The not so helpful help for those experiencing homelessness | Grant Denton | TEDxReno

People in poverty have a sense of scarcity. So, it makes sense for them to keep taking. It’s weird to think that helping can contribute to keeping someone sick. The way to minimize the damage from helping in the wrong direction is to be mindful of possible unintended consequences. We have to be more thought-out in all aspects of helping. We have to ask ourselves: What are we “helping” the person to do more easily? Are we helping in a way that will contribute to getting someone off the streets or in a better condition? Or are we helping someone stay successfully homeless?
Grant Denton has overcome significant diversity. Childhood abuse and abandonment, drug addiction and a life of crime, to emerge as a leading advocate for folks in need, especially the unhoused. Denton burned through jobs. He became addicted to drugs and was in and out of homelessness from 2007 to 2013. In 2013, Denton was arrested on burglary charges that could have sent him to prison for five to seven years. The judge gave him a choice: enter drug court and rehab or go to prison. On Dec. 28, 2014, Denton used illegal drugs for the last time. “That was It! I was done,” he says. Denton moved to Reno for a fresh start, working in sober living, a homeless shelter, for the Downtown Reno Business Improvement District, and in an addiction treatment center, where he formed a crew of community volunteers that lead to the Karma Box Project. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx