I first moved to Boulder in 1993 to attend graduate school at CU-Boulder. By that time, I enjoyed the benefits of being financially and socially secure. After school, I left Boulder, but I returned in 2000 and have been here ever since. Boulder has been a wonderful place to live and to raise children, being able to take advantage of the healthy culture, great schools, and amazing natural amenities. Over the time that we have lived here, however, the visibility of people who lack secure housing has steadily increased. And, of course, almost everyone is aware of the social challenges for privileged Boulder residents and their less-fortunate neighbors who are housing insecure.

What almost none of my friends and acquaintances are aware of is that I went through a period of being housing insecure as a child. I am not sure that anyone who has not experienced this can really understand how difficult it is. My family was living in London during these years. My father abused my mother and, to a lesser extent, my sister and me. When I was in 4th grade, my father beat my mother quite badly and threw us out of the house that we were renting. He also emptied the family bank accounts. Because we had no family in the UK, we were in a very difficult spot. We stayed briefly with two different family friends, although our friends lived in small apartments and had limited capacity to assist a mother and two children, as well as two cats.

My mother filed a police report and worked with social services, and we ended up living in what was, at the time, called a battered women’s shelter. This facility provided bedrooms for women and children fleeing abusive relationships. There was also a communal kitchen, common room, etc. The severe dislocation of that experience is hard to explain. First, of course, is the situation of living with other scared and traumatized people. Second, every family routine was broken. We missed a lot of school in the chaos. In this situation, nothing is assured, and you rely on the kindness and goodwill of others. In addition, we and many other people lived in the daily fear of having someone violent show up at the shelter.

After a fairly brief stint at the shelter, we were moved into more permanent and private accommodations. Social services provided us with a private room, with two sets of bunk beds and a kitchenette. We shared a bathroom with other residents. We were allowed to have our cats with us, and the litter box lived under one of the bunk beds. In this situation, our school routines stabilized, although getting two kids and back and forth to different schools was challenging. This level of stability and security was incredibly helpful for our little family unit. My mother could spend time dealing with legal concerns and we felt safer.

Eventually, a judge ruled that my father had to vacate the family home, and we were able to return to a somewhat normal daily routine. My mother went through our rental and attached padlock shackles to multiple internal doors, the idea being to add security in case my father broke in. This was far from the end of insecurity in our lives. As is so often the case, housing insecurity was only one part of the challenges we faced. Our family life continued to be dysfunctional, but housing provided a foundation to get through.

The housing provided by social services was a lifeline for our family during a period of great stress. Without it, I have no idea what would have happened. Looking back, I can vividly recall the sense of security that came from being safely housed, however modest the accommodation might be. There are many factors that can cause a person or family to lose housing. Poor decisions, mental illness, substance abuse, and dysfunctional family situations are all major factors. Without the stability of a home, it is likely impossible to start to address these challenges.

My personal experiences contribute to my belief that the ‘housing first’ approach, the philosophy of All Roads, is the most practical way to help the housing-insecure population. In a community as affluent and well-educated as Boulder, it seems to me that we should be able to fully support an organization that assists people during their difficult times, whether these are short- or long-term.

Please join me in becoming a regular donor to our homeless service provider of last resort, All Roads.

Thank you!

Geoff Considine, Guest Contributor