Homeless By Choice?

There are two schools of thought about homeless people. One thought is that some homeless people choose to be homeless. The other thought is that one would never choose to be homeless.

What's my thought on the subject? I truly believe people can and do choose to be or become homeless. I'm not saying everyone does but for some people it's a lifestyle for them. For others they have simply given up and decide to stop trying.

Look, people choose to do a lot of things that make little or no sense to most people. There are people that choose to go to prison, or choose to murder someone they love, or choose to take their own lives. Life is full of choices. Why should I judge a man that chooses to be homeless and it makes him happy?

I've heard people say that this is impossible. Nobody would ever choose to be homeless. Well let me put it another way then. There are people in this world that live in huge mega mansions and drive luxury cars. Those people could never imagine living in a small 1 bedroom apartment and driving a beat-up old car. But millions of people live this way and are perfectly happy. It's just a different standard of living.

I'm not saying being homeless is a great life but for some it suits them just fine. I have talked to many homeless people that don't want to leave the streets. They don't want to be told when to get up in the morning. They don't want the responsibility of a job or any responsibilities at all. They don't want to worry about paying bills.

Then there's the homeless that are drifters. They travel when they feel like it. They have nothing tying them down to one place. They are perfectly happy moving on when they get bored.

I know what you are thinking, "How can you know what they really want or what they are really thinking?"

I know because I've been there. I'm not saying I would choose to be homeless forever but there is a real freedom to being homeless that our society just can't comprehend. I'm not saying it's for everyone, because it isn't, but some people don't mind not having a home. I've been there. When I got off the streets the first time I actually missed being homeless. I missed my friends from the streets. They were like the family I never had. I gave up a room I was renting, a full-time job and got a ride back to California so I could live on the beach again. Maybe it wasn't the smartest of moves but I was happy to be with my "family" again.

Now that my health is bad I don't want to be homeless. But if my health was good I really wouldn't have a real problem with it. I would love the chance to have my health and start my life over again from the bottom. I call it a vacation from life. Only someone that has been here would ever understand this concept.

I have met homeless people that have had every opportunity to get off the streets and have either declined the offer or ended up being homeless again within a few short months.

I don't wish homelessness on anyone. I know there are people really suffering out here. I see them every day. There are many that don't choose this. But there are some that do and people need to keep an open mind about this when dealing with the homeless. Some people call it laziness, I call it a lifestyle.