Negative Views Of Homeless People

Several misleading views have been created relating to homeless people; however, perhaps it has contributed to an inaccurate opinion or perception society has made concerning exactly who the homeless really are. The distorted opinion within our society can easily be influenced and apparently these views were created and held up by a collection of myths and assumptions. Society tends to generally believe that homeless people are made up of alcoholics and drug addicts and are generally dangerous to be around. However, while a growing number of these stereotypes concerning the homeless have influenced our views, society may begin to discover, that those homeless have generally turned out to be some ones former friend neighbor or even a family

It is also typical for society to believe that the homeless are also uneducated or lazy or it’s simply the result of a choice to be free from the pressures of a full time job or the stress of paying bills. In reality, homeless people still work and pay bills with the added stresses of humiliation, fear of violence and worries about where to sleep at night. People without homes are constantly on the move, getting pressured by police or threatened by civilians. They become ashamed of their selves as they experience further alienation from their friends and families. Consequently, they do not get to participate in the leisure activities that people with homes do. When I see a homeless person sleeping on a lawn looking peaceful, it doesn 't mean it 's as if they are on vacation, when in fact, they are probably just getting a few minutes or hours of sleep and have nowhere else to do

Some examples of the circumstances that lead to homelessness and poverty are victims of domestic violence, veterans and people with mental illness or the chemically dependent. Homelessness affects adult males more than females, 51% of adult males are known to be homeless compared to 17% of adult women. There are more than 226,000 homeless children in California alone. California ranks #1 in the nation in child homelessness, nationally there are 1.6 million children homeless. Homelessness affects everyone, even students like us. It’s estimated that 58,158 student applicants indicated they were homeless on their financial aid application. Our society has demonized homeless people so much over the years. Bystanders or passersby’s do not t think they can ever end up on the street because they’re not crazy, they 're not drug dealers or addicted or they 're not alcoholics. Society does not realize that operating and maintaining homeless support sources such as, homeless shelters, day centers and homeless medical services are costly ventures for our cities to commit to improving which our government must apply more solutions to. Often the homeless are faced with many disadvantages which force them to turn to indecent acts to take care of natural human bodily functions. As a result, cities are forced to pay for the cleanup and maintenance in