Would it be exploitative to suggest a series of articles that “profile” homeless individuals living in Federal Way? Would it be like those “Feed the Children” telethons of my childhood that paraded skin and bones, bloated-belly Ethiopian children across the TV screen for our sympathetic middle-class eyes to gape at? Is that what we need for the middle-class citizens of Federal Way, myself included, to really understand who these unlucky people, living in tents alongside the BPA trail, are? Why are they here in such abundance? Where did they all come from? Did we attract them to Federal Way somehow, perhaps with that new multi-service center?

These are real questions someone recently asked me. I did not know how to answer. Even though I have been a social work student for the past two years and I currently work at an agency in Federal Way that serves many people struggling with homelessness or teetering on the brink of homelessness. The answer isn’t as simple as there is a shortage of affordable housing or a heroin epidemic. The answer is also not as simple as they have chosen homelessness, they need to get a job, make better choices. I wish it was that simple to explain because I would have gladly.

Why do some people get cancer? What causes mental illness? Why do some people get traumatic brain injuries and then lose their jobs? Why do banks foreclose on homeowners from the previous three questions? Where do foster children go when they turn 18 and no one cares for them any longer? Why would someone take heroin or meth? Why do some people get beaten by their spouses? If we answered all these questions we would begin to answer the bigger question asked of me — where have all these homeless people come from?

So, would it be exploitative to hear some of the stories of these homeless citizens of Federal Way? Would it make it less comfortable to drive past them without making eye contact or to fall asleep in my warm bed tonight? More importantly, would it help? Could hearing some real-life accounts of homelessness in Federal Way lessen the gap between the haves and the have-nots? I propose that it could close that gap by even one inch and possibly lead to more people understanding the complex problem of homeless people and the monumental task of ending homelessness.

Evelyn Saunders, Federal Way