For the past eight years of my life my family has been homeless. At least that is what my mother likes to say. We have a roof over our heads, but it is not ours. Eight years ago my mother was laid off from her job and since then we have lived with a family friend who is gracious enough to let us share his house that had an address close enough to our school. Not long after we moved, my father was laid off from his job as well and they have both been unemployed until last year. Unfortunately, it is a small house with only two bedrooms. Our friend, John, occupies one room while my parents occupy the other. This leaves the living room for my brother and I to share as our room. Despite the troubles that come along with sharing such a small space, …show more content…
My mother often likes to point out that if my brother and I had doors to slam during arguments we very well could not be as loving as we all are towards one another. Since we share such a small house, there is not much room for hiding when one of us is upset. Therefore, we generally discuss all of our problems immediately when they arise. Our close bonding as a family also stems from that fact that my parents have both been present at home for almost all eight years of our displacement. For my entire middle school and high school education my brother and I have had the blessing of having our parents there to pick us up after school, take us to practice, and know everything that was going on in our lives. I am certain that I would not have such fondness for my parents if I did not have this fortunate experience. While I am grateful for having this unique experience, there is an unfortunate effect of our situation—a lack of privacy. Throughout my entire adolescence I have grown up without a room of my own. I have not had a space to call my own and it has been difficult growing up without a room. Over the years there have been rough times where I did not completely understand what we were going through or why I could not have the smallest bit of privacy. There have been moments where I did not “know/ of love’s austere and lonely offices” (Hayden 13-14). Much like the child …show more content…
In the years that we have all lived together, John has changed drastically. He used to be an alcoholic who smoked three packs a day and had few good friends. Today he drinks literally no alcohol, smokes nothing, and often goes to lunch with his friends from bowling. In truth, his recent health problems and orders from doctors can attribute for the decrease in alcohol and nicotine consumption. However, if my mother were not present to scold him every time he reached for the rum bottle or a cigarette I can guarantee that he would not be doing as well as he is now. As a presence in John’s life I feel that my brother and I have had an impact on him as well; John is a grandfather and does not always know how to relate to his grandchildren. My brother, Brandon, and I help by talking to him about our lives and he really does take an interest. When I see the changes in John’s life, I am reminded of Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings”. Atwood deconstructs the elements of short story and demonstrates the Edgar Allen Poe’s unity of effect. In doing so, she shows that “the endings are the same” (Atwood 329) and that they are relatively unimportant; what’s really important is the “How and Why” (329). The last words of her short narrative remind me of my family’s effects on John’s life. His ending is the same as every other living being’s ending on earth;
Imagine living a life with no water, no food, no shelter, and wearing the same old clothes over and over again for the rest of your life. Suffering those hot summer days’ heat, hurricanes, storms, and just awful weather throughout the year. Seeing people walk by past by you, not noticing you are there but they do. Begging for food when you are hungry but people do not give anything, the only thing you get is judgments. All these things homelessness go through will be something that society will never understand because they are not the ones going through tough life situations. Homelessness circumstances will ever change in our society today if you do not do something about it to support them. About 1.56 million people, or about 0.5% of
Homelessness is defined as having no fixed place to sleep at night. This includes people staying in motels until their money runs out, those staying with friends, those staying in shelters, and those sleeping inside or out whatever space they can find to protect themselves. The number of homeless people has been growing and it has become a serious problem in our society. Every night in Canada there are thousands of people living on the streets. This type of behaviour 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
I walk along the bumpy sidewalk as I begin the daily search for food. This morning, like all others I can remember, I woke to darkness, crawled from the hill, and made the usual trek to this harsh, gray strip. Everyday, I have to forage for food for the colony. I don’t complain, though. Life could be worse. One day, I was scavenging by a red flower bush when a terrible shadow came over me and a massive, white object came down and crushed two legs of one of my co-workers. The white object continued down the sidewalk, alternating with another. They were attached to the bottom of one of the tan beasts we call “hoarders”. I had to help my co-worker back to the hill and then we had to sleep on empty stomachs as punishment for not bringing food.
