The Unrepeatable Dignity of the Unseen

The issue of homelessness in Arkansas and across the nation has grown increasingly visible in the wake of the pandemic. Individuals and families who once enjoyed stability have been thrust into uncertainty due to soaring housing costs, medical hardships, and an inability to secure employment that reflects their pre-pandemic earning potential. What was once an abstract societal challenge has now become a lived reality for men and women from all walks of life.

In Arkansas, 2,783 individuals experience homelessness, seeking shelter in emergency facilities or transitional housing. This experience is indiscriminate—crossing lines of gender, ethnicity, and health status. However, while homelessness is often framed as a category, a social issue, or a statistic, it is, at its core, an intensely personal experience. Behind every number is a name, a story, and a person whose dignity remains intact despite their circumstances.

Philosopher John F. Crosby reminds us that each human being is “unrepeatable” (Crosby, 2019). This profound truth compels us to see beyond the broad label of homelessness and recognize the irreplaceable worth of every individual. The man on the street corner collecting spare change for shelter is not merely a figure in the margins of our city; the child in the classroom struggling with instability is not just another at-risk student. These individuals are unique, irreducible, and inherently valuable. They are not problems to be solved but persons to be acknowledged, respected, and supported. Yet, all too often, their richness and dignity are obscured by stereotypes that prioritize discomfort over understanding. Crosby challenges us to look beyond fatigue-lined eyes, unkempt clothing, and disruptive behaviors to recognize the profound worth of the human being before us.

This March, The City of Hope Outreach (CoHO) will launch its 10th annual Unseen Campaign, an initiative designed to awaken awareness, cultivate education, and inspire action. This campaign does not seek to place the burden of solving homelessness on any one individual but rather to invite the citizens of Conway and Faulkner County to engage with their neighbors in a new way. The challenge is simple yet profound: to see. To pause long enough to recognize the unrepeatable dignity in the face of another, to move beyond passive acknowledgment and toward active compassion.

Being seen matters. To be acknowledged, to be valued, to be treated with dignity—this is a fundamental human need. And just as we desire to be seen, we must also commit to seeing others.

​This March, let us embrace the challenge to see.

Dr. Philip D. Fletcher is the founder and executive director of The City of Hope Outreach, a 501c3 nonprofit organization in Conway, Arkansas. To learn more, please visit the website coho58.org