A very good movie was recently released to the world called Nomadland.
For the people who love the life of the nomad, I imagine the movie is 100% inspirational, which I credit to Mr. Bob Wells who, along with a couple other people representing themselves, features prominently in the movie. It isn’t all solitude and good times, but the Van-Dweller community helps each other navigate the unpredictable currents of living without a house. There is an authenticity among them, good humour amidst real life. There is a lot of solitude in this life, and for many people, solitude makes it all worthwhile.
I watch stories like this with a little bit of dread. I fear such a life is my own future, and as a person who lives with chronic pain, is unable to stand long or walk far, and deals with a lot of discomfort even living in my cozy and convenient little apartment, I watch with an eye to that. How would I provide for myself the six different spots I need to sleep through a night? How would I accommodate the delicate balance between relative health and a flare up?
I think to people who do not even have the luxury of owning a vehicle. When they lose their housing they have to move it outside.
It’s a vulnerable position to be in.
Maybe a person is living paycheque to paycheque now, but owns some very nice things from before. The person might get evicted because their landlord has other plans for the place. Since they have very little money, they also have very few options. Maybe they don’t have any friends cuz they were starting over after a disaster in their previous life. Maybe they will be lucky enough to have money to rent a secure storage unit for their things, or maybe there is a waiting list for storage units and they find themselves desperately searching for a place to store all their things.
They need to keep working, they keep looking for a new place to rent, but housing is scarce. So maybe they need to find a hidden outdoor spot where they can hide their belongings under tarp and sleep. And maybe, while the newly unhoused person is sleeping, or at work, people living in houses close by are poking through the makeshift camp, thinking it garbage. Maybe they lift up the tarp and poke around the treasures, taking pictures for social media in case it is stolen goods.
What would be the best place to find oneself when you find yourself in this situation?
I think about it sometimes. I try to prepare for it.
Housing is a problem, and I don’t see it getting better anytime soon. It is a crisis that affects more people than I can imagine.
It is very hard to get to work, look professional and be up to the task when you are living in a leaky old camper without plumbing or electricity and most of your belongings are 5kms away in storage.
For those with poor health from disease or addiction, it is very hard to get the help you need if you do not have a home to call your own. To get help or a job we need ID. To get ID we need an address. To have an address we need a home. To get a home we need a job.
I like the direction Medicine Hat took with homelessness. I hope that more cities can do something like that for their citizens, and their success inspires my own vision.
All people need a secure place to store our things, our treasures accumulated over a lifetime. Either give it away, sell it, or find a place to put it. All people need a place to sleep, to eat, to wash up, to do laundry, to rest in privacy, to dispose of trash, to hook up to the internet, to charge devices, to visit, to enjoy hobbies, receive therapy and guidance, attempt to heal.
In addition to this, people in crisis need a place to plan our next steps, to figure out what resources are available to us and how to get at them. We might need an advocate or a case worker or a coach to guide us back to independence. We might need a home care nurse to help us care for our bodies illness. Maybe things aren’t going to improve, and we just need support to help us make it to the end of our lives.
All people need to feel safe.
When a person is vulnerable, this is a lonely world where you can lose everything you had in a heart beat.