Many people compare poverty in developing countries with the homelessness and presence of beggars in the developed world. I currently stay in the downtown part of Vancouver where such homelessness is visible. There are `interesting’ aspects of homelessness in Vancouver compared to that in cities of the United States of America. 

The number of homelessness people (say between 3 to 4 thousands) is small compared to the population of the city. Inadequate income is reported as the reason for homelessness by only one-third of these people. Around 60 percent of those who are homeless identify themselves as `whites’. Generally, the share of black population in Vancouver is very small. Hence their share among the homeless is also small (though it is higher than the share of their population). Vancouver is a city that has attracted migrant populations from Asia (including India) for several decades, and it is also where a sizeable section of Punjabi people live. Interestingly, the share of all sections of Asian population among the homeless is very small. 

Unlike the cities of the USA, the social and community concerns about and the support for homeless people are high in Canada. There are community support centres where there is a concentration of homeless people. This is part of the higher level of social support (and tax rate) in the country. Despite all these, homelessness is an issue in Canadian cities. This may encourage us to think about certain aspects of human behaviour. 

Human beings make choices regrading different aspects of their life. Though we expect these to be adequately informed and rational, we know that it is not the case often. Irrational decisions are being made. There are multiple kinds of irrationality including the inability to value longer-term losses appropriately. However the consumption of narcotic drugs is particularly prone to emotional and irrational choices, and once these choices are made, the ability to correct would decline drastically. Addiction to a particular item would compel people to make unsustainable tradeoffs. To some extent, this is true with toxic sexual relationships too. There can be mental and physical impacts while being in and getting out of such toxic relationships. Though this information is known to all, people may get into addiction and such relationships.

All these can affect the ability of people to work and earn a decent living. It can also affect education, and the ability to find work. Even when there are jobs available, people may not be able to demonstrate interest in them on a sustained manner. These behavioural issues can lead to a loss of income and make people poor. (Hence these who report poverty as the reason for homelessness are also indirectly indicating the incorrect choices that they have made). 

Many developed countries have enough resources to address this homelessness and take different efforts in this regard but these may become ineffective due to the difficulties in dealing with the personal choices  of people. Excessive control of personal choices may be seen as intrusive and may not be liked by wider society. There can be a social tradeoff between personal freedom that societies in these countries cherish, and the possibilities of outcomes such as homelessness that may happen due to the choices of a relatively small section of people.

The lower share of homeless people among Asians may be indicating the grip of family and social norms in these communities, though one cannot generalise on their overall impact or sustenance of these norms in the long-run. There may be a greater control by the family (and communities) over the personal choices regarding sexual relationships and consumption of substances like narcotic drugs. There could be a loss of personal freedom due to these norms. People may find it better to be regulated by these norms or may find it difficult to get out of them. Though these norms continue to persist in the case of certain communities (and in certain cases lead to personally and socially undesirable outcomes), their sustainability is not so certain. 

Developed countries may experiment with different policy options. Making the consumption of drugs more transparent and less costly, and the easier provision of de-addiction support are possible strategies. However these may not root out addiction-related homelessness. There can be a lot more community actions which provide counselling and other support services. Though these are useful and needed, these may not be effective in avoiding the problem of addiction completely. It is incorrect to think that raucous behaviours can be avoided fully. Societies may create a `controlled’ environment wherein such behaviour is expressed with minimal disturbance to others.  

As societies acquire higher levels of incomes, their ability to tolerate (live or deal with) the irrational behaviour of a small section of people may go up. It is incorrect to presume that manifestations of poverty and vulnerability would disappear as part of economic development. Personal choices continue to be important along with structural factors in creating these outcomes. Even when the importance of the latter declines, the impact of personal choices will persist. The advancement of democracy would make the regulation of personal choices a lot more difficult. In fact, there is a tendency to weaken the restrictions on personal choices (including the consumption of narcotic drugs) in cities like Vancouver. Hence the only way is to tolerate or live with certain outcomes of (irrational) personal choices.

Human beings like to participate adventures. Organised activities in mountaineering or car racing and so on are part of these adventurous activities, and the participation in such activities may go up as part of the growth of personal incomes. There can be adventures in personal choices too and these may include certain kinds of sexual relationships and consumption of substances. Restrictions on these choices which are imposed by families, communities and state may not be liked as part of economic, social and political developments. However there are implications due to these changes. Homelessness could be one such outcome. 

End Note: The content and opinions expressed are that of the author, and are not necessarily endorsed by/do not necessarily reflect the views of Azim Premji University