Society without unhoused people

It was my first time seeing an unhoused person in the park. Walking there on a winter day, I saw the gray-haired man sitting under the tree. There were some bags beside him. Passing him by, I was worried about how he could spend each and every day on the street. How would he bear the cold and hunger? How did he come to be without housing? Perhaps he went through many difficulties in his life.

A week later, I went to the park, bringing some food and disposable hand warmers. He was sitting under the tree, holding a hand warmer in one hand, with his eyes closed.

I said, “Hello?”

However, maybe because my voice was too small, he didn’t open his eyes. I didn’t want to bother him if he was tired. I quietly put the bag that I had brought beside him, and went back home.

Cold days continued, and one day it snowed. Snow makes everything beautiful. Even gray apartment buildings look beautiful when covered in snow. Nonetheless, when it snowed, I couldn’t be just joyful. I thought, “Will he be alright in the snow?”

The next time I went to the park, the temperature was below zero. He was covering himself with a thin blanket, lying down on cardboard on the icy ground under the tree.

“Hello,” I said, “I brought some food and hand warmers for you…”

“Thank you! Thank you!” he said over and over.

Why does our society make those who are having hardship live on the street? In this society without a sufficient social safety net, anyone may experience housing insecurity if there is an unexpected or difficult situation.

While a small number of people have two or more houses, many people do not have their own house. Some people even have to live on the street. Can we call such a society healthy?

Is it right to neglect unhoused people in the life-threatening cold? Some people live in a warm house wearing short-sleeved T-shirts even in mid-winter, while on the other hand, there are people who live on the street with no refuge from the cold. Such an unequal society is unhealthy. We need to make our society more equal and safer for everyone.

I remember that a member of my book club once said, “I think that anyone should be able to access three basic things: housing, healthcare and education.”

What if everyone in our society receives a minimum amount of money for survival regularly? Then our society will become different. People who couldn’t help but be without housing may be able to find shelter, however small. We will be able to take better care of ourselves even if we have an unexpected difficulty. What if we imagine a society without unhoused people, a society where everyone can live in a cozy home?

Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/everythingchanges) wrote “Old Potato, New Potato” and translated “Little Lord Fauntleroy.”