Tent Cities

This perspective holds the view that the causes of homelessness lies outside of an individual’s control, and are often the result of a failure of public institutions. Structural causes are often those that affect the opportunities and the social environments for individuals, and as a result leads to a critical shortage of affordable housing, a lack of adequate income, and even discrimination (Gaetz, S., Donaldson, J., Richter, T., & Gulliver, T. 2013). For many, the lack of affordable housing - which is arguably the main contributor to immigrant homelessness in Toronto - may materialize from interwoven forms of discrimination and oppression based on an individual’s race, gender, social class, and even religion. Due to the low average household incomes of immigrants, the demand for affordable housing is further heightened. A study done in Toronto comparing homelessness and housing issues amongst women, revealed that compared to Canadian-born women, non-status migrant women had the most unstable pre-shelter housing, and stayed in shelters much longer compared to the other groups that were interviewed (Paradis, E., Novac, S., Sarty, M., & Hulchanski, J. D. 2010). This study supports the perspective that immigrant homelessness is the result of the failure of public institutions who are responsible for the policies which govern the

Kozol begins the book by providing a backdrop of where he met many of the families, in the welfare hotel Martinique Hotel in December 1985. The Martinique Hotel was initially advertised as a temporary living facility, or a shelter, where “1400 children and about 400 of their parents struggled to prevail” (Kozol, pg 3). Families in these welfare hotels fell prey to the corrupt Koch administration that “took advantage of Federal emergency housing funds to put them up in hotels” after demolishing other low-income homes (Anonymous, 1989). In the Martinique he illustrates the inhumanities that occurred on a daily basis such as robberies, sex trafficking, substance use and the described the decrepit living conditions where the residents resided. Kozol identifies a family, Pietro Locatello, whom sought shelter at the Martinique. Although Pietro tries his hardest to provide safety and inclusiveness in his small one bedroom hotel room he is unable to save his son, Christopher, from the allure of, what begins as pan-handling for change, to potentially being sex trafficked and involvement lifelong

In the video, Homeless: The Motel Kids in Orange County, I was shocked by the fact that many unfortunate families came from the richest counties. Initially, I assumed that poor families came from places where the county was in bad shape. Also, I was in awe with the reason why one family remained in Orange County and how the families lived every day. Personally, I liked the mother’s response when she was asked if the living environment was damaging for Rudee and the mother said it doesn’t matter where you live, if you live in the ghetto, you don’t have to act like it. Rudee’s mother believes they’ll make it because they’re survivors. I admire the mother’s mentality because it reminded me of my father’s upbringing with no electricity and how

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

“The home is the wellspring of personhood. It is where our identity takes root and blossoms, whereas children, we imagine, play, and question, and as adolescents, we retreat and try. As we grow older, we hope to settle into a place to raise a family or pursue work. When we try to understand ourselves, we often begin by considering the kind of home in which we were raised” (Desmond 2016, 293). Evictions! The root of poverty? Matthew Desmond’s novel “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in America City, portrays the lives of tenants, landlords, and house marketing on the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee. Desmond gives the reader overwhelming evidence and revealing testimony illustrating the major impact of inadequate housing on individuals, local, and national level. Desmond’s analysis and observation of his case study enables him to portray the reality of poverty, and to persuade the readers that evictions are a major consequence, and primary contributors in the relentless cycle of poverty. Desmond build his argument using two Aristotelian rhetorical appeals, ethos, logos and inductive reasoning to illustrates the importance of ending the cycle of poverty.

