The Republican Party of America over the last election cycle has grown fond of chewing on its own appendages and mortally wounding itself with easy-to-apply, fits-all-sizes insults to fellow Republicans. As in, “You are a RINO” — Republican In Name Only.
Suitably modified, a related term does not so much deliver an insult as it defines the plight of adults and children who are not visibly homeless, but suffering mightily from the limits of their alternatives. The “HINO” category: Housed In Name Only.
Cannot the term “homelessness” cover this condition? Indeed, such a term is used in a United Kingdom article linked below, expanded by the the term “hidden.” “Hidden homelessness” describes those who are indeed homeless but not immediately visible on the streets or staying at a homeless shelter.
“Hidden homeless” includes individuals or families who are “couch-surfing” — staying with friends or relatives, often in cramped conditions. With a roof over their heads and perhaps a temporary address (care of their hosts) these functionally homeless people may indeed be hidden from authorities or researchers.
But “hidden homelessness” does not so readily include a large and growing population who are not, in their eyes or even the eyes of authorities, homeless. How to survive in cities with work available but absolutely no affordable accommodation? For growing numbers it means packing a small apartment with as many breadwinners and their families as can manage to function within the space as well as pay the rent.
Reminiscent of slum living of a century or more ago, these situations can be essentially permanent. But nobody is exactly homeless. Unless, of course, we are prepared to parse more carefully the United Nations Right to Adequate Housing. Should these housing situations be judged to be inadequate, then of course all the occupants are at least technically homeless.
In whatever ways we wish to parse the status of multiple individuals and families crammed into unhealthy housing1, there is a considerable strain on the well-being of those living under such conditions. A recent study in Britain tackles the particular plight of the children growing up under these circumstances. Read more in inews: Britain’s Hidden Homeless Kids: Families in overcrowded homes reveal despair caused by housing crisis
Those with access to BBC programming should note the reference in this article to a BBC investigative program that addresses the same subject — one that should also be of considerable interest.
