Summary Of The Video Homeless: The Motel Kids In Orange County

     To be homeless is to not have a home or a permanent place of residence. Nationwide, there is estimated to be 3.5 million people that are homeless, and roughly 1.35 million of them are children. It is shown that homeless rates, which are the number of sheltered beds in a city divided by the cities population, have tripled since the 1980’s (National Coalition for Homeless, 2014). Worldwide, it is estimated that 100 million children live and work on the streets. Homeless children are more at risk than anyone else, and are among the fastest growing age groups of homelessness. Single women with children represent the fastest growing group of homeless, accounting for about 40% of the people that are becoming

“It is a beautiful thing when folks in poverty are no longer just a missions project but become genuine friends and family with whom we laugh, cry, dream and struggle.”

Eleanor J. Bader article “Homeless on Campus” describes the lives of homeless people that are trying to get a degree. She shows the reader examples of homeless students going through hard times. The reader can see the desire to succeed from the homeless students. They work harder that every other student because they have to find a place to sleep. They also have to take care of others in some situations. Bader also mentions that community colleges should provide sleeping areas for students that find themselves in that situation. Bader does an astounding job of using literacy devices to exemplify to the reader how homeless students struggle to continue school.

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

In “The Homeless and Their Children”, author Jonathon Kozol explains how poverty and homelessness can go hand in hand, but he also shows his readers that the government in New York City during the 1980’s did not really attempt to assist those in need. The author shows us how the homeless and illiterate struggled by sharing with us an interview with a young woman called Laura who resided in a massive welfare hotel. Kozol did not find it necessary to write this piece in a persuasive tone, or a compassionate tone, or even an angry tone to get his message across. He did not need to include a multitude of statistics to convince his readers that homelessness, illiteracy, and governmental apathy were issues. As stated in the introductory

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

There are millions of homeless youth in America. On any given night, you can find these children ducking into abandoned buildings, crammed up against alley dumpsters, curled inside the big yellow slide of a local playground. I imagine they are thankful for sleep, wary of a new day, but thankful nonetheless. Homelessness at such a young age if left alone, leads to increased rates of conflict. The more homeless youths now, the more our country as a whole will have to deal with divorce, mental illness, and the need for government assistance.

Homeless youth are a standout amongst the most underestimated gatherings in our general public. Numerous specialists recognize much more elevated amounts of different issue practices among these adolescent contrasted with their non-homeless associates. The current study analyzed the utility of social capital in foreseeing issue practices among homeless youth.

Throughout the United States, there are a large number of individuals that goes unnoticed. Hidden in right plain sight, but are overlooked. They can be our friends, family, classmates, or the person standing right next you to at this moment. There are young individuals who are facing the tremendous challenge of being homeless. They are overlooked by many in society. However, there have been countless individuals, groups, organizations dedicated to ending youth homelessness. However, they are confronted with challenges due to the lack of interest. The lack of interest found within society can contribute to barriers to ending youth homelessness.

StandUp for Kids defines volunteering as a service that willing participants engage in to diminish the epidemic of homeless youth and impacting their lives in several different communities across America. I’m basing my assumption on this organizations mission statement and their expectations they have for individuals that want to support their programs. From my research, I was able to clearly determine that they want committed people to join the fight to end the statistic of 13 children dying every day due to homelessness.

There is an inaccurate count of the number of homeless youth individuals are currently in America. They only account for those who are in the shelter’s system, which is a small portion of the total population of homeless youth. One report estimated that only one in twelve homeless youth ever come into contact with the shelter system (Somllar, 1999). The main focus is on “street youth” who are still on the streets with no home, and no adult guidance. The downfall of the system is that it is based on coming in contact with homeless youth, instead of building a rapport with them, and getting an understanding of why they leave home. The causes for the youth to become homeless are as follows; neglect, physical, sexual, and substance abuse, dysfunctional families, as well as family violence. These are often results of suicide, poor coping skills, lack of education, criminal background, and mental health problems. Homeless youth who are homosexual have been found to have a greater and more severe incidence such as depression and suicide than other homeless youth population. In one study of homeless street youth, 53 percent of homosexual adolescents had attempted suicide, compared to 32 percent of a cohort that did not differentiate individuals by sexual orientation (Somllar, 1999).

“Homeless The Motel Kids of Orange County”, this is a film by Alexandra Pelosi. This film is about well the homeless kids in Orange County. The film starts off with a short text stating, “These are some of the poorest kids living in one of the richest countries in the nation”. The film’s purpose is to show the viewers how adults struggle, those that lose their jobs or are working 2 jobs and overtime and can’t afford to live in an apartment or house and can’t afford to buy their children clothes and school supplies. For women this could be said to be feminization of poverty, were most are single moms with young children working 2 jobs or if they alone support the family. It’s opening the eyes to the public showing a true definition of the working poor. Meaning people who are working yet can’t make it. Then the video provides the conditions the children are put in and how they feel about it. It also shows the way kids’ and families live in a motel and go to school and what they go through each day.

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

It is something that a lot of us are used to seeing on a regular basis standing at the end of an off ramp holding a sign say “homeless and hungry.” You will see them wondering the streets digging through trash in search for something to eat. We see them everywhere and our initial reaction when we see them is to ignore them and not look at them. You especially avoid making eye contact with them and automatically label them as someone who is too lazy to go get a job or is a drug or alcohol addict and that they would much rather live on the streets.

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