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40 Quotes That Will Open Your Eyes About Homelessness
Be Inspired To Act
Published August 14, 2020
Homelessness is something that many people witness but very few are willing to talk about. Even in mainstream media, homeless people are either vilified or glorified. But very few tackle how it really is to become homeless.
In truth, homelessness is a perpetual shame of humanity. It’s a tragedy that there are people who own so many houses they have to hire someone to keep track of it for them. And yet, some people have to sleep on the sidewalk because they can’t afford rent.
Unfortunately, not a lot of people realize this. The common notion is that homelessness is somewhat a choice. That the homeless deserve what they are going through because they didn’t study hard or look for a job. But no, it isn’t like that at all.
There is so much more to homelessness than what the world is telling you. To give you a much better perspective, here are 40 homeless quotes that will open your eyes to the truth about this tragedy:
- We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty – Mother Teresa
- When life gets hard, try to remember: the life you complain about is only a dream to some people – Anonymous
- Home is a notion that only nations of the homeless fully appreciate and only the uprooted comprehend. – Wallace Stegner
- My life was a wandering; I never had a homeland. It was a matter of being constantly tossed about, without rest; nowhere, and never did I find a home. – Jan Amos Komensky
- A castaway in the sea was going down for the third time when he caught sight of a passing ship. Gathering his last strength, he waved frantically and called for help. Someone on board peered at him scornfully and shouted back, “Get a boat!” – Daniel Quinn
- It takes a society to combat homelessness, and a strong nation to fight poverty – Wayne Chirisa
- Nowhere in the bible did it say, “Only show compassion and empathy to those you can trust.” If we did that, we would be burying homeless people every day. – Shannon L. Adler
- Let your love be the kindness to make a homeless person believe that a soul needs something more than just four walls and a ceiling. – Munia Khan
- There are millions of homeless people in the world because humanity does not have a proper conscience! – Mehmet Murat Ildan
- Home was never a dream for homeless people as they used to have their homes. Living in a home was their reality. Now we need to help them to find the lost reality – again. – Munia Khan
- Treat him as a friend and save a life – A homeless man is not a leper. – Sir Kristian Goldmund Aumann
- Like you, I know people who drink, people who do drugs, and bosses who have tantrums and treat their subordinates like dirt. They all have good jobs. Were they to become homeless, some of them would surely also become ‘alcoholics,’ ‘addicts,’ or ‘mentally ill. – Elliot Liebow
- Homelessness is not a choice, but rather a journey that many find themselves in. – Asa Don Brown
- Escaping poverty among the physical barriers is difficult, but with the added emotional toll, it’s almost impossible. It’s not as simple as we’d like to think. – Terence Lester
- Homeless exist because billionaires exist. In polarity, there is extreme poverty and extreme wealth. Bridge the gap between the two and you will find balance and an earth that will survive the threat of humanity’s self-imposed climate change. Earth is a reflection of humanity. – Deborah Bravandt
- We live in a world where there is so much wealth. There shouldn’t be a homeless person. That’s crazy. – Raheem De Vaughn
- You can spend money on new housing for poor people and the homeless, or you can spend it on a football stadium or a golf course. – Jello Biafra
- Most people never really sat down and got to know a homeless person but every homeless person is just a real person that was created by God and it is the same kind of different as us; they just have a different story. – Ron Hall
19. The worst poverty isn’t about not having enough money to survive. Real poverty is when there is no one in the world who loves you. When there is no other human to make you feel like you matter. As if you aren’t worth the air you breathe. Poverty of love is the worst thing you can be deprived of. – Paige Dearth
20. Homelessness is not just about having a job or an apartment. Too often homelessness is due to a disordered mind. – Danielle Steel
21. After all, a homeless man has reason to cry, everything in the world is pointed against him. – Jack Kerouac
22. Before you ignore another homeless person on the street, just remember that that could be someone’s father or someone’s mother and they have a story. – Syesha Mercado
23. Most homeless kids are on the streets because they have been forced by circumstances that cause them to think that they are safer there than in any home they once knew. – Jewel
24. To save a life is a real and beautiful thing. To make a home for the homeless, yes, it is a thing that must be good; whatever the world may say, it cannot be wrong. – Vincent Van Gogh
25. Poverty is the mother of crime. – Marcus Aurelius
26. When we bear witness when we become the situation — homelessness, poverty, illness, violence, death — the right action arises by itself. – Bernie Glassman
27. Don’t try to drive the homeless into places we find suitable. Help them survive in places they find suitable. – Daniel Quinn
28. People will sooner aid a sick dog lying on the sidewalk than to try to find shelter for a sick person. It’s too much to deal with. – Michael Zaslow
29. One of the toughest jobs we have is convincing some people that we’re not making up this problem. The homeless out here may be harder to see, but they are all around, right beneath the surface. – Dottie Kastigar
30. The world of the homeless is a tough and interesting world. – Paul Dano
31. To those who are struggling. To talk about a struggle, you’re likely to forget about it. To be shown a struggle, you’re likely not to forget it. But, to live through a struggle, you’ll understand it. – Valerie Owens
32. Homelessness is not the result of not having a house, it’s a lack of a soul in a body. – Goitsemang Mvula
33. There is a lot that happens around the world we cannot control. We cannot stop earthquakes, we cannot prevent droughts, and we cannot prevent all conflict, but when we know where the hungry, the homeless and the sick exist, then we can help. – Jan Schakowsky
34. Freedom is meaningless if people cannot put food in their stomachs, if they can have no shelter, if illiteracy and disease continue to dog them. – Nelson Mandela
35. People who are homeless are not social inadequates. They are people without homes. – Sheila McKechnie
36. Not everyone who’s homeless is a drug-addict or in need of mental health care. Some are normal people who’ve been knocked down, and it can happen to you too. Not all of us made bad life choices. – Sherrilyn Kenyon
37. If sometimes our poor people have had to die of starvation, it is not that God didn’t care for them, but because you and I didn’t give, were not an instrument of love in the hands of God, to give them that bread, to give them that clothing; because we did not recognize him, when once more Christ came in distressing disguise, in the hungry man, in the lonely man, in the homeless child, and seeking for shelter. - Mother Teresa
38. There’s no reason someone who has fought for their country should be homeless or jobless. – Chris Kyle
39. Seven out of ten Americans are one paycheck away from being homeless. – Pras Michel
40. These things become the norm: that some homeless people die of cold on the streets is not news. In contrast, a ten-point drop in the stock markets of some cities is a tragedy. – Pope Francis
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Publisher's Note:
The overwhelming data in this article is drawn from public and private sources in the public domain. In other words, the data is available to anyone who puts forth a reasonable effort to look for it. In terms of your research, you can go "light, heavy or deep. I would estimate my interest level on this topic is extremely high. My level of effort of research for this article was "medium." This data was assembled from sources that drew their information as it was available before COVID-19 and does not accurately reflect the current state of homelessness in America. This data will not be fully updated until late 2022 or early 2023, leaving a significant hole in available knowledge on homelessness.