By Jennifer Paradis
Homelessness
Jennifer Paradis
I have recently befriended someone experiencing homelessness who panhandles for additional income to his disability benefits; we’ll call him “George.”
George stood out to me as he is always joined by a red-nose pit-bull named Logan. Their bond is palpable. Logan carefully watches his owner approach me and wags his tail excitedly when his owner returns to him. George greets Logan as we all greet our pets, with equal love and excitement.
During our last conversation, I asked George if Logan was a certified emotional support animal or a licensed service animal.
“No, but he should be,” George said. “I can’t live life without him and he also helps me because I’m blind in my left eye.”
I then shared the resources Beth-El Center offers to ensure each pet can become an emotional support animal. This is an important distinction for people experiencing homelessness who would otherwise face surrendering or abandoning their beloved pets – or, more frequently, pet owners not entering shelters and “choosing” to remain outdoors in order to not lose their pets.
There are many barriers for people experiencing homelessness with their animals. Many shelters around the state do not allow emotional support animals or pets in emergency homeless programs, although the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act protect the right of people with disabilities to keep emotional support animals.
Very little communication occurs to assist owners in navigating the homeless system with a service or emotional support animal. We can and must do better. The motivations of the homeless response system should and must expand beyond the legal obligations of our sector.
Homeless service providers should look at homeless individuals and their pets as the family unit they are. We would and should be appalled at the thought of separating a mother or father from their children, because we understand the trauma that would cause to all family members. Such a separation would work against the goals of self-sufficiency and healing. Why do we accept this as an option for people with animals?
Today, one out of two Americans report being lonely. US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said in May, “Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health. Given the significant health consequences of loneliness and isolation, we must prioritize building social connection the same way we have prioritized other critical public health issues such as tobacco, obesity and substance use disorders.”
The Surgeon General’s Advisory on Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation reports that the physical health consequences of poor or insufficient connection include a 29 percent increased risk of heart disease, a 32 percent increased risk of stroke and a 50 percent increased risk of developing dementia for older adults. Overall, lacking social connection increases risk of premature death by more than 60 percent.
In addition to facing an increased risk of premature death simply because one is unhoused, people experiencing homelessness experience both financial poverty as well as relational poverty. Relational poverty, as outlined in Kevin F. Adler and Donald W. Burnes in their book “When We Walk By: Forgotten Humanity, Broken Systems, And the Role We Can Each Play in Ending Homelessness in America,” is a profound lack of nurturing relationships combined with stigma (and often, shame) that makes fostering social ties incredibly difficult.
Relational poverty is considered, similarly to Murthy’s conclusion, a deadly form of poverty.
Seeing George with Logan and the dozens of other owner and pet bonds come through Beth-El Center make it clear that these relationships are real and must be supported. We must expand access to support the bonded relationships between owner and pet within the homeless response system and in the permanent housing solutions that aim to support vulnerable populations.
This includes universal access to emergency food and shelter programs, funding to support ensuring owners and pets remain healthy and have access to critical health care such as vaccines. It includes meeting homeless people and their pets with compassions and gratitude, for they are expressing connection and unconditional love of family while overcoming trauma and hardship. That is a desire we can all relate to.
Jennifer Paradis is the executive director of the Beth-El Center in Milford.