What Americans Believe About Homelessness
Story By Robert Davis
Photo By Giles Clasen
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A report by Invisible People (IP), a national homeless advocacy organization, found Americans generally agree that homelessness is an urgent problem.
Researchers surveyed more than 2,500 respondents in 16 cities to better understand how the public perceives messages of homelessness. Their report focused on four main categories: how the public views homelessness, drivers of negative sentiment, effective messages, and segmenting audiences by homelessness attitudes.
According to the 50-page document, left-leaning women tend to hold more sympathetic views while right-leaning men are more likely to hold punitive views. Respondents also generally associate those experiencing homelessness as being “in need” and “victims.”
However, only half of respondents said they feel comfortable being around homeless persons. Another 59 percent said they feel powerless to help the homeless, and 62 percent reported feeling guilty.
“While issues of income and affordability are part of the conversation, the visibility of addiction and mental illness gives them an outsized role in the public imagination,” the report concludes. “The result is a major gap between the public conversation on homelessness and discussions happening in homelessness policy and research spaces.”
An overwhelming majority of respondents said their attitude toward homelessness is formed by local news and/or what they see on the streets. Similarly, 56 percent of respondents said at least one of these two factors into their considerations.
There was also a cluster point of data concerning social media, word of mouth, local newspapers, and national news outlets that suggests each one plays an interdependent role.
Researchers found public policies and high populations of unsheltered residents can reinforce negative sentiments about homelessness as well. This is part of the reason respondents were sharply divided on which neighborhoods should be involved in providing housing assistance.
“While opposition to treatment and housing policies is minimal, enforcement-driven homelessness policies are more controversial. Harsher criminal laws, additional policing, and forced mental health treatment all generated much greater opposition than policies that provide housing and healthcare,” the report says.
Another divisive issue was support for enforcement-based solutions to homelessness. A majority of respondents opposed increasing criminal laws, but 49 percent support involuntary psychiatric treatment, and 46 percent obligations to take shelter.
In general, Americans believe homelessness is a growing issue. 73 percent of respondents said they believe homelessness is increasing where they live and 67 percent said COVID-19 has made it a more pressing issue to solve.
But, the narrative that those experiencing homelessness are generally substance abusers and mentally ill is a key driver of backlash and “not-in-my-back-yard” (NIMBY) attitudes.
Compared to those who see financial issues and lack of affordable housing as the top causes of homelessness, people who focus on addiction are twice as likely to support sweeping encampments and worry about people committing crimes.
To combat this narrative, the research team utilized 12 story tones to gauge what captured the public’s attention. Four tones the researchers found most effective were sad, informative, sympathetic, and realistic stories.
Thus, IP says those experiencing homelessness make great self-advocates because they “can relate to audiences and share a sympathetic story, while also grounding their message in the reality of their experiences.”
“Commonality messages that focus on humanizing homeless people provide a useful way to build empathy. Many express feelings of discomfort or fear around homeless people, but stories that create a sense of identification between homeless people and housed audiences can help bridge that gap,” the document says.
However, self-advocating is only half the battle. Solving homelessness also requires public officials to enact policies that support housing instead of criminalizing homelessness.
Researchers found there is wide support for humane solutions like expanding outreach, increasing permanent supportive housing, and adding rent control policies.
“There is a direct line between how the public views homelessness and the policy choices leaders make. Many blame homelessness on the person experiencing it rather than the shortage of affordable housing, lack of a living wage, childhood trauma, expensive and inaccessible health care, or the countless other reasons that make a person vulnerable to losing their home. This gap between public perceptions and reality creates a cycle of misunderstanding that reduces public support for the policies we need to solve this crisis,” the report concludes.