Myths of Homelessness Part 1: “They Just Need to Get a Job”

The Boardroom vs. The Street

As someone who spent years as a VP of Operations and running my own service businesses, I’ve seen the world through the lens of spreadsheets, P&L statements, and hiring cycles.

But as someone who was homeless myself before co-founding the Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition, I’ve also seen the world from the pavement—right here in rural Putnam County, Florida, a place where poverty affects 23.9% of residents and the unemployment rate sits at 6.3%—higher than Florida’s statewide average of 4.2%. I’ve walked those streets myself during tough times, experiencing firsthand the exhaustion of trying to hold down work while sleeping in a vehicle or tent, constantly worrying about where my next meal or shower would come from. That lived experience drives every bit of our coalition’s work.

The most common “solution” I hear from well-intentioned people is simple: “They just need to get a job.” It’s logical, but it collapses under scrutiny. Here’s why that “simple” solution is a logistical nightmare, especially in a place like Putnam.

The Logistics of the Impossible

In the professional world, we talk about “barriers to entry.” For our unhoused neighbors in Putnam, those barriers are often insurmountable without a front door:

• The Paperwork Trap: Federal law (I-9 requirements) requires valid ID and social security cards to start a job. If your bag is stolen during a camp sweep—as happened to dozens when Palatka’s only overnight shelter closed last fall—you’re effectively “un-hireable” until you spend weeks navigating a bureaucratic maze to replace them, with no money, no transportation, and limited resources in our spread-out rural county.
• The Address Filter: Most HR software automatically flags applications without a physical residential address. Before a hiring manager even sees your skills, the system has already discarded you. In rural Putnam County, where over 40% of renter households are cost-burdened—spending more than 40% of their income on housing—finding stable housing becomes nearly impossible without steady employment, creating an impossible catch-22.
• The Hygiene Hurdle: Try staying “office ready” or even “manual labor ready” when you have no place to shower, iron a shirt, or even store your work boots safely overnight. With public facilities scarce and transportation limited, basic upkeep becomes a daily battle.

The Invisible Workforce: The “Double Life”

Here is the reality that many people miss: Many of our homeless neighbors in Putnam County already have jobs. They are the “Invisible Workforce”—the person stocking the shelves at 3 AM or the prep cook making your lunch. In fact, national trends show up to 40% of unhoused individuals are employed, and local anecdotes from our coalition partners confirm this pattern here. Because of the stigma I’ve seen firsthand in the business world—and felt myself when I was in their shoes—they live a high-stakes double life:

• The Silence: They don’t talk about their “weekend” because their weekend was spent moving their car every few hours to avoid a trespass notice—or relocating after the recent shelter shutdown left dozens without options.
• The Hygiene Hustle: They use gym memberships or gas station sinks to stay professional because they know the moment a boss finds out they are unhoused, they become a “liability” in the eyes of HR.
• The Constant Friction: There is nothing less “operationally efficient” than a human being forced to spend 40% of their mental energy just pretending they have a home to go back to, all while navigating Putnam’s limited public transit and rural isolation.

The Bottom Line

Employment is a tool, but a tool is useless if you have nowhere to store it and no foundation to stand on while using it. We have people working 40 hours a week in our county who still cannot save enough for a security deposit and first month’s rent—especially with market-rate rents averaging around $1,500 monthly (even HUD’s “fair market rent” for a two-bedroom is $996), far outpacing wages in our service-heavy economy. Add in that 28% of children here live in poverty, and the cycle deepens.

We need to stop telling people to “get to work” and start building the infrastructure that makes keeping a job possible. Housing First isn’t a handout; it’s the only logical starting point for a stable workforce—particularly after events like the Palatka shelter closure highlight how fragile our local support systems are.

Get Involved:

The Putnam County Homelessness Solutions Coalition is working to remove these barriers—from ID recovery to hygiene resources and advocating for permanent shelters.

Help us build a stronger, more stable community.

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Follow this series: Over the coming weeks, we’ll debunk more myths—from “they choose to live this way” to “it’s too expensive to fix.” Each post draws from lived experience and local data to challenge the narrative around homelessness in Putnam County.