do you belong?

Are you accepted by the people you meet? Or do you feel unconnected, excluded, even ostracized? Maybe that has happened occasionally to most of us, but it happens constantly to people without shelter. Being excluded just when you need others the most is particularly hurtful and cruel.

I’ve been talking to some of our unsheltered guests about their feeling of belonging. It’s a hard subject to bring up, a stupid question, I guess.  Of course, they feel excluded, ostracized, because they usually are. At Central, we try our best to include them, to treat them as they want to be treated, and that seems a large part of why many show up. A meal, a shower, laundry facilities, help with bicycle repair, these are important, but I don’t think they are the most important thing.  Psychologists tell us that feeling that you belong is a necessity for good mental health, but it goes beyond even that. A good meal is good for your body.  Interacting with people who welcome you instead of avoiding you is good for your soul.