A great vinFormation resource teaches what it’s like to be homeless and lose everything.

Hobson’s choice* is the literary way of saying one has no choice at all. The only option you have is the one that is being offered to you.

We have all found ourselves in such situations at one point or another. But when it comes to homelessness people find themselves in an endless number of situations where their choices are meaningless.

The reasons for homelessness are many: death of someone who previously supported you, divorce, loss of job, financial hardships, drug and alcohol issues, and mental illness can all be factors. Most people who are homeless, or near homeless, have run out of good options. They work with the options they have.

To get a sense of what this is like, try the “game” called Hobson’s Choice. Most people who play this game come even just briefly come to a deeper realization of the frustation so many people live with. Well-meaning advice often just deepens the frustration because it leads to another dead end.

Keep in mind… this is not just a game but reality for many people.

*Henry Ford is supposed to have offered the most famous version of Hobson’s Choice… Henry Ford offered the Ford Model T with the famous Hobson’s choice of “You may pick any color, so long as it is black”.