Stuck At the Bottom
Thee Parable of the Mold
One day you discover mold growing in your home and became panicked. You hadn’t been in that particular room for several months and was to surprised to see a problem develop so quickly without you noticing it. Suddenly you realized several things: 1) there is a water leak or source of water somewhere nearby that you can’t see 2) the problem is only going to get worse until the underlying problem is addressed 3) leaving it untreated and hoping for the best is not a wise strategy because it will continue to grow and likely cause health problems for everyone in the house 4) so you do the quick math in your head and realize it will probably cost more in the long-run to repair than in the short-term to treat. Hmmmmm, what should you do? It’s a beautiful day outside and nothing pressing on your schedule. “This can wait” you think to yourself. But then you remember the horror stories of people having to gut their homes to get rid of mold. A quick trip to Walmart to buy some Clorox should fix the problem so off you go.
20 minutes and $6 dollars later, you feel confident in your simple-solution. “That wasn’t so bad. Clorox is a miracle product because it kills everything, right?” You spray quickly and leave the room. 2 weeks later, you enter the room to make sure your $6-solution worked but to your chagrin, the problem has only gotten worse. “What the heck! How is that even possible?! “Clorox is Clorox—it supposed to kill 99.9% of germs! I want my money back!”
Standing there in the middle of the “kill zone,” you do a quick Google search on your phone and learn that bleach can kill mold on hard, non-porous surfaces, but not generally on porous materials like wood or drywall where mold roots can hide. You think to yourself, “well, what if I just saturate the walls even more—won’t that do it? Another $6 bucks won’t hurt.” Apparently your ‘shoulder angel’ is not speaking loud enough. Either that, or you are too focused on the clock and how much time it will take before your game starts that you have been looking forward to. You call your brother-in-law in St. George who is a building contractor and tell him what is going on. He tells you to call a specialist and let them take care of it. You think to yourself, “you’re a builder—why don’t you just give me a simple solution? After all, you married my only sister and still owe me for that.” You hang up the phone and do another Google search, but this time, “places that fix black mold.” You check their location and star reviews and start dialing. One company with a 4.5 rating said they would send someone right over and you think to yourself, “yeah, but it’s not gonna be $6 bucks! Ugh.” He arrives 30 minutes later and you show him the room and he starts examining things like Sherlock Holmes on a case. He slowly nods and turns to say that he can fix it and gives some long, Latin-sounding name for it. You ask how long it will take and how much it will cost and he says he doesn’t know until he gets behind the wall. “Behind the wall!” you gasp audibly while thinking to yourself, "well, there goes my game AND the new tool I was planning to buy.” The service tech says there are 5 things that need to happen to adequately treat the problem:
First, all impacted materials needs to be removed
Second, strong chemicals and dry ice treatments will be used in the process
Third, the room needs to be dehumidified
Fourth, a ‘hydroxyl generator’ (air purifier) will be used to clean the air
Fifth, a mold-resistant coating will be applied to the walls.
You had no idea how significant the problem had become, nor how detailed the subsequent solution would be, but now you are glad you took the advice of a trusted friend and called a professional who understands the problem and how to treat it effectively. He goes to work, applies his skill set, and remedies the problem—and in the end, saves you money.
*Point: This parable illustrates the same problem associated with homelessness—there are many hidden leaks and problems occurring behind the scenes that are not readily apparent or easily understood but are manifesting on the surface nonetheless. We see the ‘mold’ living on the streets but can’t figure out where the water source is coming from that is causing it. Unfortunately, policy leaders superficially treat the homeless situation with a “Clorox” approach. They are not addressing the underlying causes that include trauma, abuse, abandonment, attachment disorders, grief, societal rejection, poor self-esteem, incarceration, generational poverty, and dysfunctional thinking rooted in family dysfunction. Instead they point to addiction and mental health as the source-problems. What they don’t realize is that mental health and addictions stem out of it, not cause it. They are only treating the superficial mold they can see, instead of addressing the water source behind the mold. Social scientists know this but most politicians and corporate donors do not. They employ capitalistic, corporate thinking focused on returns or minimizing losses instead of human-centered solutions with human potential in mind. Their approach inevitably means more taxes, more bureaucracy, more micromanagement & government oversight, and more enabling of people who don’t have any skin in the game except those with an outstretched hand asking for more. “Getting stuff” doesn’t change thinking, but instead, enables that same mentality even more.
Just as a remediation expert says there are several steps necessary to fix a mold problem, so likewise, are several steps necessary to remediate homelessness and not all of the steps require tremendous investments of capital, but rather, tremendous education using human capital as the engine for change. Stay tuned to see how that can work. Ultimately, it is people helping people because they can—because they should—because they want to—because people need it—and God is behind it. It’s a celestial-cycle-of-life-synergy that will bring light to a dark and moldy room.
As a ‘homeless-remediation tech in training’ (and self-funded, self-directed researcher), this is what I have come to see as the result of faulty policies, shortsighted solutions, emotional reactions, limited engagement with those actually being affected, and traditional ‘in-the-box’ bureaucratic thinking by those who have limited background in teaching skills, motivational practices, or experience in therapeutic counseling or social services. That is not meant as a put-down, but rather, calling it like it is and exposing gaps where they exist. Leaders don’t know what they don’t know—and unfortunately, either do some ‘expert’ consultants called in to examine the situation. It is like trying to sell glasses to a blind man—they can’t see what they can’t see until someone points it out to them in simple clarity.
The following graphic explains candidly and accurately what is really happening at the “ground level” (no pun intended). There are several forces that work against the homeless that most people are unaware of. They are literally stuck at the lowest levels of society because their current circumstances do not allow them to “self-actualize” and reach their fullest potential for lack of resources & opportunities available to the rest of us. While we work, attend school, socialize, entertain ourselves, and take care of life’s necessities, they are busy scavenging for supplies, trying to find bathrooms, drinking water, stay warm/safe/dry and deciding where they will sleep the next night. They are in survival mode 24/7.
Here is a list of things we hear and say everyday without thinking about it. None of them are things the homeless say:
Here’s an interesting irony for those of us who grew up in Utah and come from pioneer stock—
Life Inside A Garbage Can
For those ‘lucky’ enough to be able to store their belongings in a safe, controlled environment, here is what it looks like inside a storage facility located behind the old Rio Grande Train Station in downtown Salt Lake. They are LITERALLY living out of garbage cans.
Here are the sleeping conditions many find themselves in because it is out of site of homeowners and the police.
Those living on the street have to be resourceful and fix or repurpose whatever items they can find.
There is little, if any growth or mental, emotional, social, intellectual, or spiritual development happening anywhere. With nothing to look forward to, nothing planned, and limited arts or crafts supplies being offered, most sit around all day talking, sleeping, or ‘drugging’ and trying to pass another boring day. Their boredom drives their search for “dopamine-hits.” Humans, like rats, will seek pleasure as often, and wherever possible, to change their moods.
Another problem facing them is poor nutrition. Mental health begins in the gut, and without proper nutrition, our brains & bodies stop functioning at optimal levels.
Diets high in processed foods, sugars, and unhealthy fats can lead to inflammation and oxidative stress, negatively affecting brain health.
Poor nutrition is linked to increased risks of mental health issues, including anxiety and depression.
One study found that individuals with poor diets showed changes in brain chemistry, such as reduced levels of GABA (a neurotransmitter) and increased glutamate, which are associated with mood disorders (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11990917/)
