Homeless Ethics Paper

People are very ignorant towards homeless people, just how the prisoners are in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to the outside world. Society seems to view the homeless as nasty, dirty people who are drug addicts when in reality a lot of them are just in very unfortunate situations that they can't get themselves out of. Just like the rich may view the poor and the educated may view the uneducated, people are quick to judge things that they are ignorant of. I know this based on first hand knowledge and experience about how it to be

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.

It was surprising to learn that there is a hierarchy that exists among the homeless. Contrary to how power is established in a typical culture, the characteristics and values of the homeless culture are formed in an inverted hierarchy. For example, a homeless individual who has experienced the most traumas and lived on the streets for an extended amount of time will receive a great deal of respect from his or her peers. Individuals who are homeless perceive living on the streets to be much harsher than a person from the mainstream culture would (Philipps, 2012). As a result, an individual gains authority by being able to survive no matter

Homelessness is basically another form of poverty except more extreme, yet society treats it as if it was on another spectrum of problems. Some in society stigmatize this population by saying things like: they’re homeless because they are drug addicts, alcoholics, they don’t want to work and just live off the government for free. What many forget to think about are the factors that have these people on the street, or the fact that they are not only experiencing personal hardship by being without a permanent residence but emotional ones as well. Add the fact they are sometimes discriminated against and excluded by society, and you will realize you are looking at one of the most vulnerable populations.

When you see the homeless what do you think about? Do you see them and feel disgust or are you someone who wonders how and why they are where they are, or maybe, you are one of the few who want to help and who are able to. In the U.S., more than 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year and that number is growing. They are families with little children, people who are trying to escape domestic violence, people with mental illness, veterans who have served our country, and many more. From what I read in Jonathan Kozol’s “Untouchables” city officials in various places are only coming up with short term solutions, that aren’t helping the homeless. City officials are just trying to get rid of the homeless from their cities or area. I think it’s time that more individuals and groups, really gets involved and figure out a way to help those who are already homeless, and stop future people from becoming homeless. We have to come up with ways to help the homeless readjust and get back into the world.

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;

Homelessness is a serious societal problem affecting our communities. Katel of Housing the Homeless says “about 1.5 million Americans use a shelter in a given year- and advocates for the homeless say that figure badly understates the problem.” Yet, society looks down at these people, not doing anything to help them. They are judged, criticized, and bombarded by false assumptions everywhere they go. I have heard people say “they are like that because they chose to” or “they are lazy and don't want to work.” This is not true in most cases. The reality is life can go wrong at any moment for anyone. For some people there is no one there to help them and their only option is living on the streets or a shelter.

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.

Picture this, it is bitterly cold, the rain is heavy, from every droplet your clothes become heavier. The unfriendly chilling breeze brushes up against your face, while you lay awake on a bench trying to shelter yourself and stay warm. The bench is your home, you have no food, no family, no money, nothing. This is what it’s like for a hundred thousand Australians each night. What if one of your class mates suddenly found themselves living on the streets, would your opinion of them change? The stereotypes that are put upon our homeless community can be so far from the truth.

As I walk down the streets of my city on a warm summer morning, I see a variety of people. Every step I take I see a different person and with each person comes a different story. During my walk, I see a group of kids younger than me smoking on the corner. I couple minutes later I see a mother and her child sitting on a bench in the park. Both the mother and child have bruises on them. Finally, just before reaching my destination, I see a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk and he is asking others for money so that he can buy some food. I walk into my house and sit down on my sofa and as I am sitting there, all I can think of were the different people I saw on my walk. What are their stories? Why are those kids smoking? Why are that woman and child covered in bruises? What happened in that poor man's life? How did he hit rock bottom?

Homeless people around the world can’t keep themselves on their feet because small paying jobs can't get them enough money to pay for a home. People don’t care about homeless people because they think that they are lazy. But in reality most of them have a full time job. Homeless people are becoming more and more popular around the world. Homeless people get abused and have to suffer their struggle because no one will help them. Homeless kids keeps getting in trouble which makes it hard for them, Homeless people get abused but no one will help them, most homeless people have an addiction that they don’t even know about.

My thoughts have stayed the same about homelessness; however, I certainly have started to acknowledge that homelessness is a very real thing. I also try my hardest to recognize that these individuals are people; therefore, I now make it a point to at least make eye-contact with them on the street.

Imagine this picture in your head. You're walking up and down the streets of New York, and everywhere you turn it seems like there’s another homeless person. They wear tattered clothing and have streaks of dirt across their face and their arms. Last year on spring break when I was thirteen years old, my mom,my grandparents, and I were on a vacation in New York City. A few days after looking around and touring New York I noticed something that I hadn’t really seen in any other city before. That was the amount of homeless people on the streets. Of course, I had seen homeless people before, but I had never seen this many in such a small area at one time. This was a really sad thing to witness,and it made me really appreciate the things I have in life.

     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