You don’t expect to wake up and find yourself without a home. For hundreds of thousands of people across the United States it is a reality. Many families in the Omaha, Nebraska metropolitan areas are just as susceptible. I have found that people view the homeless as a scar on society. However, the people that lend a hand are often like the nurses on a battlefield; they find the positive when everything around them is anything but positive. I knew I wasn’t that type of person, but I wanted to do something to help. It was dark out when I arrived at Micah House. As I pulled in to park I came to a sliding stop on the icy parking lot. Shortly before my arrival Omaha received a quarter inch of freezing rain and snow mix. I wasn’t sure if …show more content…
There wasn’t anything on the walls but the bright white paint. We walked down the left hallway that had doors on both sides. It reminded me of my dentist’s office. The first door on the right was labeled “Adult Education”. We went a couple more feet to the door labeled “Conference Room”. As Dianne gestured for me to have a seat she said, “Mr. Sime will be right in.” Right on queue this boy walked in who looked maybe all of sixteen years old. I was wondering if one of the children were just out for an adventure. Then he introduced himself, “Hi. My name is Jaymes Sime, and I’m the Executive Director here at Micah House.” He looked like a slightly older version of Ralphie from A Christmas Story only he wasn’t wearing the red snow suit and glasses. The conference room was large, and could be divided with a retractable wall. The front half had seating for twenty people arranged to focused on a video screen. The back half was set up for a round table discussion. The chairs were hard plastic much like you would find in an elementary school classroom. “Every Thursday night we have a class called Transformation Thursday in this room,” Jaymes
When people see the homeless, they are quick to assume whether the homeless are where they’re at because of drugs, or not being in a stable environment. However, homeless people rarely receive an opportunity to tell their life stories or even have the chance to explain how they ended up in the situations they are in. Homelessness in Boston has persisted and increased for decades. Though there have been efforts to combating the issues of homelessness and housing, it appears that there is no solution in sight. Winter have become nightmares for most of the homeless population in Boston. Weather ranges from thirty degrees down to ten, sometimes single numbers. Weather that is below freezing are moments where people like myself, need to be in warm places. Kourtney McLean is a woman financially and emotionally not stable enough to take care of herself. Ms. McLean has been living on the streets for almost all her life --homeless and struggling to get on her
The homeless population is growing in America. There are more and more Americans living in boxes, sleeping on park benches and panhandling on the streets each day. These people tend to make us, the non-homeless, feel uncomfortable and unsafe. They are also placing increasing stress on the nation's economy. In short, the homeless are a burden on the rest of society. There needs to be action taken against them. "I shall now humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection (Swift.)" I propose that all of the homeless be relocated to foreign third world countries. They can then be hired in American factories producing shoes, automobiles and other various goods at less than one dollar per hour.
“Homelessness is a symptom of systemic poverty” (www.kansascity.com). Since 2012, the homeless rate has risen more than 7% in Kansas City, MO alone. According to a 2012 count survey by the homeless coalition services, roughly 2,434 unduplicated individuals were homeless in Kansas City. Of those 70% were sheltered and 30% were on the streets. Since reported on any given night here in the metro more than 3,000 adults and 7,500 kids are homeless in our area. We are not sure why the rate has risen so much over the years. “Maybe because the declining economy is almost certain for the external event most commonly said to make people homeless” (Shumoky, Neil Larry). Many people who are homeless are, victims of domestic violence, after deciding to leave an abusive relationship, they often have nowhere to go for those who have few resource. Also, Lack of money needed for housing and having to wait on a list for assisted housing means they have to chose between staying with an abuser or living on the street with their kids. People with HIV/AIDS, those people often get depressed and suicidal. The cost for medications and treatments for people living with HIV/AIDS get too high for people to keep up with. They also are at risk of losing their jobs because of discrimination or absences health-related. A few more are people with a mental illness and substance abusers. Also, Veterans, who once served in this country. They were also effected by the economic crisis that hit a few years ago. Many also dealing with PTSD, are unwilling to get the help needed because of the shame surrounding mental illness. So many turn to alcohol/drugs as an escape from the terrible and haunting memories of the war. Some of their families give up on them. Not being ...
Homeless situations are a concern because there are a number of homeless children in the United States and continues to rise (McDaniel, 2012). Homeless people struggle to survive because they live in housing that is not livable or does not have a home and therefore, they live in cardboard boxes, in the alley, or wherever they can find shelter. In reality, this affects the ability for a
I heard a blood-curdling scream and I jumped. I felt silent tears running down my heavily scarred face, but they weren’t out of sadness. Mostly. They were a mixture of pain and fear. I ran into the eerie, blood-splattered room and screamed as I felt cold fingers grab my neck. Before that night, I didn’t believe in the paranormal. Now I sure as heck do. I had been chased out of my house after a fight with my step-parents because I wasn’t doing well in school (I had dyslexia), and I had taken shelter in what seemed like a normal house. I realized what I had gotten into after the sun set. The doors locked without a sign of anyone going near them. A cold draft filled the room I was in. The house turned into a horrific scene, and I knew I would never get out alive. It was the Asylum. There’s a rumor in our town, a rumor that started when someone made the observation that everyone fit in. No one was considered strange, homeless, an outsider. That doesn’t seem possible, you think. In my town, there are tons of people with no homes, or people that don’t belong, you think. Well, think again. Those homeless people? Think about how many there are. They fit in with each other. Those people that don’t belong? Once again, they fit in with each other. But then, you
This great nation of awesome power and abundant resources is losing the battle against homelessness. The casualties can be seen on the street corners of every city in American holding an ?I will work for food? sign. Homeless shelters and rescue missions are at full capacity. There is no room at the inn for the nation?s indigent. Anyone who has studied this issue understands that homelessness is a complex problem. Communities continue to struggle with this socio-economic problem while attempting to understand its causes and implement solutions. The public and private sectors of this country are making a difference in the lives of the homeless by addressing the issues of housing, poverty and education.
