The Homeless Are Treated Worse Than Prisoners

We the homeless live in a virtual prison. We live behind bars just like prisoners, often without the comfort and the basic rights that come with prison life. Just look around at all the bars and bylaws set up specifically to keep the homeless out (instead of in), often leaving us with nowhere to go.

Not convinced? I’ve spent some time on the streets and also in jail. The latter is obviously way better than the former, so I won’t insult those of you who still live on the streets and instead compare jail to my current arrangements in a transitional shelter, which by the way could be way worse.

• At least jail was clean. In contrast, I’m staying in a shabby and filthy, lice- and bed bug-infested building. I’ve actually slept in worse, like rat- and pigeon-infested lodgings which made me miss my tent.
• Jail facilities may be spartan, but at least they’re functional and hygienic. Just compare their respective men’s shower rooms, for example. Some of my fellow residents refuse to use our shower room and go to the drop-in instead. Countless scalding hot or ice cold showers, continually having to clean up the disgusting litter of fellow residents (such as drug paraphernalia), and a few fungal infections might actually convince you too.
• In jail I didn’t have to breathe through meth clouds every time I needed to use a toilet. Heck, in our cell we actually had one toilet for two people instead of five for forty-eight (on a good day; they’re often out of order or “occupied” by addicts).
• We’re often multiple days out of a cook and a janitor; if that happened in jail there would be riots.
• The correctional officers in jail were cold, but at least they never were outright predatory with me or fellow inmates within eyesight. I wish I could say the same of every outreach worker.
• For better or worse, no-nonsense rules are being enforced in jail. In contrast, I’ve often had to yell and threaten (or worse) to get the staff to enforce some order because it had reached criminal levels of incompetence.
• It’s actually difficult to get kicked out of prison, whereas it’s difficult not to get kicked out of a shelter, whether you’re behaving or not. Even I had to fight sometimes and I’m a model resident, dammit.
• While I’m currently sleeping on a somewhat comfortable mattress now, I used to sleep on a cot which would make me miss my jail bunk in comparison.
• On the isolation ward at least we had our own TV in our cell, and we also had room service with our meals delivered at the door. Can’t say the same here of our even tinier shelter cubicles.

If I had to say one thing against jail, it’s that our freedoms are rather curtailed in multiple respects; if nothing else, allowed personal effects are minimal. That’s not much of an issue for those who have nothing, however, or worse, for those whose belongings are actually a burden. Seriously, if I were to find myself on the streets again, my first move would be to get myself locked up in jail because I’d survive way longer, I’d feel way safer, and I’d be way more comfortable than moving along all day and sleeping in the cold on the concrete all night.

On a concluding note: any decision maker wondering what the homeless are complaining about ought to compare their offering to the one they extend to criminals. Even better, why not try both for a while and see which one comes out on top. Plenty of people actually do; no wonder so many end up returning to prison.