Story 6: Safety or Comfort?
The Public Perception Series · Shelter Outline Stories
Public space with people walking, symbolizing perceived safety
How “I don’t feel safe” is often used to justify pushing people out of public spaces.
There’s a phrase that gets used a lot when people talk about homelessness in public spaces: “I don’t feel safe.” It sounds reasonable. It sounds responsible. It sounds like a genuine concern.
But most of the time, it’s not about safety at all. It’s about comfort.
A person sitting on a bench. A person resting against a wall. A person carrying their belongings. A person who looks tired, worn down, or out of place.
None of these things are dangerous. But they make some people uncomfortable, and discomfort gets rebranded as danger.
“I don’t feel safe” becomes a socially acceptable way to say, “I don’t want to see this.”
And once that phrase is spoken, everything changes. It becomes easier to call the police. Easier to demand a sweep. Easier to support laws that push people out of sight. Easier to justify removing someone who hasn’t done anything wrong.
The problem is that real safety and perceived safety are not the same thing. Real safety is based on actions. Perceived safety is based on assumptions.
And assumptions are shaped by:
- stereotypes
- fear
- media narratives
- past experiences
- social conditioning
When someone says, “I don’t feel safe,” they’re often reacting to an image they’ve been taught to fear, not the person in front of them.
The truth is simple: Most people experiencing homelessness are not a threat. They’re the ones in danger.
They’re the ones who get pushed out of parks, libraries, bus stops, and sidewalks. They’re the ones who get questioned, monitored, and moved along. They’re the ones who lose access to the few public spaces they have left.
And all it takes is one person saying, “I don’t feel safe,” when what they really mean is, “I don’t feel comfortable.”
Comfort is a preference. Safety is a right. And too often, people confuse the two with consequences that fall on the most vulnerable.
Closing Reflection
Public spaces belong to everyone, not just the people who feel the most comfortable in them. If we want to change public perception, we have to start by telling the truth about what “safety” really means and who pays the price when comfort is treated like danger.
Call to Action
Question the instinct to label discomfort as danger. Challenge fear-based assumptions. Protect public spaces as places for everyone, not just the privileged.
The Public Perception Series · Part of the Shelter Outline movement.
Story by the Street Sentinel
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