Uncomfortably Numb
In our street medicine program, Project HOPE long recognized that there were three times as many males experiencing homelessness as there were females. Or so it seemed. Over time, we discovered that there were, in fact, as many homeless females as homeless males. So, we began to take a closer look into females experiencing homelessness.
According to the National Homelessness Law Center, domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness in women, yet we weren’t seeing the numbers of women we would expect to see in the camps and shelters. The hard, dark reality is that our unhoused female friends were trading sex for shelter – a side of homelessness that usually goes unseen for those that don’t have feet on the street.
Imagine being a woman arriving at a homeless shelter or provider, having no friends or anyone you can trust. Imagine trying to gather information and resources to help yourself out, having never been homeless before. I have attempted to imagine what it would be like to experience this, to be unable to secure a shelter bed, where my next option would be to sleep outside. I can imagine that I would be afraid - for personal safety, of being raped, or of being killed. This is a reality for our unhoused female friends, fearing all these things, along with fear of becoming pregnant, of not knowing where to use the bathroom, of trying to manage menstruation while unhoused, of losing their children due to homelessness. It could be easy to stand in judgement of a woman who would trade sex for shelter, until standing in her shoes. What do you think you would do in this situation?
How does one cope with making a decision such as this? Project HOPE sees firsthand how many of these women cope. They self-medicate, numbing themselves through drugs and/or alcohol. The long-term problem is that our unsheltered sisters not only numb the bad emotions; they are in effect numbing them all. Through this, they dull their emotional pain and trauma as well as their happiness, lessening the potential for future success, reunification with their children, and fulfillment.
Project HOPE sees our unhoused sisters for a variety of issues and ailments including hygiene needs, black eyes and bruises, STDs, and emotional trauma. We attempt to meet each woman at their level, applying the salve of healing, dressed in a blanket of love. We listen, attempt to understand, and offer encouragement. With future encounters we work to empower. It is only through relationship building and time that we see a small margin of success. We often find that these women come from a history of trauma early in life or young adulthood. We offer onsite medical and mental health treatment and bridge them to primary care providers that will work to continue to remove the layers of pain and trauma that they are trying to numb.
Project HOPE is in need of the following hygiene items for our unsheltered female friends: sanitary napkins (all sizes), tampons (all sizes), feminine wash, powder, spray, feminine wipes, small waste bags, and bags to discreetly carry these items. Please contact Crystal at 304-639-7443 to arrange a pick up.