Working While Homeless and Its Challenges
- Power to the Youth Toronto
- Feb 6, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 11, 2023
Many people who experience homelessness want to be able to work, to support themselves and to get back on their feet. Unfortunately, there are many near-impossible barriers to overcome to gain employment while being homeless. Not having a functional, official home makes it incredibly difficult to even arrange for interviews and then to actually get to the working location.
One of the biggest barriers is not having a proper address, which makes official registration for employment nearly unfeasible. An address is found on almost all legal documents, including resumes which are required to even apply for a job. A lack of an address also affects other things, such as not being able to have a phone number, and a place to prepare for interviews. This can oftentimes inspire people to lie about where they are living, or to use a friend’s information, but this also puts them at risk for being prosecuted for lying on documents about their personal information. Many also feel ashamed and embarrassed when asked to explain why they don’t have an ID or a bank account. This extends to not having luxuries like cell phones and laptops, which subsequently makes it difficult for the employer to reach out and keep in contact with the employee.
Many jobs also require employees to maintain a certain image while working. This can be difficult for the homeless that won’t be able to have much to use to prepare and recover from a work day, and who may also have a hard time when it comes to cleanliness and hygiene since they have little proper access to amenities like showers and personal hygiene products.
Just being able to secure the job is unfortunately not the end of it for a homeless person. Many times it is very hard for them to even reach their target location, since they often live far away from where they may be working, and have little access to cars or public transportation, both of which are expensive. Oftentimes everyday journeys are long and unpleasant, which contributes even more to their struggles.
Disabilities are something that many people struggle with, and yet that difficulty is amplified for the homeless. Being potentially unable to pay for required specialized equipment and/ or treatment can bar people from being able to land jobs, especially if someone is hindered by disabilities that may lead to them facing prejudice and biased treatment.
Prejudice exists not only in disability, but also in the assumption that every homeless person is addicted to drugs. This often prevents employers from even being willing to consider hiring a homeless person, since they assume they are flaky and may use all their income to fund an addiction. Not all homeless people are actually struggling with drug addictions, but it is a common barrier faced when vying for employment.
Being homeless already makes applying for and successfully being hired for a job difficult, but many also face the additional challenge of being young or underage. They are discriminated against for their age, with people thinking they have little to no skills or education and cannot be relied upon. The problem there is that many homeless children need these jobs just as much if not more than many adults; shelters often cater to an older majority and younger children are not assisted or given the guidance they may require, while still potentially trying to support their family/ people they know.
Some employers look at homeless people and see people they can hire without sticking to the same standards that they would abide by if the person had a more normal living situation. Because they already have a hard time getting a job, employers may leverage this fact and force employees to work in unpleasant, and unsafe situation, and may pay them lower than average (especially if it is more unofficial, short-term employment). This leads to worker exploitation, often just making the lives of the homeless person much harder than it should be.
An inability to find proper work or to establish an income often leads homeless people to be driven towards activities that are more stereotypically associated with their situation. These things include dealing/ drugs, stealing, scamming, etc. because they have no other options. This perpetuates a toxic cycle of homeless people being looked down upon for doing certain things, but then not being able to find a way to escape the situation that is causing them to do those things in the first place.
References:
Researcher: Jessica Yao
Editor: Katherin Hain
Date published: February 6th 2023
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