How America Valorizes Homeless Freedom—and Ignores Real Need

September 2, 2026 · 1 min read

This series on homelessness is what journalists call an explainer. If you’ve been reading along week by week, by now you know much about the facts of homelessness, including both its personal and societal causes. Now we’re getting to proposed solutions—and I’ll lay groundwork with a brief survey of the long disposition in American culture Read more...

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Radmila Nikolić

Here in Belgrade, I see that freedom without a roof over your head quickly becomes just hunger and disease, not some ideal. The article says well that the real need is being ignored - people first need a roof, a doctor and a job, and only then can we talk about freedom. Thank you for this text, it reminds me how important it is for the Church to help concretely, not just talk.

Alexander Miller

In Portland we've got the same thing on the streets downtown—folks talk about "autonomy" while they're freezing or getting sick. The article is right that we skip the basics: a roof, a doctor, and steady work have to come first. Without those, the freedom talk just sounds like an excuse.

Katarina Đorđević

I completely agree, Radmila. Here at the market, I see the same people every morning - without a roof, they quickly lose their health and will to do anything. The church here in our parish has been handing out hot meals and referrals to doctors for years, at least that's concrete. Did you maybe go to one of those meetings where they talk about social assistance?

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