From Homeowner to Homeless Shelter

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-10-21 12:50:00 UTC
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There is a certain level of pride and accomplishment associated with being a homeowner. It is, after all, the American Dream. On the flip side, checking into a homeless shelter carries its own stigma. These days, thanks to the foreclosure and economic crisis, growing numbers of people are experiencing both of these extremes as homeowners-turned-homeless.

Growing numbers of homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure are winding up in homelessness shelters, according to a report released this summer by a coalition of housing and homelessness advocates. (This population is distinctively different than renters evicted from rental property due to foreclosure.) According to the report, foreclosure was rarely a factor leading to homeless three years ago. But in the past year, an average of 10 percent of homeless individuals seeking shelter lost homes to foreclosure.

The NY Times piece details the story of Sheri West who used to run a transitional shelter program and owned her own home. Over a year ago, she lost her house to foreclosure. She spent a year living out of her car and on the couches of friends and family, delaying the inevitable. Finally, she sought a bed in a homeless shelter.

Talk about the ultimate irony.

The part that I found so unsettling about the NY Times piece wasn't the devastation of West's plight. It was her closing quote: "I do want to eventually own a house again," she said. "That's the American dream. That's what everybody wants."

I don't think West's sentiments are rare, especially for someone who has experienced homelessness. After experiencing the devastation of being in a precarious housing situation, many think home ownership implies that you've "made it." Sadly, this is not always the case.

Why do we continue to value homeownership over financial stability? If a housing bubble, followed by a massive recession, followed by marked increases in homelessness can't reinvent the American Dream, what will?

Image: New York Times

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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