Ham & Bread | Rejecting Stigmas, pt 1

“Could I ask you for a dollar? Anything helps,” I turned to see who was asking. A man in his car, with the hatchback open where he was sitting, stopping passersby outside of the grocery store. It appeared he was living in his vehicle. A pillow and blanket were neatly folded in the backseat, and several grocery bags and empty food containers shared the space in the back.

Bread and lunch meat, not one thing more.

I didn’t have cash, so I offered to pay for a few items in the store, to which he agreed. As we walked in together, he mentioned something about the hot food bar. “I’ll meet you at the register when we’re both done,” I said, respecting his autonomy to shop the store.

Ten minutes or so had passed and as I approached the check stand, he emerges and hands me a loaf of bread and a pack of lunch meat, the store brand kind (read: inexpensive). He selected no condiments, no chips, and no drink to go with it. No lettuce, no tomato. No sign of the hot food, either. I didn’t want to make things awkward but I really wanted to ask him, “Is that it? Is that all you want?”

I didn’t say a word, and quietly proceeded to place the items on the conveyor belt.

When cities and states throughout the country criminalize homelessness, this experience makes me want to highlight that much needs to be done to reject stigmas around extending help to your neighbor, who happens to be unhoused. Some of the common misconceptions relate to the assumption of laziness or belief that the individual will take advantage of assistance given, which in this experience, it simply was not the case. It would be all too easy (and completely unfair!) to accuse someone of “abusing” the system when public assistance cannot be used for even the most basic necessities like diapers, anyway.

There have been studies conducted around unconditional spending, based on the premise that, “if individuals were given free money, how would they choose to spend it?”Through these cash aid pilot programs, where recipients receive $500 to $1,000 a month* for 1-2 years, funds were used for:

• groceries and household items

• medical expenses

• fixing a broken furnace

• car repairs

*Source: https://www.npr.org/2024/03/05/1233440910/cash-aid-guaranteed-basic-income-social-safety-net-poverty

Disclaimer: always assess your surroundings and personal safety before extending help. This post speaks from personal experience where there has never been an issue in helping another person. I do not have a crystal ball to know what your situation will look like, so exercise common sense.