Chances are many of us have spent the past week or so looking back on 2010 to see what has changed in our lives.

For me, I moved from Toronto to Winnipeg — just after moving from Calgary to Toronto the summer before — to take on the role as executive director of Siloam Mission. I believe I’m not going anywhere for a long while. After 17 years in Calgary, having to move twice in nine months is quite enough, thank you.

Thanks to Winnipeg’s hospitality and friendship, the transition was very positive, but my new job wasn’t without significant challenges. Financial pressures resulted in layoffs of staff and belt tightening across the organization.

According to the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, I have a moderate risk of illness due to the stressful events I have experienced in this past year. Moving, changing jobs and family deaths all add up to a significant amount of stress.

I wonder where I would rate on the scale if I were someone who became homeless in the past year. That person may have lost their job due to a layoff and then their apartment because they couldn’t pay the rent. They probably would’ve ended up in a shelter.

The high-risk level of illness starts at 300 points, and this person would be at 385 points. If the person went through a divorce or marriage separation instead of an injury, they would be pushing 500 points.

The connection between stress and health has been widely researched but it’s easy to recognize when you see people in a shelter environment. If it is their first time homeless, it is like someone who has been shell-shocked. A person can quickly lose the will to go on and can often become ill just because they don’t look after themselves.

Then, illness adds to the stress and it can become a downward spiral in their lives. All of this assumes they are not dealing with mental problems, which would prevent them from coping in the first place.

I was talking to someone this week about why people become homeless. I believe in most cases it’s because they’re not able to cope with the situation they find themselves in and begin to shut down.

This can happen when a family member dies or any significant loss in a person’s life. A child taken from her parents or moving away from friends and family can be situations when someone stops coping.

It is clear to me some people can cope better than others. When we look around our family and friends, it is not difficult to identify those who can cope better than others.

The challenge for many homeless is they do not cope well and overwhelming life events often set them back. This causes them to retreat further because they don’t want to feel disappointment and loss.

It’s always a great day when you see people begin to believe they can step forward and cope with the potential of what life may bring.

It has become a cliché, but it’s critical to change despair to hope. When there is hope, there is life.

— Floyd Perras is executive director of Siloam Mission.

SUN Article