What We Choose to Believe About Poverty
“It’s easy to believe that homelessness is the result of bad decisions.”
What We Choose to Believe About Poverty Says Everything About Us
By Scott Seawell
When I read the recent Associated Press story about a new poll showing that most Americans believe poverty and homelessness are the result of poor personal choices, I felt a knot in my stomach.
That belief doesn’t line up with what I’ve seen through my involvement with City with Dwellings. It doesn’t match the faces or the stories of the people I’ve met, or the daily work I’ve witnessed from the staff and volunteers who show up with compassion and consistency.
If poverty were really a matter of personal choice, our work would be easy. But it’s not. And that’s what makes the work both heartbreaking and holy.
The myth of the “bad choice”
It’s easy to believe that homelessness is the result of bad decisions when your own life includes safety nets like paid time off, a working car, or a friend with a spare room.
But for many of our neighbors, one car repair, medical bill, or rent hike can unravel everything. What looks like a “choice” from the outside often isn’t one at all. It’s a reaction to impossible circumstances.
City with Dwellings’ staff see this every day. They meet people doing everything right, just without enough margin for life’s next curveball.
Where systems fail, community steps up
I’ve watched our team navigate gaps that shouldn’t exist. Rents rise faster than wages. Mental health care is out of reach for those who need it most. Affordable housing is scarce.
And yet, every week,CwD staff and volunteers create space for belonging and hope. Our community center is buzzing with conversation, laughter, and sometimes tears. People drink coffee, play Bingo, speak to staff about the housing process, receive help with replacing lost IDs, pick up their mail, and rebuild a sense of dignity.
That’s not luck or charity. It’s hard, intentional work rooted in love.
Changing the story
When headlines tell us that people are homeless because of bad choices, it’s tempting to shrug and move on. That story absolves us of responsibility. But when you see this work up close, you realize how wrong that framing is.
Homelessness isn’t a personal failure. It’s a collective one. And that means the solutions are collective too.
Every policy, every budget, every zoning vote is a choice, and it can either widen the gap or bridge it.
Choosing differently
At City with Dwellings, I’ve seen what happens when we choose differently. When we choose compassion over blame. When we choose community over isolation. When we see every neighbor as worthy of care and stability.
That’s not just talk; it’s about daily acts of courage, repeated over and over.
And it’s what keeps me hopeful, even when the headlines aren’t.
