draft
I
am sometimes guilty of using my own sub-language, or jargon. I think
most writers do at one time or another. Its hard to get a new word
or term defined and accepted but the Germans, or those who speak the
Germanic languages do not care. They create and use compound words
with speed and facility.
Sidewalk,
rocketship, doorknob, jailbait, idiot-sh*t-for-brains, etc.
I
have needed a term for someone who is essentially but not quite
homeless for quite a while.
If
“homeless” refers to someone who is chronically unemployed and
does not have the money, or for some reason the capability, to have a
place to sleep, to take a shower, to keep their stuff, and to cook a
meal, we call that person homeless.
I
define “all-but-homeless” as someone who would be homeless,
except that their friends or family is putting them up somewhere.
This
might be “couch surfing”, but couch surfing has a different
feeling to it. “Couch surfing” suggests someone who is 20
something and who is able to mooch on a friend for a week or a month
while they are looking for work. It has a healthy, youthful feel to
it. It does not suggest the helplessness of homelessness.
An
“all-but-homeless” person is someone who has tried for years to
make a living, who has learned new skills, worked hard, is older than
is trendy, but still cant figure out how to pay the rent. He or she
is now a burden on their friends or family or both but doesnt want to
be and is somewhat ashamed of it.
They
are certainly better off than a “homeless” person but they are
far from living a healthy, actualized life. They can not travel, can
not afford medical care, can not afford new clothes, can not afford
to go to conferences or go on vacation. They are in a prison of
poverty and can not work their way out. Maybe they are a victim of
their own decisions, maybe they have a disability whether
acknowledged or unacknowledged, maybe they are a victim of government
policies, maybe they are just unlucky, or maybe it is a combination
of some of these or something else entirely. They are certainly
better off than someone who is homeless, but that is about all you
can say about it.
