At the heart of compassion is empathy—the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. Empathy allows us to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes, even when we haven’t lived their experiences. As Leo Tolstoy once said, “If you feel pain, you are alive. If you feel other people’s pain, you are a human being.”
That’s why I have been troubled by some of the recent national conversations about homelessness. When public figures suggest that people who are homeless should simply be forced into treatment—or worse, that they should be eliminated altogether—it sends a harmful message. These are human beings we’re talking about. People who are someone’s child, sibling, parent, or friend.
The truth is that homelessness is complicated, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Only about a quarter of people experiencing homelessness live with severe mental illness. Some struggle with substance use. Some are veterans. Many are simply people who have fallen on hard times and lost stable housing.
Here in Kansas, there aren’t enough treatment facilities to meet the current need. And by law, people can only be hospitalized against their will if they are at imminent risk of harming themselves or others. That means sweeping policies to force people into institutions aren’t realistic—and more importantly, they aren’t effective.
Even as it is called into question at the federal level, research continues to show that Housing First works. When people have a safe and stable place to live, they are better able to work on recovery, health, and employment. It is also less costly than jail or emergency care and far more moral than leaving people on the streets without options.
At Wyandot Behavioral Health Network, compassion is at the center of everything we do. As we continue to address homelessness, my hope is that we never lose sight of empathy. Because every person deserves dignity, safety, and a place to call home.