NewsWhy “just get a job” misses the point about people experiencing homelessness
”Just get a job and start working.” We’ve all heard it by now, this seemingly to-the-point statement that ultimately overlooks the complex realities that people experiencing homelessness face every day. It’s easy to make these broad, sweeping generalizations about people experiencing homelessness, but it’s much harder to actually rebuild your life.
At Fred Victor, we are committed to helping people rebuild their lives. We see firsthand how intersecting stigma and systemic barriers make it difficult to leave homelessness without meaningful support. Barriers to employment for people experiencing homelessness are compounded by internal issues such as physical and mental health challenges, external issues such as industry biases and stigma, and systemic social issues such as the high unemployment rate and lack of affordable housing.
Let’s break down some of the reasons why “just get a job” misses the point about people experiencing homelessness.
Barriers to employment for people experiencing homelessness
When you’re experiencing homelessness, you’re forced into survival mode. You must meet your immediate needs—eating food, sleeping, staying safe and alive—before you can focus on anything else. Unfortunately, even meeting the bare minimum of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can consume all of your time.
Just think of how many times you may have bought a donut simply to use a café’s bathroom, or called an Uber to the restaurant because you were too hungry to wait for the TTC, or fell asleep in fresh sheets after a warm shower. These conveniences are unavailable to people experiencing homelessness.
Instead, you may have to walk with all your possessions, so they don’t get stolen on your way to a food bank or meal program and wait for your turn. Businesses are not typically welcoming towards you if you need a moment of respite. You may sleep outside, prone to the elements and wary of potential assaults.
The instability and stigma associated with homelessness can erode self-esteem and social skills, leaving people isolated and disconnected from society. Homelessness makes it incredibly difficult to maintain the daily routine necessary to meet job responsibilities.
It doesn’t exactly make for conducive conditions for job applicants. Let’s say despite all these factors weighing on you and stressing you out, you manage to print out or otherwise distribute hundreds of resumes and get called back for an interview. Assuming of course that you have a phone which they can call you back on, that you’ve managed to pay your minutes for that month, and no one has stolen it from you.
What clothes will you wear to the interview if you can’t afford to go to the laundromat? Where will you be able to shower, brush your teeth, and shave or do your hair before the interview? Maybe the interviewer will look past that superficial stuff…
This is of course assuming that outside of not having a home (a pretty major caveat) you are otherwise not experiencing other issues like mental health challenges, addiction, or fleeing abuse and violence. These are disproportionately experienced by people experiencing homelessness and make it more difficult to secure employment.
Stigmatization of homelessness
When people say generalizations like “people experiencing homelessness should just get a job” there’s often a caveat. They’ll say, “oh, well I don’t mean people with a disability that makes them unable to work, or someone fleeing abuse, etc.” The implication being that there is a right and a wrong way to experience homelessness, these statements playing into negative stereotypes.
There’s no way to tell just from looking at someone what their story is. So, when people who say “just get a job” see someone experiencing homelessness, are they keeping an open mind about the nuances of homelessness, or are they exhibiting bias?
Many employers do not want to hire people experiencing homelessness because of the negative stereotypes that statements like “just get a job” play into — that people experiencing homelessness are lazy or inept. It’s just not accurate.
Many people ARE working…but the housing isn’t there.
Despite these factors, many people experiencing homelessness are working. They have jobs. They just can’t afford rent, which is skyrocketing. The lack of affordable housing cannot be ignored. Affordable housing is a critical part of the solution.
Critics often overlook the fact that shelters and housing programs are stretched thin. In cities like Toronto, shelters are at capacity every night, and many are turned away. At the same time, rising rents and living costs make it nearly impossible for those on Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program, or in low-wage jobs to secure permanent housing.
Without stable housing and adequate support, the cycle of homelessness and unemployment persists. The housing crisis is a structural issue that requires coordinated, thoughtful solutions.
A holistic housing first approach to homelessness
Fred Victor takes a housing first approach to supporting people experiencing homelessness. Housing first offers unconditional, permanent housing as quickly as possible to people experiencing homelessness, and other supportive services as needed. That’s because we understand the facts. When people have a safe place to live, they can focus on other areas of their lives, including finding employment opportunities.
Rather than focusing solely on employment as the solution to homelessness, we advocate for a comprehensive approach that includes affordable housing, health care, and wraparound supports. Housing is a critical first step. We are committed to working with government and community partners to tackle these challenges and create solutions that leave no one behind.
Fred Victor helps people rebuild their lives. We’ve been working in Toronto for 130 years. We provide housing, respites, shelters, laundry programs, employment and training services, supervised consumption services, meal programs, mental health supports, drop-ins and community programs, and so much more, all to help people rebuild their lives. Every day we see people come out of homelessness not through being rudely told to “just get a job” but by being supported along their journey with the building blocks they need to thrive.
Yes, real change requires hard work. But hard work isn’t easy, overly simplistic idioms. Hard work is coming together in empathy and in community—it’s the labour of love inherent in caring about other people.
