This week, while developing more solutions to help people that suffer from hunger, we want to practice seeking first to understand them, then to be understood. This will require us to use empathetic listening which Covey (2020) describes as when we listen with the intent to understand, not just with the intent to reply. It requires to get inside another person’s frame of reference in order to fully, deeply understand their motives, thoughts, feelings, and experiences instead of projecting our own autobiographies. Now that we have covered what empathetic listening entails, it is important to note that homeless individuals have a significantly higher risk of food insecurity than the general population because homelessness has been proven to be one of the major predictors behind hunger (Fitzpatrick & Willis, 2021). Yet, society has dehumanized homeless individuals and refrained from lending them a helping hand due to the stigma they have created about homeless people being dirty, lazy, and deviant. In fact, in a survey conducted by Indiana University, 51% of Americans attributed “lack of will” to the reason people live in poverty, and 80-90% of Americans claim that those living in poverty should be working and receiving less assistance than they do, 57% say people are homeless because of lack of effort, and 50% claimed homelessness is due to drunkenness and loose morals (American Bar Assocation, 1993). How many of these individuals that have reinforced negative stereotypes about homeless people do you think have stopped and truly listened with empathy to any homeless person in hopes of understanding their thoughts, feelings, and experiences? Chances are probably not many of them, if any at all. For this reason, we must work to eliminate these stigmas society has created by interacting with those in need and encouraging others to do the same so that together, we can gain more supporters that want to take action against hunger.
As local activists for hunger, we value humanizing impoverished individuals, regardless of how much or how little they have, and we value the power that empathy holds in creating positive change against hunger. Not only does empathetic listening help us build trust and respect for one another, but it also helps to clear up or prevent any misconceptions we have about individuals living in poverty. When we listen with empathy, we can understand other people’s frame of reference before expressing our own. In addition, we cannot create effective solutions for hunger if we do not truly understand the needs of those experiencing it – and the only way we can truly understand is through empathetic interactions.
In order to build a community of like-minded individuals that see the remarkable need in taking action against hunger, we need to reject the stigma behind homelessness and impoverished communities. As mentioned before, we can only do this through empathetic communication so we can clear up misconceptions about those living in poverty. This will help us and others develop empathy for people who do not know where their next meal is coming from. We need to reject stereotypes about people living in poverty and be the voice for those that do not have one or that cannot defend themselves against such harsh perceptions created by society.
CALL TO ACTION! As local activists, we have the responsibility to engage with impoverished communities that suffer from hunger in order to not only humanize them again, but in order to understand their thoughts, feelings, and needs. We have the power to be a voice for those who do not have one in order to shift the issue of food insecurity in a positive way and we can do this by practicing empathetic listening with those in need. Below I have included a YouTube video for you to watch that contains a number of people experiencing homelessness telling their story about how they got where they are (you can see that many of the previous misconceptions made about them are not true). I challenge you to seek out a person in need today, whether it’s someone who is homeless or someone who suffers from hunger, and seek to understand their struggles and their needs, with hopes that you develop empathy for impoverished communities along the way. If for some reason you are unable/uncomfortable to, I ask that you repost this video to help others develop empathy and show the importance in listening to the stories of impoverished individuals so we can break the stigma behind poverty.
Comment your experience below or share any comments you received from reposting this video.
Information References
American Bar Association. (1993). Stigma and lack of personal dignity. Urban Geography. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/homelessness_poverty/blueprints
Covey, S. R. (2020). The 7 habits of highly effective people. Simon & Schuster.
Fitzpatrick, K. M., & Willis, D. E. (2021). Homeless and hungry: food insecurity in the land of plenty.
Food Security, 13(1), 3-12.
Media References
Maronesy, T. (2019, May 30). Homeless people answer: WHAT'S YOUR STORY? [Video].
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