Some Things To Be Aware When It Comes To Dealing With The Homeless When people think of being homeless in Las Vegas, images of dirty ‘bums’ scattered on the streets ravaging for food in garbage cans and begging for money comes up. The grimness and stench of trash from these people fills the air and causes everyone to hold their noses because of the outdoor sweaty smells that normally accompanies them. Of course, not all homeless people are like this because there are many who keep themselves well-groomed. Being homeless technically means the person is without a home, not that they are necessarily an animal of some sort or even careless or uneducated, they are just in a current living situation where they are living outside but this does …show more content…
Homeless people who look clean and neat are usually truly homeless and in need of genuine help because they are taking advantage of programs that want to help them such as Charities and churches. Some of the dirty homeless people will actually reject help. The drug addicts will reject a sandwich if offered to them because they want the money instead. Remember the homeless guy from ‘Scary Movie’ that said, “I said a dollar, bitch!” and tossed the sandwich back at the main character? Some “dirty” homeless people are really like that. As stated earlier, homeless people ,of course, are humans, so they have human ways. They could be very picky eaters and will ask that you buy them certain foods. I knew some homeless people who were vegetarians! I was one. There are also soup kitchen and food pantries if you need something quick and free to eat. You can recognize a homeless person based on the clothes they wear. A laborer would typically wear dirty clothes, which is normal, however, if you see a person who is wearing dirty clothing with obvious dried up stains that haven’t been washed out in months then they might be a homeless person. Some homeless people don’t go to the laundromat for various reasons and others are always there because of course they want to stay clean and their skin healthy. As stated earlier, the drug addicts or people with mental disabilities will choose not to wash their clothes, but real homeless people strive to
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,
The issue of homelessness has been called as one that is "highly ambiguous and intangible" (Neale, 1997, p.7). Wright defines the homeless a "diverse, heterogeneous lot. No single catch phrase or easy myth can possibly describe them all" (p.46)
Homelessness has always been a major social issue for cities across the nation but in recent years it is reached astonishing proportions. In this essay I will try to summarize ten recently published articles and each of the authors view of homelessness. First I will discuss some of their opinions of the causes of the recent increase of homelessness and who or what is to blame. Next we will look into just a few of the effects of homelessness, both to the homeless and those around them. After that we will explore possible solutions that have been tried or proposed.
First, what is homelessness? This question has been up for debate for some time now. There is one general accepted definition of homelessness, due to the different types of homelessness the definition can vary. According to the government of this country homelessness, “is the condition of people without a permanent dwelling, such as a house or apartment” (The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). When people who are not homeless see the less fortunate living outside in public areas they automatically know that the person does not have a “permanent dwelling”.
Ever noticed the people outside, asking you for money on the train or in the streets? Most have a funny smell, or are barely dressed when it is freezing outside? Those people are more than likely homeless. Being homeless is the state of a person living on the streets, if they have no home. Homelessness occurs because many people cannot afford housing, do not have a job, receive low income, are mentally ill or have a drug addiction (Coalition for the Homeless). Homelessness affects society in a variety of ways making it a social issue. It causes economic downturn, increases poverty, and also causes family dysfunction.
Homelessness affects millions of Americans each year, with approximately one third of this population suffering from severe mental disorders. In Las Cruces we have a number of homeless people that have a mental disorder. Las Cruces does not provide the homeless mentally ill with sufficient services. it is necessary to provide them with support, protection, treatment, and rehabilitation.
A homeless person is one who lacks a permanent place to live. This person is therefore forced to live on the streets, in abandoned buildings, in cars, and some lucky ones get to live in shelters where they are safe from the dangers of the night and also from the harsh elements. These people find themselves in such a situation because they cannot afford to pay for a place to live. This can be caused by a variety of reasons. Economic factors is one of them, where one is unable to get enough money to pay for their house either because they don’t have a job or the money they get at the end of the month is insufficient. There is also the issue of high cost of housing which renders a permanent place to live way out of their reach. They
Walking through a major city or metropolitan area there are a countless number of people who are wearing old and ripped clothing, carrying bags or pushing grocery carts full of junk, looking like they have not bathed in weeks and most of them holding signs begging for change just so they can eat something that day. Over the past eight years the amount of homeless individuals has continuously decreased throughout the country. Homelessness in America is a serious problem, especially with higher rates in unemployment happening. Americans
We see homeless people every day, asking for money for food or even just food. Have you ever wondered how these people got into these situations? Some of those people used to be doctors and lawyers and just feel on some hard times where they can’t provide for them nor their
Here in Tahoe, we are lucky enough to experience a great quality of life, and only a few have to face the horrible life of poverty and homelessness. However, nationwide, even right outside the basin, homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. There are many ways one can become homeless; for the most part poverty. There are also different concentrations of homeless in different types of terrain, such as urban or suburban areas. Last, there is the ever- growing homeless population, and how much money it costs us for others to live in poverty. These are the questions we ask ourselves about homelessness, and the only way we can help is to know the facts about this lingering
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
To begin, lets define the term homeless. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, homelessness is defined as “People who are living in a place not meant for human habitation, in emergency shelter, in transitional housing, or are exiting an institution where they
There are many effects that a homeless person may suffer from. Other than the obvious change in the person’s life style, such as the type and quality of clothing they wear or their mode of transportation, homeless people are subject to various health effects as well. In recent studies it has been found that one out of every three homeless people suffers from some sort of mental illness. The mental illness may have been the reason the person became homeless or they may have acquired the illness from living on the streets. When a person loses everything they have worked for it may affect them mentally. Another common effect that homeless people suffer from is Nutritional deficiency, better know as malnutrition. A homeless person’s diet is considerably different than that of someone who is not homeless. Since they cannot afford to eat out or make a home cooked meal, they often have to dig in trash cans to find left over food from restaurants or other people. A lot of the food they eat is spoiled or rotten and is not healthy for them, but rotten food is better than no food.
They may also struggle due to their lack of education or their misconception of other people. If other people see homeless just roaming the streets they should refer them to different institutions where they can develop knowledge of what they can do for their situation. We should encourage those who don't have knowledge of what they can do to help themselves or even their homeless family. Most homeless people probably see they are helpless and it causes them to feel ashamed and not care about living in misery.
When someone thinks of Las Vegas, they stereotypically think about gambling, Elvis Presley, the Rat Pack, Dean Martin and the infamous mobster affiliation that built this city. However for most people around the world, the last thing they think about is the homeless population in Las Vegas. When a person thinks of (or hears) the term “homeless” they think of bums who sleep on park benches and are suddenly woken up by a speeding DeLorean trying to send Marty McFly “Back to the Future.” In reality, homelessness is primarily associated with addiction, not being able to find work, and mental illness. Illicit drug use, constant consumption of alcohol and degenerate gambling are the primary factors for homelessness as well as mental illness within the homeless communities. Homeless people are categorized as “undesirables” that no one cares about. They live in the storm tunnels 25 feet below the strip and are ignored by the average tourist when they decide to surface. Since they are categorized this way, they are taken advantage of, mistreated and often victims of senseless violence. Las Vegas is the fourth highest ranking city for homelessness, according to lasvegasnow.com. If we are the fourth highest ranking city, where are all of these people coming from?