While talking with some of the staff this week about the issues prevalent in Winnipeg’s homeless population, we hit a familiar talking point: Are certain things genetic or environmental?

Our discussion went from addictions to criminality, from obesity to diabetes.

That’s when I began thinking about my own family.

When I was about eight years old, my parents joined Alcoholics Anonymous. They each had more than 20 years of sobriety.

On my dad’s side of the family, many of his 12 brothers struggled with alcoholism as well. We buried quite a few of them because of the bottle.

Were they victims of circumstance and genetic predispositions or free agents who paved the path to their own funeral?

I think both.

There are people that say they became addicted with their first drink. Others used alcohol to escape stress and became hooked. Many have periods of sobriety but then cycle back into relapse after years — we see it happen every day.

When it comes to crime, the moral questions about genetic disposition become even tougher. Are criminals still responsible for their actions if they have grown up that way? I would argue environmental factors do play a large role in how someone turns out.

As a prison chaplain, I heard story after story from pedophiles that were abused at an early age and in turn requited to get others.

It’s a complicated deviancy — impossible to understand, punishable by law, yet observed time and time again in pedophile cases as if it’s a natural byproduct of a messed up childhood.

We do believe individuals can be born with a predisposition toward mental health illnesses like schizophrenia, so why not other forms of mental disturbance?

But attaching genetics to damaging behaviour only absolves people from responsibility — a grave danger in and of itself.

That’s why I’m a big advocate of free will and believe we all set our own direction.

Unfortunately, that only goes so far. We cannot decide whether cancer or mental illness will affect us. I also believe in miracles, but again, we have no control over them, either.

Bringing it back to the homeless demographic in Winnipeg, many people that use the services of homeless shelters are not just people without housing.

Perhaps a few just need a little help to get back on their feet again, but most are dealing with barriers that keep them in the shelters or on the street.

Some of these barriers are mental health illness, addictions and physical health problems. Many of these barriers they didn’t choose.

And while I think everyone chooses their own destiny — including those who are homeless — nobody dreams of living on the streets. It’s not something anybody would desire.

For many people that come through the doors of Siloam Mission, genetics had as much of a say in their situation as the environment they grew up in.

Should we leave them in their misery? Of course not. We can make a difference in their lives by providing a positive environment and health care.

Should we blame them for their situation? I will leave that judgment up to God.

— Floyd Perras is the executive director of Siloam Mission.

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