Depression, job loss, addiction, abuse – physical and emotional, veterans of war, the death of a spouse or a child, physical or emotional handicaps, mental illness….

These are some of the reasons people can end up homeless. I’m sure I haven’t named all
the possible reasons.

When the breadwinner of a household dies, what is a family to do – especially if they
weren’t that financially well off, to begin with? How do you support an entire household when
you are grief-stricken from loss and you’ve lost your supporting income?

Hospitalization without health insurance or limited insurance and unable to return to
work.

Did you know there is such a thing as Financial Abuse? According to the U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services, financial abuse is typically interwoven with physical
and/or emotional abuse. This form of abuse occurs when one intimate partner has control over
the other partner’s access to economic resources, which diminishes the victim’s capacity to
support themselves and forces them to depend on the perpetrator financially. (womenshealth.gov,
2023)

Sadly, many Veterans return from their service with PTSD or addictions, or other health
problems often compounded by a lack of family or social support networks. Military training
and occupations are not always transferable to the civilian workforce, placing some Veterans at a
disadvantage when seeking employment.

These are just a few very good scenarios that can lead a life or an entire family down a
spiraling path to homelessness. No one envisions homelessness in the future. We all imagine a
life well lived – the happily ever after. Sometimes it’s due to poor choices and other times it’s
due to a terrible twist of fate.

We lay our heads down at night to leave the day’s problems behind and re-visit them in
the morning after a full night’s sleep. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes hearing about the
misfortune of others to fine-tune and freshen our perspective.

Where does one even begin to turn life back around again? How does it happen? At that
point, so much requires addressing that even considering it simply beats one down even more
with overwhelm.

These circumstances can, many times, bring about shame and prevent a person from
seeking or accepting help from loved ones. Unfortunately, people sometimes make their
circumstances worse by pushing their support system away due to shame, or many don’t even
have loved ones or a support system to turn to.

Thankfully, there are resources that will feed, clothe, and provide shelter for the
homeless. Above and beyond these essentials, there are organizations that also work with
individuals and families to rehabilitate them back into society. We are all human. We’ve all
made poor choices or experienced a terrible twist of fate. It’s good to know that second chances
at life are available to those that are ready for it and willing to take the steps needed to get back
on track.

References
Financial abuse. Financial abuse | Office on Women’s Health. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12,
2023, from
https://www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/other-types/financial-abuse

Problems don’t discriminate. Insecurities don’t discriminate. We are ALL flawed.

Many famous and highly accomplished people have insecurities, addictions, mental illness, and various other circumstances that they struggle with just like you and me. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You have beautiful qualities, and that is what you have to embrace about yourself. We are all flawed, and what best helps when dealing with the flaws is a sense of humor. Our flaws make us unique. They do not make us failures.

Trust me, I have countless quirks, but no one can laugh at me as much as I can. I do things on a daily basis that I catch myself and say that I should not be behaving that way. I am human. What is important is that I acknowledge it. I am aware. The greater we make our awareness, the less and less we will behave in a way that is undesirable.

It is not a sign of weakness or failure to admit to yourself or someone else that you were wrong about something or behaved poorly. It is not a sign of weakness to apologize for a wrong doing. It is very courageous, very honorable, and it shows great compassion toward whomever you have wronged. You will free yourself when you express an admission or apology to someone else. They will also feel valued by you for your act of apology. Please also remember that YOU count in the act of an apology. Sometimes we even wrong ourselves. Sometimes we owe ourselves an apology for the way we have mistreated ourselves. Wrong doings can be projected onto someone else, or we can place them on ourselves.

It’s important to realize that life comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, cultures, and so on. The point is that we all have value. We ALL matter. We are all here for a reason. We have something to contribute.

Be a good person, realize your flaws. Realize your blunders. Learn from them, and keep moving forward to be the best YOU that you can be.

This month’s challenge: Swallow your pride, and say your sorry whether it is to yourself for treating yourself badly or to someone else for mistreating them. Own your actions.
It’s normal to feel small for having to apologize. That is the point. When we do something we know was wrong, then we are ashamed. It’s like a biological punishment to ourselves when we feel shame. We know we are wrong about something, and therefore, we carry shame inside for it. Own your actions by apologizing, and release the shame. You will feel so much better about yourself for having done so.

I invite you to post your experiences or thoughts about this challenge. Possibly you can help to encourage someone else, or someone else may have some encouraging words for you.

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