Being a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Matt Lynch discusses the prevalent issue of homelessness in his article. He introduces his work by developing a person with the name of Greg, who has an office job and stays at a homeless shelter. Lynch further discusses the motley of reasons why homeless people become homeless. He compares the shelter to a hospital waiting room where occupants are entertained, which span from playing cards with other residents to watching television. Thereafter, he describes bills and government programs

When leaders consider or propose a project, one common result is that the poor are displaced; often meaning that nobody will accept them. Therefore, this results in a never-ending cycle of human beings settling into a place and moving away from this “temporary home”. In San Francisco, California, a UN expert named Leilani Farha visited some temporary camps and was concerned about what she saw. The situation that these poor individuals face is quite saddening as San Francisco hails itself as one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Instead of trying to evict helpless residents from encampments and spreading the problem to different areas of the city, the government should provide temporary sheds with basic amenities. This establishment needs to have an on-site job center, in order to help its residents establish professional connections in the work world. If homeless people never enter the professional world, then they stay off the streets because a stable income has become attainable for them. More affordable housing units must be allocated to poor individuals, so that the backbone to the local economy is not entirely priced out of a desirable region. Most of the humans that live in those types of lodging perform the crucial occupations in the undesirable industries which help make a city run smoothly as a

“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)

Rhetorical Analysis Paper Staff Writer Kevin Fagan for The San Francisco Chronicle, in his article "Homeless, Mike Dick was 51, Looked 66," defines the dramatic, life altering, effects of older homeless people living in San Francisco, CA. Fagan acknowledges the rising problem of homelessness and uses Mike Dick a homeless man as the face of what it looks like for so many. He describes the effects of homelessness to his Chronicle readers, but offers a ray of hope to some that is face with this horrible problem daily. Fagan investigates the rising problem of homelessness in America. Particularly in San Francisco where he works and lives.

In Evicted, the main points that are being conveyed are the struggles of those living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. People who live there, struggle with many aspects of their life. They struggle with drugs, jobs, education and much more. I think Matthew Desmond does a good job in getting his point across in this 422 page book.

The issue of chronic homelessness is not just a political or academic debate but has become evident from men and women living without homes in the streets of America. Homeless men and women

Right off the bat, Elliot throws shocking statistic after statistic: “…more than 22,000 homeless children in New York,” “One in five American children is now living in poverty…” Eliot’s urgency to tell a story behind the “panhandlers” and “beggars” shows that there is more at work behind the scenes of a family living below the poverty line. To show that behind a woman and her husband who can’t keep a job, there may be 4, 5, 6, 7, or even 8 children to feed as well. The negative stigma behind the homeless population in America is the reason Elliot wrote the article. Elliot shows that

“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.

Upon reading the title to the reading “Camping for Their Lives” by Scott Bransford, A lot of images come to mind as they do for many people. Whether it be family outings, military experience or just plain adventure. Scott Bransford takes a good long look at camping in a different way. The author’s topic is about tent cities and their homeless populations. He argues the struggles that they have with little or no help from the government and highlights a location in Central Valley California. The author structures the article well starting off with an example of a married couple that does not have enough money to sign a lease or take out a mortgage. He then goes into the day to day life and difficulties that are accustomed with living as a homeless person. He mentions statistics and the government’s temporary remedies to deal with the homeless population and the complications when imposing restrictions. The author goes into depth about the lack of jobs within the areas but does not go deep into the addictions, the crime networks that operate out of the areas nor the filth associated with enabling these tent cities to pop up.

While a portion of today’s society turns a blind eye to the subject of the criminalization of homelessness, an even larger quantity of people are not aware of the situation that is happening in every major city of America. For those living an affluent lifestyle, it can be difficult to discuss the amount of poverty and homelessness that is constantly occurring. The definition and meaning behind the absence of home is also arduous to discuss. While homelessness is commonly associated with sleeping outside or in provisional areas, this word also identifies with an absence of belonging. This absence of belonging can relate not only to a community, but also to the people that dwell there (Baumohl 3). Within the portion of those who are aware of the homelessness situation, there is a section that detests the poverty stricken persons of our society. These biased members of the American population express their antipathy in several ways. It is necessary to reveal the privileges that homeless persons have been violently stripped of, and expose and broadcast the freedom they are entitled to. Through