The Homeless – Mentally Ill, or Just Lazy?
What causes homelessness? Is homelessness the result of job loss? Does it result from drug and alcohol addiction? Just who are the homeless? The homeless are a mixture of people with many different problems. Many of them are mentally ill patients released from institutions. Some are single women with children. As John Grisham stated, 40% are substance abusers (Grisham 14). Some of the homeless want and need help, but to others being homeless is a conscious choice.
The choices a person makes will largely determine what kind of life he or she has. Outside factors, such as unexpected job loss, may drastically alter a person’s lifestyle for a while, but most people get back on their feet before long. As the GM worker said in Roger and Me, "It’s never pleasant when something like this comes to an end, but life goes on."
The majority of people will make the choice to look for another job, no matter what they have to do to get one. This may include moving to another part of the state or country (the lady at the Flint post office said they had 82,000 address changes). It may also result in a cut in pay. Most workers are willing to make the sacrifices it takes to continue to be employed. Yet there are others who decide to give up, start to drink, or take drugs, and end up on the street.
Watching Roger and Me in 2004 does not have the same impact it had in 1989. GM was one of the first companies to "downsize," and it was a big shock to everyone when it happened. Since then downsizing has become a trend with thousands of companies, and people nowadays are not surprised when they are laid off. Roger Smith is only one of many CEO’s who make millions while lower employees lose their jo...
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...ay find themselves jobless and homeless. Everyone faces obstacles in their life. How one chooses to deal with them - to fight or to give up - will determine the quality of life he or she will have.
Works Cited
Crimmins, James C. The American Promise. San Francisco: KQED Books, 1995.
Grisham, John. "Somewhere for Everyone." Newsweek February 9, 1998: 14.
Marin, Peter. "Helping and Hating the Homeless: The Struggle at the Margins of America." Writing For Change: A Community Reader. Ed. Ann Watters and Marjorie Ford. NY McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995. 270-283.
Moore, Michael, Dir. Roger & Me. Videocassette. Dog Eat Dog/Warner Bros., 1989. VHS. 83 min.
Terkel, Studs. "Mike LeFevre: Who Built the Pyramids?" Writing For Change - A Community Reader. Ed. Ann Watters and Marjorie Ford. NY McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1995. 209-216.
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