Let's Get Clear on Homelessness

Isn't it true that when you think of homelessness your brain tricks you into picturing an older gentleman, maybe barefoot, in dirty, stinky, ragged clothing lying on the curb of a street, or begging at road crosses? 
You may know this is just one type of homelessness, but we generalize it to others when we hear the word homeless.
In addition to chronic homelessness, defined as being homeless for 1 year or longer, there are other categories you may want to learn about, as the statistics available, and allocated resources are different. Let’s take a look:​

A young regular woman can become a transitional homeless. This is one of our faces.

1. Episodic Homelessness- as the word suggests it is homelessness for on-and-off periods; or having been homeless 3 times or more within the last 12 months.

2. Transitional  Homelessness (our future residents)- This is the most common one, and involves short time (less than 12 months) homelessness. If left unaided, this has a large potential of becoming chronic. 
​Transitional homeless folks are regular people, like you and me, who were living paycheck to paycheck, but ended up losing their home due to unexpected situations. Because of the shame and guilt it carries, they end up sleeping in a car, couch surfing or staying in motels temporarily. 

The trauma-related physical and emotional symptoms such as anxiety, exhaustion, depression, suicidal thoughts, among others, also may prevent these human fellows to seek help.
It is why our transitional unsheltered people, have been called "invisibly homeless" and they are not seen on the streets nor  shelters, making statistics incomplete and unreliable. For example, even when it has been reported that there are 200,000 car dwellers at one point in time, we may be underestimating the count by a fair amount.​

With the new housing crisis the existing need for housing stability is unprecedented and much needed. Our co-sharing or co-living model can present a solution until the ongoing efforts to expand affordable housing results in housing stability.  Building a 14-BR home, expanding from small to large on vast acreage based on need, will bring the potential to embrace many vulnerable transitional unsheltered folks in Orlando, get them back to their normalcy through a transformative trauma-sensitive journey,  and with the additional outcome of preventing chronic homelessness!  
​Linking arms to rewrite these stories together is what our community is waiting for. 
Have additional questions? Visit our FAQ page here.​

Partner with The Phileo House and change the guilt of homelessness into success and affirmation of dignity!  Thanks for your 'Yes'!