The Power of Being Seen: What I’ve Learned From Walking With People Experiencing Homelessness

This month we have a deep and complicated topic to address, but what’s new about that? Well, we invited a guest in to introduce the topic and share some of her experience with us in addressing this topic.

This month we will be thinking about homelessness and specifically, our hearts towards the houseless.

With that, I am excited to introduce you to Lauren Decker. Lauren has been helping out with LoveINC since last year, specifically with our Healthy Habits program. On top of that, she has many years of experience working with Clackamas County, working directly with people living on the streets and helping them to find stable housing through the resources available with the county.

She brings a great perspective to understanding this topic and how we as Christians can do simple things in our daily life to show Christ’s love to our neighbors experiencing houselessness. I hope you enjoy her post and check out our conversation at the YouTube link at the bottom!

-Travis, General Editor

By Lauren Decker

One of the first times I did outreach with people experiencing homelessness, my whole understanding of who becomes homeless, and why, completely changed.

I was at the Clackamas Service Center, a day center that offers food, showers, and other basic needs. I was helping people complete housing assessments when I met an older man, probably in his seventies. I asked if he’d like to talk, and he said yes.

We were having a good conversation, and I gently asked him how he had ended up there. That wasn’t technically part of the assessment, but it felt like the right moment. As soon as I asked, he began to cry.

His wife had passed away, and after that, he lost everything. Grief overtook him. He couldn’t pay the bills or manage daily life. Eventually, he lost his home. It wasn’t addiction or mental illness. It was grief.

That moment shaped me. It reminded me that homelessness can happen to anyone. So many people are one crisis away from losing everything, and behind every person on the streets is a story like his.

In my eight years of working in housing services, I’ve learned that the longer someone is outside, the harder it is to get them back inside. Survival mode sets in. People do what they have to do just to make it through the day, whether that means using substances, drinking, or even stealing. You and I might not be able to imagine that life, but it’s real. And it’s brutal.

I’ve heard heartbreaking stories from people whose IDs were stolen, who’ve been assaulted, or lost everything they owned overnight. Trauma doesn’t just cause homelessness – it deepens the longer people are unhoused. But even in that, people hold incredible strength.

That’s why one of my greatest passions is homelessness diversion. It’s an approach that helps people avoid long-term homelessness by getting support early-before the trauma compounds. It’s quick, cost-effective, and focused on problem-solving.

One of the most powerful parts of diversion is what I call strength exploration. When someone is in crisis, they often can’t access problem-solving on their own. Their nervous system is in fight, flight, or freeze. But if someone sits with them, listens, reflects, and reminds them of what they do have, it can shift everything. Sometimes the key to moving forward is helping someone remember who they are.

I’ve seen diversion work. I’ve seen people reconnect with family, get jobs, stabilize. And it didn’t take a massive program or years of services. It took trust, dignity, and someone willing to see them.

That brings me to one of the things I hear most often from people living outside: “The hardest part is feeling invisible.”

We don’t always know what to say or how to help, but ignoring someone’s presence – looking past them – can do deep harm. What I’ve learned is that even a small act of acknowledgment, a smile, a nod, a “hello,” can plant seeds of hope.

I’ve also witnessed incredible turnarounds. I’ve seen people move into housing, stabilize, and begin to thrive – sometimes after years on the street. They rebuild relationships, find purpose, and reclaim their lives.

Homelessness is complicated. But one of the most powerful things we can do is simple: recognize someone’s humanity. A moment of connection can be the beginning of real change.