Every election season, something predictable happens.
Homelessness suddenly becomes one of the most talked-about issues in our community. Candidates discuss it. Businesses weigh in. Community leaders offer ideas. Social media fills with opinions, debates, and promises.
On one hand, I welcome that conversation.
Homelessness deserves our attention. The men, women, and children experiencing homelessness deserve to be seen. They are far more than their circumstances. They are someone’s son or daughter, someone’s mother or father, someone’s veteran, coworker, friend, or neighbor.
Jesus gave us two great commandments: to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we believe that, then conversations about homelessness are not only appropriate, but they’re also necessary.
But after more than a decade working in homeless services and after experiencing homelessness myself, I’ve noticed something that repeats itself every election cycle.
I can often tell what year it is simply by the phone calls and emails I receive.
Suddenly, people want to tour the shelter. They want to meet with me. They want to interview clients. They want photos. They want to talk about homelessness.
Please don’t misunderstand me. This is not a criticism of our elected officials, nor is it an accusation that people have bad intentions. Many genuinely care and sincerely want to help. I have built wonderful relationships with public officials from both sides of the aisle, and many of them have been steadfast supporters long after Election Day.
But it is also true that homelessness becomes much more visible during campaign season, particularly among those seeking public office. After seeing this pattern year after year, I’ve learned to be thoughtful and selective about requests involving our clients. The people we serve deserve to know they are being valued as human beings, not simply because homelessness has become a timely topic.
The challenge is that homelessness attracts attention. It creates headlines. It sparks debate. It can generate likes, shares, votes, donations, and publicity. The stories are compelling. The need is real. That is exactly why we have to be intentional.
We cannot allow homelessness to become a conversation that rises and falls with the election calendar. It must remain a year-round commitment. Because homelessness doesn’t disappear after Election Day. Families are still looking for housing in January. Veterans are still sleeping outside in February.
Children are still going to school without stable housing in March. People are still battling addiction, mental illness, job loss, domestic violence, and financial crisis every day of the year. The work doesn’t pause because campaign signs come down.
Real change doesn’t happen through a press conference, a campaign advertisement, a Facebook post, or a one-day volunteer event. It happens through relationships. It happens through consistency. It happens when people continue showing up after the cameras are gone.
I’ve watched volunteers quietly serve meals every week without expecting recognition. I’ve seen donors faithfully support shelters for years without asking for their names to be displayed. I’ve watched case managers spend months helping someone replace identification, secure employment, navigate recovery, and eventually move into permanent housing.
Those moments rarely make headlines. Yet those moments change lives.
The people we serve are not talking points. They are fathers and mothers trying to rebuild relationships with their children. Veterans carrying invisible wounds. Individuals in recovery fighting for another sober day. Seniors living on fixed incomes. Young adults escaping difficult situations. Workers whose paycheck simply wasn’t enough.
Every story is different. Every person has value.
As someone who has experienced homelessness, I believe awareness matters. Public discussion matters. Elections matter because public policy shapes people’s lives.
But dignity matters just as much. So as another election season unfolds, my hope is simple. Let’s keep talking about homelessness. Let’s challenge one another to develop better solutions. Let’s invest in housing, mental health, addiction treatment, employment, prevention, and recovery. But let’s also commit to making homelessness an everyday conversation—not just an election-year conversation. Let’s measure our commitment not by how loudly we speak during campaign season, but by how faithfully we continue serving after the votes are counted.
Because homelessness is not seasonal. And the people experiencing it should never feel like someone else’s opportunity.
They are, and always will be, our neighbors.
Written by
Harry E. Pedigo, MSSW, CENM
Executive Director
St. Benedict and Daniel Pitino Shelters
