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Confronting Assumptions & Identities about Homelessness

What do we assume about displaced individuals?

Who is homeless? Can you tell by how they look, their occupation, where they sleep? When encountering a homeless individual, what do you assume?

Since June 2020, poverty has skyrocketed, leaving many families homeless. Clicking on this image will take you to the Poverty Risk Calculator by ConfrontingPoverty.org that will determine your risk for falling into poverty.

The general public encounters homelessness in two ways: through meeting homeless individuals in their community and through the coverage of homelessness in mass media. Because of this, one way people might respond when confronted with homelessness is the association of violence, the consumption of illicit drugs or alcohol, among other assumptions.

To break these stigmas, homelessness should be viewed as a circumstance, rather than an identity. Titles such as Brother, Teacher, or Artist are part of our everyday identities, and putting those identities first helps to break the stigma of homelessness and create space for homeless individuals to meet their basic needs.

By clicking on the calculator in the image, you can find out what your risk of falling into poverty is. Factors that increase vulnerability to homelessness include race, age, and existing or prior mental illness. If you or someone you love are at risk of or experiencing homelessness, experts recommend that you reach out to your community’s Continuum of Care (COC), and increase your mental health literacy by learning how to detect and intervene if you experience mental illness.





Identity, Art, and Mental Health


This picture is the ArtSpace logo. In the background, a family holds hands. They are covered in the foreground by stylized letters that say art space and an orange flower. Learn more about artspace at homefrontnj.org


Homefront is an organization that provides New Jersey families with the tools to break the cycle of poverty and advocate for their basic needs.


At Homefront, they believe to break out of poverty and thrive in a community, individuals need a healthy mindset along with physical safety and stability. Through their public program Artspace, Homefront NJ offers displaced artists a space to create, breathe, and see themselves in a new light.


Homefront artists created the images below, and have exhibited them in galleries all over the state of New Jersey. You can support these artists and Homefront by purchasing a set of postcards with these images, or by donating to the organization. Just $25 – can provide supplies for one week of art classes for 15 homeless women!


To learn about and support the Artspace artists at HomeFront, click on the images below.


This image includes art by various ArtSpace artists, which are on sale as a set of postcards. You can purchase these postcards by contacting RuthannT@homefrontnj.org or 609-883-7500 x 316.






 




Learn more


Resources for mental health and housing insecurity in New Jersey



Learn more about local and national statistics on homelessness and other forms of material insecurity, and how they relate to mental health, on the next page.

																				

					

				

				

									

			

		


 














	
	
		


	

	














	

























	
	


		


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