Those Complicated Homeless People

Has anybody ever asked you, “Why are those people homeless?”

You know, there are as many complicated answers to that question as there are complicated people living in homelessness. But, in case you think you have all the answers figured out, here’s something that will really complicate your day!

Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) can drive sufferers into poverty as well as ill health

“Most people with MCS end up living in their cars." Others wind up in a friend's backyard, a stripped-down RV, or a canvas tent on public land.

‘[The MCS homeless] are mostly not living in urban areas, they're mostly trying to live in rural areas where the air is cleaner and the water is cleaner, and that becomes a problem because the services [for the homeless] are less available in rural areas,’ says Zwillinger. ‘And they can't go into shelters the way the [non-MCS] homeless can,’ because in a busy building they would likely encounter any number of chemicals their bodies can't handle.”

Please link to the original article in GRIST Magazine. It’s a long article, but especially informative and well written.

Then, next time someone asks you a complicated question, like “Why are people homeless?” you can answer simply, like “Some people just can’t live in a home.”