Annual Letter

Hello Friends of Hosea,

So much of what we hear in the media, discuss with our families, friends and co-workers, and see all around us has to do with the homeless crisis. In a meeting today someone commented, “the homeless in Eugene have now just become part of the landscape”. And we are all asking questions like, “why so many homeless?”, and “what can we do to help these people?”, and “there are many jobs available, can’t they just get a job?” etc., etc. The problem of homelessness is massive, complicated and very expensive.

The overwhelming majority of our young guests at Hosea are coming from extreme family dysfunctions and trauma and it’s easy to see why they are living on the streets and struggling with addictions, poverty, relationships and mental health. They were born into situations which were very unhealthy and destructive. However, even for those who were born into or placed into good families, the destructive influences of our world can have significant impact in dragging them down.

And what are these influences? First there are the influences of alcohol, gambling, pornography, violent video games and movies, marijuana, the effects of divorce, etc. Then there’s the illegal influences of narcotics, prostitution, sex trafficking, child pornography, child abuse and neglect, etc. And then there’s PTSD, other mental health issues, fetal alcohol syndrome and neonatal abstinence syndrome. As a culture we have allowed and caused much of the damaging influences around us, bringing so much pain, trauma and despair.

The more our staff and volunteers serve our homeless young people, hear their stories and get to know their hearts, I realize that homelessness is not a “they issue”, it’s a “we issue”. The collective “we” has through the years allowed, introduced and caused all of these harmful influences which ultimately tear people down, causing pain, hopelessness and despair.