that this isn’t the ultimate response that’s truly needed. What’s the point of continuing to talk about “we’re all in this together” when we know that the moment the pandemic lifts, we likely end up right back where we started? Citizenship isn’t so much about being a friend in need but human agent who wants to do away with the need in the first place. That’s the difference between charity and social justice, between a principled nation and a materialistic one.
The remarkable effort of bringing people in to a secure place was massive, expensive, and downright inspiring. But there is no real plan for keeping things that way. Sooner or later, excuses will be made and people will grow distracted and the marginalized will be back out into our community, likely in cold weather. Those we made room for will drift away, not just from lack of attention, but for the lack of resolve. For a brief time, homeless people had places to stay, and food, and a health official, and protection against a pandemic. But that’s just it – for a time, not for good.
It’s not just about governments finding the means; it’s about us – citizens, the true agents of change in this country – doing what we did in an emergency but building it out in a system of social protection. This country’s systemic shortage of affordable housing and rent-geared to income opportunities has been decades in the making and is in the process of flattening out for the long term.
The answer to homelessness is homes – places that are secure, surrounded by supports, and, more than anything, integral parts of every community. This isn’t beyond us, but it just doesn’t seem to be within us.
But for a time, the COVID time, we did in days what we hadn’t in decades. It was doable. It was sociable. It was commendable. And it was right – as all policy should be and to which every community should aspire and pursue.
In truth, we were facing two pandemics at the same time – one that we tolerated for a long time, since it only affected some, and the other came to us like a thief in the night, threatening us all. The former we permitted to permeate our communities, the second we focused on like a laser. It was governments, moving swiftly and with dispatch, but can citizens pull together to urge their representative and business leaders to maintain that energy until long-term solutions are implemented? The short-sighted always blame government; the truly accountable look at themselves.
If COVID teaches us anything about homelessness, it’s that we didn’t have it right. Yet, in a period of just a couple of weeks we implemented solutions with alacrity and compassion with energy. We know what has to be done; we’ve always known. The problem is that we just didn’t want to collectively sacrifice to make it happen. But we acted when our entire communities were at risk – showing that it not only can be done, but that we could do it inclusively.
Homelessness is not a problem; it is a choice. For years we made that choice by noticing it, bemoaning it, and doing little about it. Then, in a remarkably short time, we did something about it and, for a bright moment, were taught the lesson that only a society can defeat homelessness. Did we learn that lesson? The next number of months will tell.
