Helping And Hating The Homeless Summary

Many people throughout the world look at homeless people negatively, and that is some thing they do not deserve. People automatically assume homeless people are dirty, uneducated, and dangerous, but this is not always true. Many homeless people are war veterans and need help to get their life back on track, but they are too scared and hated to seek it. The stereotypes associated with homeless people make many people shy away from helping them and that is one of the reasons why they are really suffering. I chose homelessness as my topic because it is an issue that should be addressed and examined more carefully. People treat homeless people unfairly because of the stereotypes associated with them and choose to ignore them instead of helping them.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, a non-profit organization that voices the issue of homelessness, enlightens, “On a single night in January 2014, 578,424 people were experiencing homelessness – meaning they were sleeping outside or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program” (The State of Homelessness in America 2015). Staggering statistics similar this inspired Matt Lynch to write his article titled ‘The Homeless Lack a Political Voice, But Not American Ideals’ and it also motivated Anna Quindlen to express her emotions in ‘Homeless.’ Both articles posed by Lynch and Quindlen contain comparative flaws, which range from logical fallacies to the utilization of unfair information. Each writing, however, incorporates multiple pieces of significant information relative to the topic at hand, yet Lynch’s work manages to pull ahead with the addition of minor, yet important, details that Quindlen failed to propose.

People become homeless for a number of reasons. These reasons are that create the stereotypes against those who have nothing in life. To judge people by what they do is normal. After all, what better way is there to judge a stranger by his words and his actions. The problem is when the homeless get judged wrongly, they are also treated unfairly. These stereotypes prevent the government and the society from giving the homeless the type of assistance that best suits to them. In order to clarify my thinking of homeless I have read three articles by different authors and they have different cases. These three articles discussed below and provide understanding on how the stereotypes of the homeless could be changed.

It is easy for people who belong to the economic elite to look down on those who are homeless as view them as inferior. Since the effects of homelessness may only catch their attention when they are driving on their way into work and see a man on the corner with a cardboard sign. Those in the upper class are less likely to be as tolerable towards these individuals. There opinions would lean on the side of the person-blame approach of attribution. When we consider that the majority of Americans live in the lower and middle class levels of society, the likelihood of acceptance for those who are homeless can be greater since they have more exposure in their communities to the homeless population. Individual interpretations suggest that homelessness is the result of personal deficiencies, such as substance abuse and social disaffiliation, whereas structural interpretations suggest that it is the result of systemic factors, such as lack of affordable housing and employment opportunities (Cronely, 2010). The lower class beliefs of homelessness can be directed towards the system-blame approach, feeling that the individuals are where they are as a result of a flaw in society. People who consider homelessness a structural problem are more likely to favor government action than those believing in individualistic causes (Lee, Lewis, & Jones, 1992).

American people want to be greater, richer, and more powerful than everyone else. When one sees a homeless person sitting on the street, he may ask you for money to buy food. As ignorant as most Americans are today, we question will they really spend that money on food, but some of us are generous enough to give a donation anyway. Others would tell them to get a job. As I walk down Grace Street to get to class some days, I get asked by multiple homeless people if I could “help them out.” In Richmond, VA, Phil Riggan, did an interview with several of homeless people. He found out that they are just like the rest of us. Homeless people aren’t usually viewed as people; they’re commonly just known as “homeless”. They are viewed as “worthless, nuisances, waste of space, crazy, drug addicts, drunkards, criminals, liars, bums, and burdens of society” (Riggan 6). Phil’s study was to “prevent, reduce and end homelessness by facilitating creative solutions through the collaboration, coordination and cooperation of regional resources and services” (Riggan 8). Homeless people are still human. As we all need shelter, food, and emotional support, so do they. The Homeless Homes Project was started by Gregory Kloehn, an artist, that turned trash into mobile homes. The Homeless Homes Project was to diminish money’s use in building homes for the homeless population. The

Think back last week; how many homeless people did you come across? When you see these people, what comes to mind? Sympathy? Compassion? Or do you judge them right away? Most people are in this position not because they chose to, but because of a situation that happened in their life that put them there.

Homelessness is a serious problem in our society. Every night in our nation thousands of people are on the streets. This type of behavior is considered deviant because it does not reflect the norms and values of our society. In many cases the homeless people in our country are treated as total outcasts. Many of these people have severe mental disorders. Some are victims of an economy that has failed them. One may ask how such harsh situations exist in such an advanced society. With all the money and programs created to help people it seems ridiculous that this behavior exists. In a society where people have so much how is it possible that there are still people that have so little. The homeless are humans, no different than anyone else.

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

Today the homeless are not seen as human instead they are just nobodies that the world seems to ignore and cast aside. The only time institutions go to help the homeless is so that they can brag about it and profit off them, it is never out of genuine love for these people. We as people fail to care for others and much rather help someone close to you than a complete stranger. Finally, society doesn’t see why it should help these people, it believe the homeless chose

Homeless people face many stereotypes. For example, in the article, “Beyond Stigma & Stereotypes”, it shows how the general public views homeless people, and how they misunderstand them. It also explains that many people aren’t aware of the issues of homeless people, and it is often stereotyped that they are criminals, plagued with drugs and illnesses. In the article it is stated, “In addition there is a lot of misunderstanding by the general public about who is homeless and the causes for homelessness” (Beyond). This quote explains how most people aren’t aware of how and why people are 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

The fact is, many people walk by many homeless citizens, we sometimes see them asking for change, sleeping on the sidewalk, or outside in the frigid temperature with little to no clothes. Some people in society will feel sorry, possibly give them some money or others contribute donations; meanwhile, others may be ashamed and feel disgraceful. Society has created stereotypes of homeless people. Negative stereotypes have built preconceived ideas in society1 prejudice about homeless people being lazy, violent, drug abusers, criminals, been neglected, or have low values. However, the failure of individuals to overcome poverty personally cannot account for all homeless people.

As I stated before, far too often our society ignores that homelessness is a struggle for many people. Additionally, our society often thinks these people choose to be homeless. Terra talked about an incident at a gas station, and how one of the employees at the gas station said all the people at across the street are drunks and addicts. She talked about how upset she gets when people have these misconceptions about people that are struggling with homelessness. Hearing her talk about this broke my heart because our society should not shame people for being homeless; instead, we should be looking at solutions to end homelessness. It is a human right to have basic human needs, yet our society continually provokes their unjust agenda.

In cities all over the US, it can be clearly seen that homelessness affects thousands of people. From low paid workers who cannot find affordable housing to those who have mental and psychological hurdles there can be similarities found among the homeless. Unfortunately the public is uninformed about what really happened to these people because of a skewed perceptions that become established because of word of mouth and what is witnessed on the streets. Author Jennifer Toth stated many of her preconceived notions about homeless people in the start of her book, but throughout the length of her book, she was able to prove her opinions to be true or false in some cases through her use of supplemental evidence, character development, and pathos to reinforce her central argument that community is built upon trust and cooperation.

     Homelessness as an issue in today's society is largely ignored. To many, the problem of homelessness is invisible or barely noticed. When these people do see the homeless it is found in the form of beggars who need to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” or mentally ill people who “just can't help themselves”. In either case the central point remains; the homeless must be people who are incapable or unwilling to help themselves. After all, wouldn't they stop being homeless if they just tried? These sorts of rationalizations cover a more disturbing truth; that for many in today's society, the spectre of homelessness is more pressing of a problem than helping those who are already on the