Homelessness is often framed as a personal failure. People assume it comes down to bad choices, lack of effort, or moral weakness. That story is easy to believe because it lets everyone else look away. But it isn’t true. And the longer we hold onto it, the more people we fail.
I know this firsthand. I lived unhoused in Santa Barbara County for more than six years. I’ve now been housed for more than three. I followed the path people say leads to stability. I worked, stayed committed to recovery, and tried to build a life. Yet today, I’m facing the real possibility of losing my home again. Not because I failed, but because the systems around me did.
This is how homelessness actually happens…