The Torture and Abuse of the Homeless

There is an aspect to working with the homeless that I try not to discuss much.
There is a constant hum of fear and desperation in parts of the homeless population that is perverse, grotesque and endless.
I won’t do these kinds of stories often. I want this to be an arc of hope, salvation and redemption.
But this part of homelessness is something you need to know about.
It is not uncommon for the homeless to come to us having been robbed and/or beaten.
They rarely complain about it. It’s almost like it comes with the territory, in their eyes. They have a certain kind of resignation that something like this happened to them. They typically are smiling and hopeful and usually grateful that it wasn’t worse.
But this is a level of savagery that reaches some of the darkest most evil depths of humanity.
A person that has nothing, causes no trouble and then is stomped repeatedly in the face by a group of people could possibly represent the worst example of human capability.
The person in this picture is named Brian. It’s important that you know that. His name is Brian.

He is one of the countless invisible homeless that has no place in society.
He has found a barn in an area in Akron where he has setup a tent inside. He comes to our facility to get food and supplies. He takes the bus back and forth.
Brian has significant mental health issues. He constantly hears voices and can’t resist talking to them out loud. They are conflicting, evil  voices. The voices in his head talk almost continuously.
In spite of that, he is a kind, sweet man. I’ve never seen him hurt anyone. Even though his voices are scary he is able to control them.
I’m quite sure these voices were talking out loud when he was attacked. We know for certain, because of witnesses, Brian did not provoke this brutal attack. He was attacked without any provocation, other than likely the voices these others might have heard.
We asked if he wanted to press charges. He said no. He just wanted to go back to his tent.
There was talk from his friends of going after these people. They all agreed not to because violent revenge leads nowhere good.
This is a story with no happy ending. There is no uptick, happy arc I can give you here.
This brutal savagery will likely not stop because this isn’t seen as a hate crime. If he had been gay or Muslim and it was clear these people hated him for that this would be front page news.
But the homeless are not a protected class. People in government will still say things like, “Let’s be honest, no one wants to live next to the homeless.”
How we can in good conscience and moral certitude allow the shocking, unbelievable treatment of the poorest and weakest among us to continue is utterly unfathomable to me.
They aren’t allowed to exist anywhere. They can be kicked out of their hovel with a single call from a person who finds homelessness distasteful and having to look at them uncomfortable.
The cruel and unusual punishment of the homeless has no end.
Here are 71 Cities That Have Laws Against Feeding Homeless People
And then there are countless stories like these:
Death of Kelly Thomas – Wikipedia

Kelly Thomas (April 5, 1974 – July 10, 2011) was a homeless man diagnosed with schizophrenia who lived on the streets of Fullerton, California. He was killed by six members of the Fullerton Police Department, on July 5, 2011.

Police searching for teens who allegedly beat a homeless man to death, then ‘ran away laughing’ – The Washington Post
Cop beating homeless woman caught on camera
I’m telling you this story for one reason: The homeless MUST become a protected class. They have no rights whatsoever. They lose their freedom of religion at shelters. They are held to absurd and childish required bedtimes at shelters.
The laws of America make it illegal to be homeless.
Spikes are put on floors to keep homeless out of alcoves.


In Akron, an abandoned building owner put up an iron fence to not allow the homeless to sit under his small, unused awning during the day.
This is hate. Pure and simple.
This is the great American tragedy of our time. We cannot allow this violence and total lack of regard from our government any longer.
The Homeless Charity will be working on legislation to end the blatant disregard and total lack of compassion for the homeless.