As we go about our daily life, we tend to assume that our perceptions, of the world, our world view, sights, sounds, textures, tastes are an accurate portrayal of the real world. We think nothing of the struggle of our fellow men. When we stop and think about it or when we find ourselves fooled by a perceptual illusion we realize with a jolt that what we perceive is never the real world, but rather our best guess at what that world is like, a kind of internal simulation of an external reality. From time to time, we should look inward and tried to understand the harshness and the cruelty of homelessness. What that does to one state of mind and remember that no one set out to be homeless. It’s the circumstances of life that sometimes lead one
Hopelessness is the state of losing all hope and having feelings of desperation. People who are homeless know this feeling all too well, but for outsiders who do not understand the struggles that the homeless face, it can be easy to overlook them as lazy or even delinquents. However, the reality is that homelessness has been a problem for a long time. In fact, documented cases of homelessness go all the way back to the 1640’s. In order to raise awareness of the difficulties that homeless people face, a news reporter for the LA Times named Lisa Biagiotti created a documentary entitled, On the Streets, where she went around and interviewed homeless people.
“One diverse population that has continued to increase over the quarter of a century is composed of people who are homeless” (Baggerly & Zalaquett, 2006, p.155). Homelessness has become a growing problem in society because more and more people are finding themselves to be homeless and not knowing where to turn. Many people do not
Homelessness is the condition of people without a permanent place to live, such as a house. People who are homeless are unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure housing. It has been a problem for a long time but it has become a social issue from the past few decades. People think about homelessness as one’s personal problem and seek them to face it. Moreover, the majority of the people think that the only reason behind being homelessness is their choice and just laziness to do any work and lead to a better life. But that’s just one incomplete perception about the homelessness.
The Homeless are a vulnerable population. Homelessness is a social issue that anyone can almost be subjected to despite his or her age, race, ethnicity or geographical background. Kornblum (2012) defined homelessness as… “as a social condition in which people do not have regular housing and are forced to sleep in public places, public shelters, or facilities designed for homeless individuals and families” (p.280). The homeless population faces several adversaries in their lifetime of being homeless. Their adversaries are a lack physical and emotional disabilities, and possibly drug abuse. Grant some are homeless by choice, whereas most are homeless by mishaps, but nevertheless, they are humans deserving to be treated with fairness, dignity,
Homelessness exists as a prominent issue that plagues society in various ways. It brings about hardship and controversy as individuals struggle to survive on a daily basis. Additionally, this complication tears families apart and ostracizes individuals from a society where they once belonged. A specific problem regarding homelessness consists of lack of interest from bystanders; some of these spectators refuse to even acknowledge homeless individuals sitting at their feet. As homeless people live their lives on street-corners, the more fortunate members of society choose to engulf themselves in their personal problems alone. Displayed by their clothing and accessories, most of these individuals possess the ability to help in some way;
A homeless person is an individual without a permanent, stable housing situation who either spends his or her nights on the streets or in temporary facilities, such as shelters and abandoned buildings. Throughout history, society has been “holding the poor, rape or incest victims, minorities, or the handicapped responsible for their misfortunes” (Zur). Society has been blaming the homeless for being in the position they are in. However, upon closer inspection, it must be noted that “children under the age of 18 accounts for 39% of the homeless population…battered women who live in poverty are often forced to choose between abusive relationships and homelessness…[and] 40% of homeless men have served in the armed forces” (Who Is Homeless?). It is clear that those who are homeless are not
The issue of chronic homelessness is not just a political or academic debate but has become evident from men and women living without homes in the streets of America. Homeless men and women
The reality of homeless people in the South Bronx district of Hunts Point is still on the rise today. Everywhere a bystander goes whether in the parks, streets, trains, buses, unoccupied lots, under bridge landscapes, and cities they are likely to see a homeless person struggling to survive. The Hunts Point neighborhood deserves to be an affordable, safe, comfortable place to live in, and not to be forgotten, and not to be left in the streets with uncertainty. In today’s society, a lot of people tune out the homelessness situation that is surrounding them because they are so driven by work and money to make a livelihood, but at the same time, they can be placed in this situation and loss of a home and assets. For example, psychologist Abraham
Homelessness is one of the tragedies that one can face unexpectedly as well as where one can choose. Being homeless is often defined as “sleeping on streets” and most people in the society only regard homeless people to be uncouth, uneducated and drug addicts that are epidemic in the community, where many do not put into context any other reason as to why people become homeless. However, individuals who chose to live on streets have placed this kind of bad reputation to homeless community and thus the society cannot be fully blamed for the judgment they give a person that is regarded as homeless.
