“ Looking back, we see with great clarity, and what once appeared as difficulties now reveal themselves as blessings.” - Dan Millan At the young age of ten, I had the privilege to occupy a homeless shelter that once was a hospital. It had eight floors, an abundance of beg bugs, and probably some ghost too. It made for a lovely haunted house during the month of October and my place of residence for about seven months that year. Looking from the outside in, people sometimes felt sorry for me because I had to live in a homeless shelter. Never would they ever think that is was actually one of the best times of my life and one of the most valuable experiences. It allowed me to grow significantly in many aspects of my life and I have become very …show more content…
Along with a more positive self-image, I had developed more confidence within myself and my abilities as a person. If I was able to make it through living in a homeless shelter, I knew that no matter what would happen in the future, I was going to come out on top at all times. Growing up there were times where I was bullied. It was never anything to extreme but it always had something to with my weight. As I was walking to the bus to go home after school one day, a younger male student said, “Hey! Do you know you’re fat?”. Once upon a time in my life, my reaction would have been one of anger and violence, but I had quickly realized there was no need to react that way for three reasons; One, I already knew I was “fat” I looked in the mirror everyday so it was not a new discovery for me. Secondly, I did not know who this person was so it truly did not bother me. Lastly, and most importantly, I thought to myself “Umm, okay… Thanks I’m fabulous anyway”. This moment in time I had realized that the way I thought about myself had changed. I was able to walk away from the situation unbothered and I was truly proud of that
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”
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.
California currently faces the ominous blessing of the El Nino weather system, which promises to bring desperately needed rains in the form of storms and torrential rains. In preparation for these rains, California also has to address the homeless population, who will be stranded in the rains if adequate shelters are not provided for them. In his article, Sunnyvale: Fast-tracked Emergency Homeless Shelter Set To Open, Eric Kurhi cites expert opinions, utilizes emotional appeal, and employs rhetorical devices such as diction in order to provide information on the new homeless shelter opening in Sunnyvale while discussing the overall problem of homelessness.
‘Homelessness’ is when an individual or family cannot afford permanent housing. Homelessness is a common problem in human history. There are many reasons why people reached the state of homelessness such as; physical, economic, social and political. These problems continue to interfere with people’s lives. In the early stages of the American colonial settlement, homelessness became a huge problem in America. Most recently homelessness has been caused by the high cost of housing, alcoholism and drug addictions, mental health issues, joblessness and military veterans coming home. Many people who have jobs here in America still cannot afford permanent housing because the minimum wage which is $7.25 is not enough money to make a good living. The people who gets pay $7.25 an hour struggles because by the time they’re done paying all their bills they have very little to buy groceries, so most of the times people buy food for them and their family which means eventually they’re going to owe a lot of money for rent, which is going to lead to eviction. The United States needs a comprehensive plan to end homelessness in the richest country in the world once and for all.
Many people debate on weather homeless people should receive guidance or just be abandoned. Do homeless people deserve our service and to be supported, or are they just lazy individuals trying to take advantage of people? Homelessness is a growing dispute in cities. It has became an extensive problem for the community. Homelessness can not and should not be ignored. The number of homeless people in the United States is quickly growing. It seems like no one cares to help them. Even our heroes like police officers show no sympathy towards the homeless. “Homeless people appeared on the streets of Bucharest in 1990. Since then, their number and the problems created by this phenomenon have steadily increased in all major
The homeless population in the United States does not only include the humans out on the streets, but also the ones in living in vehicles, emergency shelters, transitional housing, and other unstable environments. Over six-hundred thousand individuals are currently homeless in the U.S. In our current society, people often become homeless due to circumstances beyond their control. Humans often face abrupt personal and public challenges within their lives causing change and displacement in their housing status without notice nor a choice. In relation to personal reasons for homelessness, individuals who identify as LGBTQ and victims of domestic violence encounter many different situational problems leaving them displaced. Furthermore, there has been a sharp increase in unaffordable housing recently causing other people to suffer issues in a more public manner.
