She Calls The Streets “Home”: The Story behind a Homeless Woman

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This article is part of the 12th issue of LEAP — Voices of Youth e-letter. Subscribe now.

A homeless woman once said: “Coming to live on the streets marked the freest moment of my life.” Homeless women who live on the streets have much more to endure than homeless men. In addition to constant noise disturbances and theft of personal belongings, they also must adjust to menstrual discomfort, watch out for personal safety, and shoulder social expectations of motherhood that demand them to “return home to take care of families”. However, many women leave their families to live on the streets precisely to break free of family shackles, and begin a life of living for themselves. Though life on the streets may bring many inconveniences, it still offers them a feeling of security and a chance to be their true selves.

Women who leave home often suffered from mental illness or domestic violence, but their gender may bring inconveniences for life on the streets

The story of Ms. Hsu is shared by many other homeless women. Lacking an adequate support system, women who suffer from domestic violence or mental illness may choose to leave their families and live outside.

Now sixty-five years of age, Ms. Hsu had grown up in a family with little means. She had begun working at odd jobs before even graduating from elementary school. She helped raise chickens and ducks on a poultry farm, made bricks at construction sites, and worked at a textile factory. When she was 19, her father sold her to her husband. One day, her husband took all her savings and left her to raise her adopted son by herself. However, her son physically abused her over a long period, causing her to become fearful of living with him. Sleeping under the sky on the streets turned out to be a safer choice for Ms. Hsu.

Living on the streets for many years, Ms. Hsu usually sleeps just outside the Taipei Main Station hall.

Men tend to live in open park spaces or bus/train stations, while women seldom appear on the streets, and tend to rest at crowded, brightly-lit convenience stores or fast food restaurants.

Due to their gender, the methods for surviving on the streets differ for homeless women compared to men. Homeless Taiwan Association [1] Secretary General Lee Ying-tze states: “Men tend to live in open park spaces or bus/train stations, while women seldom appear on the streets, and tend to rest at crowded, brightly-lit convenience stores or fast food restaurants.” Homeless women who are alone on the streets become easy targets for harassment, or draw unwanted attention and ogling from passerbyers. As a result, they often seek to partner with a man for protection. With a male companion at their side, there is an increased sense of security and reduced chance of harassment.

Homeless Taiwan Association Secretary General Lee Ying-tze (left) and social worker Yu (right) are organizational personnel serving the homeless population.

There are many inconveniences for those living on the streets. According to a survey by the Homeless Taiwan Association, due to the lack of shower facilities, about 30 percent of the homeless women can only wash themselves every two to seven days. Moreover, those with financial difficulties cannot afford buying feminine hygiene products. These are the unbearable conditions in terms of personal hygiene.

Ostracized by society, women find their freedom on the streets

In addition to choosing a good space to live, finding a place to shower, and solving the problems caused by menstrual inconveniences, homeless women are often questioned for their lifestyle choices. On the streets, they are often asked: “How could you degrade yourself so? Don’t you have a husband? Where are your children?” Such casual questions from passerbyers reflect social expectations of women that they ought to be family caregivers. Many people believe that women should simply stay home and take care of their families. Even after deciding to leave their family to live alone, such labels still follow these women closely.

Ms. Hsu once said: “Coming to live on the streets marked the freest moment of my life.” She had spent the first half of her life being someone else’s daughter, wife, and mother. Now, she could finally rid herself of such identities, and do whatever she wants while working hard to live for herself.

During the day, Ms. Hsu rides a bicycle around the city to watch movies for free. At night, she sleeps just outside the Taipei Main Station hall, making a bed out of cardboard boxes and resting her head on a water bottle as her pillow.

A functional space is not enough, connection is also necessary

For homeless people, they can only connect with the world by living on the outside.

People who live on the streets might seem to be stripped of the right to choose. “Sleeping outside” is often considered something “wrong”, with the proper way being to return home or find a living quarter. However, for homeless people, they can only connect with the world by living on the outside.

For people who live on the streets, problems such as mosquito bites, rain, and theft seem to be much worse than an enclosed space that could offer shelter from wind and rain. Nevertheless, they can at least bond with those sleeping next to them on the streets, while making new friends and taking care of each other.

For many homeless people, they wouldn’t do it even if they had money to rent a room, because there is no one to chat with them on a daily basis.

Do You A Flavor [2] social worker Lo Ching-ru states: “For many homeless people, they wouldn’t do it even if they had money to rent a room, because there is no one to chat with them on a daily basis. They could die alone inside a house and no one would find out.” The problems for the homeless are more than a scarcity of resources and living quarters. In addition to fulfilling material necessities, a key element of a safe shelter is to serve as a location where people can find companionship and a support system that offers assistance.

As a front-line social worker in service of the homeless, Do You A Flavor social worker Ching-Ru Lo often gets calls from the homeless, asking her to go to doctors with them or help them with lawsuits.

Many people believe that materials and living spaces are what the homeless needs, and that as long as these types of problems are resolved, no one would want to roam around on the outside. Such reasoning simplifies the decision-making process of the homeless to live on the streets, and ignores their emotional needs for social connection. Taking into consideration all of these living requirements, a comprehensive appearance of the homeless issue emerges.

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Note[1] Homeless Taiwan Association is a non-profit organization formed by a group of front-line personnel serving the homeless population. It endeavors to cultivate the homeless population to become self-reliant. Offering guided-tours and various activities, the organization hopes to help connect the homeless with the general public.

Note[2] Do You A Flavor is a non-profit organization that works to empower the homeless. Moreover, the organization designs fun and simple activities for the public to advocate for the homeless, lower the threshold for public awareness, and promote interpersonal exchange.

LEAP — Voices of Youth is a monthly e-letter with a focus on the progress for gender equality and women’s status in Taiwan, including the LGBTQ+ community and gender issues in schools. Click here to subscribe.

Also in This Issue:

Not Just for Sleeping or Bathing: Spaces for Building Connections

Beyond a short stay for the homeless, two NGOs offer safe places with the core value of human dignity and companionship.

Author&Photographer: Chen Wan-zhen

A journalist and photographer who understands the society and introspects herself by constantly listening to people from varying backgrounds. Chen double majored in Philosophy and Communication Studies.