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 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.
The participants met eligibility requirements if they were receiving care at the clinic at the time of recruitment into the study, were 18 years of age or older, were able to communicate in English, and were able to understand the informed consent process. The survey instrument consisted of a 95-item modified version of a community health status survey, incorporating the 36-item health survey (SF-36; Skinner, 1982) tobacco use, dental health, nutritional status, and medical history. Demographic information collected – age, employment status, education achievement, marital status, race, and length of their homeless.
I don't know a lot about my father's past but I know it wasn't very pleasant. I know he was homeless at some point in his life which I thought was brave. So, when I had the opportunity to take a job at the University of Montana in the Corner Store, I did. I needed to make an income so I my friend and I could get a place down there. The only bump in the road was that I had no place to live if I went to Missoula. So, I ended up becoming homeless, like my dad, for a whole two nights. Impressive, I know. I was extremely excited by the idea when it first popped in my head because it was a new adventure. I figured it wouldn't be so hard and that I could handle it.
Homelessness is an epidemic that affects millions of people all over the world. These people have no place to live, are rarely able to bathe, and they have little to no food to eat. There are many reasons why people become homeless, but they can be broken down into three categories; Structural factors, systematic failures, and individual and relational factors.
Bright flashes of gold and white sparkled in my eyes followed by dozens of arrays of colors and sparks. The ooh’s and ah’s of thousands of nearby people mixed with the chorus of explosions as the grand finale of the show came to an end. The last firework burst into color, and the stadium lights buzzed back on in bright flash above, as people began to leave. The exhausted crowd filed slowly into the parking lot. I barely stayed on two feet as I followed my mom out of the stadium and crawled into my cousins van. I leaned back in my seat as the hum of traffic and the dark van slowly dragged me into a deep sleep.
My friends often describe me as a cynic and a pessimist. For the most part, they're right. Sentiment loses value when it permeates one's attitudes and behavior just as the value of a commodity decreases as it becomes ubiquitous, so as a rule I reserve expressing sentiment for rare occasions that I deem worthy. Fortunately, even the harshest cynics are surprised sometimes.
In 2014 over half a million people were homeless. The homeless population is growing rapidly in America. One of the many ways we can help the homeless would be by serving them. Hope Faith Ministries put into perspective that my needs are nothing compared to those that do not have anywhere to live.
Throughout the United States, homelessness and poverty have become an overwhelming issue. From people losing their jobs to others having to give up their homes, nearly 14.5 percent of Americans experience some type of poverty. This could look like a small percentage to some but in reality, it's more than 45 million people. While this number may be decreasing, the stereotype of those who are in poverty still remains. It is often thought that those in poverty are non-educated addicts and are generally criminal people. This, however, fails to be proven true. In my personal experiences, it was believed that the homeless and impoverished were of a lower social level and it was easy to assume the poor were in their walk of life for more reasons than simply not having money. Drugs, crime, and poverty all seemed to have the same definition.
The homeless stand down was an eye-opener experience for me. I had the opportunity to interact with several individuals, and one family. Initially I conducted some interviews with them to help complete the questionnaire; and the remainder of the time, I escorted the individuals and helped them choose items that were necessary for them. As I talked to each of them, I realized that the present state of these individuals were a product of the current economic situations. According to the National Homeless Coalition (2009), work factors are one of the many reasons why individuals are homeless. One of the individuals that I spoke to informed me that he was working a regular nine to five job at a construction site, but now due to the
Throughout the entire history of human civilization, the prevalence of homelessness has been a challenge to every nation. It might be depressing to learn that no countries today have eradicated homelessness, but the human race is never stopped from trying harder than before to tackle this prolonged issue. As the two leading economic powers, America and China have to face the challenge of reducing homelessness. According to a report written by Nation Coalition for the Homeless, “a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty which states that approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year” in America alone (National Coalition for the Homeless, July
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