Aurelio was asked to be a guest columnist as part of our ongoing Unhoused series. He was given the following writing prompt:
“What experiences in your life have shaped your views on the issue of homelessness in Mansfield and Richland County?”
Read another column from Aurelio covering homelessness at SXSW here.
In many ways, some of my personal life experiences have shaped my views on the issues of homelessness in our community.
When I was asked to share those experiences, I also realized that some of my views have been reshaped due to factors such as, the astronomical increase of substance abuse, life in a COVID-19 world, and my newfound political involvement.
What remains constant, however, is the importance of being mindful that an abundance of empathy is dire, in order to help others heal, and for a community to rebuild itself.
Before 2020, the unhoused concerns in our community were always on the radar, so to speak, but in a much-concealed way.
In some neighborhoods and in the downtown area, many of us recognized the “regulars” who hung out in designated spots.
In the school districts, hundreds of students took to couch surfing with different family members or non-family members to keep from sleeping on the streets. And factors associated with homelessness — struggles with mental health, addictions, and staggering rates of suicide — I feel were not openly discussed.
Now, these issues have spilled off the radar and into our neighborhoods, places of employment, and city, where we have no choice but to face it. Other methods of helping people realize the severity of being unhoused, is choosing to hear other people’s stories and testimonies.
My family moved around quite a bit back in the early 1980s. We were always in the lower-income bracket, but oddly enough that didn’t seem out of the ordinary because so were most of the people in our neighborhood.
During our travels, we would temporarily root ourselves in Virginia and Tennessee, which I vividly recall because if we weren’t sleeping in our station wagon, we were shacked up in a motel, or homeless shelter.
Staying in a homeless shelter with other families was a mix of comfort, because there were toys and a wide variety of food options, but there were also safety concerns.
When you’re sharing an area with several people, unfortunately it can be inevitable for some form of abuse to occur.
While in a homeless shelter in Tennessee, I experienced sexual abuse from an adult who stayed there. That experience resonates with me still and is a huge reason why I may oftentimes perseverate, over and over, on the importance of safety for children who are in transitional living homes, and having a suitable amount of people together in those homes.
When COVID-19 descended upon us, it completely rearranged our world and ravaged lives. Being subjected to extensive quarantine measures added stress and isolation.
Last summer, the topic of homelessness in Mansfield became an overnight realization and concern as swarms of people flooded downtown for free meals and areas to sleep.
I live in the heart of downtown and I noticed that people began sleeping in business doorways, the gazebo, fountains, and benches beginning late last winter. Many residents and businesses were blown away because it literally seemed like it happened overnight.
During this time, I was able to get acquainted with the men and women who took up shop in downtown and the North End, and quickly realized that they all had different reasons for being unhoused.
Some were battling addictions which took priority over everything else in their lives. Some had mental health needs that required proper medication. Some were just actually choosing to live on the streets.
Their visibility around town, and bouts of violence and looting, left us no choice but to quickly figure out a way to identify the people who were receptive to receiving support, and in some cases apprehending those who were breaking the law.
Last year helped me to appreciate our safety services workers more than ever, because they were the ones on the frontlines trying to differentiate the needs.
They were expected to resolve every individual unhoused situation in the community, which was unfair because they aren’t social workers. As a result, I feel that the upcoming pilot program featuring teams of behavioral health professionals and law enforcement officers is going to help many people this year.
Now, I’m a councilperson representing the Ward where most of these matters seem centralized. Being a part of city council allows me to advocate for causes and people in a greater way than before.
I feel that my personal experiences from the past, the frequent interactions I continue to have with those who are unhoused, and my communication with the law enforcements, local agencies, and local leaders/elected officials, will aid in shedding light on this epidemic from a different perspective.
It can also be a very sensitive topic especially when having to bring up the unsafe and violent aspects of those who are unhoused, but we can’t afford to not discuss those things.
And empathy.
I’ve experienced how the community holds elected officials to very high standards. What I would like to convey to the community is that although there needs to be a bit more opening of eyes and hearts within our leaders, there needs to be more of that from you.
This is a pivotal time to really come together to not only pitch an idea, but to collectively construct that idea. Until Mansfield gets a flood of new housing developments, it is up to all of us to figure out how to minimize the hurt of our fellow unhoused citizens.
Our life experiences are our guiding light. Good or bad, our life experiences give us the power to rescue, rebuild, find purpose, and unite with others.
