Mayna Vessia- Libraries and Homelessness

To establish a foundation of understand on the topic of homelessness, specifically homelessness in America, it’s important to speak as factually as possible about this population of people. Public libraries are increasingly serving these individuals for any number of reasons, but its libraries’ ethical duty to uphold to the values of public service, as homelessness becomes more severe within communities across the country. 

There are several different types of homelessness. Most people that find themselves homeless are those that are classified as either transitionally homeless or episodically homeless. Transitional homelessness occurs when an individual is met with a circumstance that results in temporary loss of shelter, a major life change or catastrophic event, can result in transitional homelessness. Episodic homelessness results when a person experiences a series of transitional homelessness within a year, often affecting individuals with health issues or addiction. Episodic homelessness can result in chronic homelessness, which is the most well-known of the types of homelessness, where a person is homeless for more than a year. 

After establishing a basic understanding of the most common types of homelessness, it’s important to evaluate the library’s role when serving the homeless population. The fundamental values of the library are set to serve the public by providing resources, materials, and services to all individuals within a community without bias or judgment. Understanding the subgroups of homelessness is very important to grasp when talking about homelessness and how libraries and library workers are tasked to approach these issues especially when faced with day-to-day operations. It is very possible that library workers may not even know a person is homeless, but it’s when they are challenged to work with chronically homeless individuals, who are likely to have multiple issues ranging from severe mental/physical health problems, addiction, etc., when homelessness becomes more identifiable and severe. 

What should library worker be aware of with the homeless population? Homelessness is exhausting. Homeless individuals constantly have their guard up and are thinking about the next step to survival, like thinking about where their next meal is coming from and where/when they will be able to sleep. The physical toll of walking everywhere, the emotional drain of survival, and the inescapable surrounds of living in public areas is exhaustive and not many people can understand the full range of what it means to be homeless. The library can thus be a tempting place to settle down, to pass the time and ease the mind. Being educated by understanding more realistically about the perspective of homeless individuals is a major step in knowing how to serve within a public library and thus the community, as well.

For more information visit: A Librarian's Guide to Homelessness or Homeless Library website