Without a Place

Welcome.

That's a word we often use casually, but for many it has special meaning. Boise is a resettlement community for refugees, or those displaced by war, genocide or persecution. Boise takes pride in welcoming these new Americans into the community. Once they arrive, their most essential needs include housing, education, job training, health care and above all, safety and stability.

Across the globe, there is another population in need. Dr. Uwe Reischl of the BSU Center for Health Policy uses the terms internally displaced or economically displaced to describe them.

But most of the time, we refer to this population as homeless. Like refugees, they are people without a place (as in, dis-placed). And like refugees seeking a better life, persons experiencing homelessness seek what all humans seek—to address the hierarchy of needs as defined by American psychologist Abraham Maslow.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

1. Biological/Physiological — air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep.
2. Safety — protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear.
3. Love and belongingness — friendship, intimacy, affection and love, - from work group, family, friends, romantic relationships.
4. Esteem — achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, respect from others.
5. Self-Actualization — realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

For someone sleeping on the streets—never knowing when you'll have to relocate—it can be difficult to think beyond day-to-day survival. Without reliable shelter, security, stability, and freedom from fear it's difficult to achieve higher-order needs like self-esteem, independence, self-respect and personal growth. For those of us lucky enough to be housed and secure, we're free to focus on healthy relationships and peak experiences. 

The members of the Boise Alternative Shelter Cooperative seek to provide opportunities to meet these most basic needs.