.... The homeless community is a growing problem that only worsens with time. If we don’t make an effort now, to help the most vulnerable among us, then we are only contributing to this problem. With our unsure economy, nothing is guaranteed, so just be considerate for others who are in an inferior situation, because who knows when you might need a hand.
Homelessness is a vast predicament in America and around the world. It is severely overlooked as people don’t really think of homelessness as real world problem. However, there have been ways that people have tried to fix the problem. They have come up with homeless shelters, emergency shelters, food banks and soup kitchens. These solutions have limitations though, which will hopefully come to an end.
Homelessness is increasing more every year. In fact, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, over 640,000 people experience homelessness every night. (Hunger and Homelessness in North America) By definition, the homeless are groups of people that do not have a home. They can be people who are mentally ill, unemployed, veterans, or even children born into unfortunate families. Since they have nowhere to go, the homeless usually live inside abandoned buildings, in the streets, or in makeshift homes, such as a cardboard box or homemade tent. Although some work to find a decent home, many still suffer from depression or are psychically disabled and cannot work. (Overview of Homelessness in America) These people do not choose to be homeless, instead they become homeless due to a series of unfortunate events; namely losing their source of income or becoming homeless by birth. One instance of this occurred in the life of Hazel Washington. Hazel was fleeing an abusive relationship when she moved in with her relative and his girlfriend, but she was not told about their impending eviction. Because of this, her roommates took everything she owned an...
The National Coalition for the Homeless (2006) is the most effective strategy as it seeks to address the problem of homelessness through various means, including volunteer work, advocacy efforts, and contributions. Firstly, the strategy requires people to volunteer their time to work directly with the victims of homelessness in the city to help them meet their immediate needs. People can volunteer their time to work with children in various programs, share hobbies, and help build houses and shelters among others (Miller, Hess, & Orthmann, 2011). This is extremely important and can help victims of homelessness to acquire some of the basic needs they lack.
Annotated Bibliography: “Homelessness and the selfish society”. “Homelessness, Citizenship, and Identity : The Uncanniness of Late Modernity” Arnold, Kathleen R. 2004 Kathleen’s book brings up many detailed facts about how homelessness is a never-ending situation due to mental illness, poverty, social structure and political parties. She discusses how many of society groups illegal immigrants, mentally ill, jobless and many other categories under the homeless category.
Homelessness is a growing epidemic around the world, and poverty is the most common reason most people are forced to face the miserable life of living without shelter. The only way that we can help this unfortunate situation is to take action, and by doing that, we need to know the facts about this unfortunate situation. Over two-million people live in emergency shelters, and transitional housing. With so many people living in poverty, it gives us a better understanding as to why there are so many homeless people today. Having no food, and relying on food kitchens, garbage scraps, and stealing food, is a very tragic situation. With no protection from the elements, many of them will die from heat strokes, or quite frankly, freeze to death. The average american purchases food and other household goods for their families, and some never stop to think of those less...
According to the National Alliance to Homelessness Report (2016) in January of 2015, 564,708 people were estimated to be homeless in the United States. What makes matters worse is that homeless individuals are quite difficult to locate and due to lack of a physical address. In addition, the overwhelming number of homeless populations throughout the United States have complex needs that take a combined effort, including financial needs. The major problem is that besides basic needs like shelter, reliable income, transportation, proper clothing, personal care, food, medical and dental care, this population also often suffers from various illnesses such as depression, mental illness, physical disability, HIV/AIDS, or other conditions (Shi & Stevens, 2010). The disparities listed create a cascade event and make the effort of helping more
Many times people who end up homeless do not grow up in the best of homes. Most of the time they do not have very stable homes or they were born homeless. For example, Monty became homeless when he was thirteen or fourteen years old because his home-life was so terrible that he would not be living today if he had not left. Also, their families could have left them because they have a physical or mental disability. In 2016, 564,708 people in the United States are homeless and 83,170 of those people are chronically homeless (2016’s Shocking Homelessness). That means that they have a disability, such as behavioral health problems, mental illnesses, substance use disorders, physical illnesses, injury, or trauma. It is evident that these people need help and few people are giving them the help they
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there are nearly 554,000 individuals facing homelessness. (2016) Personally, this number, as big as it seems, only accounts for the ones that want to be found; the ones we have access to. However, there are several that cannot be accounted for; several we don’t even know exist. The growing concern for homelessness is its presence. Not only can we see this locally in areas of Scranton and the surrounding cities, but when we travel to other places, it is just as evident. My biggest concern with those facing homelessness is the stigma and biases associated with being “homeless.” Too easily are these individuals are referred to as beggars, bums, addicts, lazy, etc.