The police face many different issues while out on patrol every day. One issue is that of the homeless. In many cities, homelessness has been criminalized, but we, as a society, have to question if this is the right thing to do. Should people who have the misfortune of being homeless be punished further?
There are countless laws today that subliminally discriminate against homeless people. One such law was passed in 2014 that made it illegal to sleep in public areas of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Philosopher Jeremy Waldron and author of the essay “Homelessness and the Issue of Freedom” would view this law as extremely unconstitutional and immoral. Waldron would argue that making it illegal to sleep somewhere takes away the homeless persons freedom to live. I agree with Waldron on the claim that outlawing sleeping in public spaces is unconstitutional because by doing so one is taking away the homeless persons only home. For those who do not have a place to sleep the streets are their only homes. The law banning sleeping in public spaces therefore discretely makes it illegal for homeless people to even exist.
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.
The population of Los Angeles continues to grow each day because people perceive that the opportunities will improve their economic and social well-being. Most of them get good jobs manufacturing, business and the government giving them the ability to provide for themselves and their children. Those who are not lucky enough do not realise their goals and depend on the government and the society for basic needs. The effort of the city and the government to house the homeless cannot take the pressure of the rising number of the homeless without the support of the society. Los Angeles in the United State’s largest urban and has the highest number of homeless people making the task of housing its population next to impossible without participation
Although homelessness is widespread and almost next to the catastrophic global hunger problems, it can be brought under control and its effect reduced to a greater percentage. By simply tracking the root causes of low wages and the lack of affordable housing as well as improving other support systems like housing vouchers and health care, homelessness can be solved.
I myself, a concerned citizen have seen and have had experience with homelessness. Unlike many I stopped and I will remember the day forever. It changed my outlook on the issue of homelessness. It was late at night, I was working at Dairy Queen at the time and I went out for a smoke break, out of nowhere an older woman came across the parking lot and asked me for a cigarette. I lit another cigarette and gave it to her. As she sat? down beside me in silence and the feeling I had sitting there beside her tugged at my heart. She wore clothes that were more rags
I went to the grocery store and got cases of water, bags of bread, and stuff to make the sandwiches. I had finished preparing the bags and each had granola bars, fruit, ham and cheese sandwiches, water, toothpaste, and other hygiene products. My dad and I had arrived outside the homeless shelter and were ready to pass the bags out as we saw the swarm of people. Hundreds maybe even thousands of people gathered sitting in what little shade there was. I knew we had a homeless problem, but not to this extent and the bags I had made were going to make little to no difference on the vast amount of people that had been sitting outside. I was a little disappointed at first to be completely honest because I was not prepared for that many people. If I would have known there would have been so many people I would have made more bags. We drove around the block planning on what we were going to do and saw some tents set up. My dad and I were curious as to what they were, so we got out the car and saw that these people had been giving people food and I walked up to them and asked if there was any way I could help them. These people in the tents were actually an organization called Open Arms Outreach and a few girls scouts. They gladly let us help and we brought a few cases of water and the bags I had made and helped pass them out. The organization Open Arms Outreach
I would like to start by saying how I see it and define it in my own words. It is the state where an individual doesn’t have a normal house and are not financially stable in life. It is the situation where you have to look after yourself or another person that is also homeless. You won’t be able to find the proper housing like a normal and secured place to live. All day and all night, you will be trying to sustain yourself from everyday challenges, like looking for food to eat, a place to live, and proper clothing.
Over the summer my friend and I decided to join the Coalition for Homeless Women. I learned a lot while visiting the numerous women shelters and I can admit that I too had very stupid and naïve perceptions of some of these women. Even though I was not as “rotten” as some of the girls I attended school with, my parents sheltered me. I will always remember walking down the street one day and as I passed by a homeless woman I handed her my dollar. My father immediately looked at me funny and said “Sonia, you shouldn’t have given her your allowance, she will only use it to buy drugs or alcohol. She will not use it for anything good!” At the age of ten those words resonated in my head for some time. My perception of homeless people was somewhat flawed until I was old enough to understand the world for myself. I was really happy when I visited shelters and spoke to some of these remarkable women. They weren’t on drugs, they weren’t alcoholics, and these are wo...