Grief & Homelessness
Let 's talk about grief. Homelessness has been associated with many emotional outcomes, including grief and loss (Versey et al., 2019). Though grief is a natural response to overwhelming challenges and loss, grief that goes unchecked and unrelenting can become chronic (Cacha et al., 2019). According to Singg (2015), chronic grief is defined as “when the bereaved continue to exhibit normal grief reactions for an extended period without coming to a satisfactory resolution, the grief becomes chronic” (p. 542). The indicators of grief are varied and contingent upon the degree of the traumatic experience and are manifested by difficulty in engaging and lack of interest in things, places, or people. Grief symptomatology is often confused with psychological disorders in the following four categories of affective, somatic, cognitive, or behavioral symptoms (Simon, 2013). According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-V) criteria, these disorders are defined as affective disorders, including major depressive bipolar, and anxiety. Chronic prolonged grief and bereavement contributes to acute distress mentally, affecting other aspects of one's life (Currier et al., 2009; Simon, 2013).
Chronic Homelessness and Loss
The research literature indicates that chronically homeless people experience significant loss and that sense of loss has emotional repercussions, but little is known about the experiences of non-pathological grief and loss of chronically homeless people. Chronically homeless individuals have lost their homes (Soederberg, 2018). Often that is related to the loss of employment (Barile et al., 2018). Homelessness has been related to the loss of good health (Brush et al., 2018; Cohen et al., 2016). Many homeless have lost touch with significant loved ones, and it can be challenging to maintain relationships while homeless, so homeless people may feel isolated (Speer, 2018) and detached (Whitehead et al., 2018). These losses can compound and exact an emotional toll.
Chronic homelessness and loss involve a component not only related to the tangible but also the intangible. For homeless individuals, the tangible and intangible aspects of life involve security, stability, and identity that comes with knowing one has no place to live (Johnstone et al., 2015). The missing tangible support of family and social systems relates to a sense of loss in this population (Gauvin et al., 2019). For instance, the ties of family and community relationships of the homeless are often fragmented because of the stigma and embarrassment of being homeless (Baumohl, 1996; Welsh & Abel-Samad, 2018). The tangible also relates to the loss of beliefs of attachment and belongingness in society (Addo, 2018). Social isolation and dissociation from being homeless have adverse consequences central to both emotional and physical well-being (Hasson-Ohayon et al., 2017; Petrovich & Cronley, 2015). For example, compared to being employed and housed, one has a sense of identity and stability; however, the loss of family and community connections can alienate the homeless because of the associated stigma.
Next week we will talk about some of the causes and consequences of homelessness. Until then family, let's join together to make the world a better place in which we all must live!
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