The word “homeless” is used to describe many different kinds of people with a variety of problems; the “homeless” includes veterans, the mentally ill, the physically disabled or chronically ill, the elderly on fixed incomes, men, women, and families that have lost their source of income, single parents, runaway children who’ve been abused, alcoholics and drug addicts, immigrants, and traditional tramps, hobos, and transients (Martin, 1999). In “Helping and Hating the Homeless”, Peter Martin claims that although these people all have different backgrounds, histories, and reasons for not having a “home”, they are categorized and stereotyped by society and all looked down upon for being “homeless”. He addresses his readers, those that pass by
Anderson, Leon and David A. Snow, “Down on their luck: A Study of homeless street people. Berkley U.A: University of California Press, (1993). Two sociology major professors David A. Snow and Anderson, Leon on their book demonstrates to readers the pitiful face of homelessness in late 20th century America in numerous cities across the nation. Through many hours of meetings, member perception, and random following of homeless people through social administration organizations in Austin, Texas. Both of the authors uncovers who the homeless are, the means by which they live, and of course why they wounded up on the streets. Exposing current generalization of the homeless. On this book “Down on their luck” portrays a picture of both sexes men and ladies who are very flexible, resourceful, and even minded. Their survival is a story of human strength and assurance, not one of incapacity and frailty. This book will be useful for my future writing
There are many common misconceptions about homelessness. Ideally, it is only problematic in poor third world countries; this is false. Homelessness is a giant problem in every corner of the world. Homelessness tends to be associated with people who sleep in the streets, parks, subways, and sidewalks. Although homelessness happened a long time ago it is still present today. There are many causes for one to be homeless, such as; economy crisis, having a mental illness, drug/alcohol addiction, no job, limit housing, low income. Homeless people face an intense struggle just to stay alive. Some laws that the government has to establish makes it illegal for them to survive and some make it’s so they can have an education. Some communities
“homelessness is described as the situation of an individual or family without stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it. It is considered as the consequence of systemic or societal barriers, a lack of affordable and appropriate housing, the individual/household’s financial, mental, cognitive, behavioral or physical challenges, and/or racism and discrimination. Most people do not choose to be homeless, and the experience is generally negative, unpleasant, stressful and distressing”.
Shelter is a fundamental human need. Imagine not knowing a place called ‘home.’ You spend each night, uncertain of the weather, on a bench, which serves as your bed. As you wake up to chattering noises each morning, you worry about which public place will allow you to clean yourself up. When you get hungry, you go to a soup kitchen, beg people for change to eat a cheap meal, or search the nearest garbage can. For the rest of the day, you sit in busy areas hoping people will notice you and want to help out. You realize that you are not judged by who you are but what you are. The situation described above is the typical description for homelessness for about 600,000 homeless people in the United States on a given night (“State of Homelessness Report”). Some of them sleep in shelters, others on the streets; roughly one-quarter are children (Crane et al.). In order to understand and prevent the complex issue of homelessness, one must first learn about the various ways through which a person could end up without a roof over his or her head.
While a portion of today’s society turns a blind eye to the subject of the criminalization of homelessness, an even larger quantity of people are not aware of the situation that is happening in every major city of America. For those living an affluent lifestyle, it can be difficult to discuss the amount of poverty and homelessness that is constantly occurring. The definition and meaning behind the absence of home is also arduous to discuss. While homelessness is commonly associated with sleeping outside or in provisional areas, this word also identifies with an absence of belonging. This absence of belonging can relate not only to a community, but also to the people that dwell there (Baumohl 3). Within the portion of those who are aware of the homelessness situation, there is a section that detests the poverty stricken persons of our society. These biased members of the American population express their antipathy in several ways. It is necessary to reveal the privileges that homeless persons have been violently stripped of, and expose and broadcast the freedom they are entitled to. Through