Homeless For The Homeless Essay

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After waiting in line for seven hours with a bag that weighs almost as much as her, 62 year old Abigail is the second to last person to receive a room at the homeless shelter. Her legs quiver in pain as she walks up two flights of stairs to a room she will be sharing with eight other people for the night. Tonight, Abigail will be able to wash her clothing, sleep in a heated room, and shower for the first time in a while. She sleeps for as long as she can, despite questionable odor and loud noises, but Abigail must leave the shelter by five AM. All she possesses, besides her clothes, is the styrofoam cup of coffee she is handed as she leaves. She has walked the streets of her city for many years and has given up hope of finding a job. No one
Unfortunately, the chances of getting into a shelter for the elderly are more difficult. Many shelters are located on the second floor of buildings or require you to wait in long lines for hours which is difficult for many elders (Homelessness Among Elderly Persons). A man named Linwood Hearne, 64 and his wife have been living under 1-83 in Baltimore for years. An interviewer observed Hearne as he hobbled across a four lane highway to where he and twelve other homeless elders lived. They don’t want to sleep on the street, but they feel they have no choice. Hearne even admitted that as bad as it may sound, he often will look through mailboxes for eviction notices, in the hopes of squatting in a foreclosed home
Research shows that homeless elders are extremely prone to victimization and they are often ignored by law enforcement. A 2006 study showed that homeless individuals between the ages 50-59 accounted for 27% of the homeless victims of violent crimes (Homelessness Among Elderly Persons). They are on the street and as a result they are vulnerable. If a crime is committed against them they often times don’t even report it because no one believes them, because they seem delirious. Unless there is concrete evidence or a credible witness, cops don’t usually want to go out of their way to seek justice for an old

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