The Glass Castle: Homelessness In America

First of all, having food on the table is not their only problem. Most struggle paying their bills and are not able to afford many necessities for their children. Some don’t have a place to stay. Think about the kids that don’t have a place to go to after school. There more worried about food and shelter than getting an A on their tests. Not having enough food can have negative effects on the body over a long period of time. This all has a detrimental effect on the whole family, more importantly on the child and their future. Since the child isn’t given what it needs to prosper and thrive in society, then he/she will turn like their parents. This is an endless cycle. In the United States, your parent’s social class is extremely important. It determines the child’s access to “certain educational, occupational, and residential opportunities” (Newman). Children that have wealthy parents usually go to better schools and have better job opportunities than kids who have poor parents. I can only imagine what people who are on food stamps go through. Luckily, I have never been on food stamps. I live in my parent’s house and everything was given to me. Bills are paid and I have food on the table every night. Sometimes we even get take out. Now I know that having take out is a luxury for some. I wouldn’t want my kids to go through this. It

Jane has two young children, William age four and Sally age two, who will need nutritious food to help with their physical and mental development. One of the food assistance programs is called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Each month the participants receive money on debit card that can be used in most grocery stores. The debit card can usually not be used for items other than food. Another food assistance program is WIC (Women, Infants and Children). This program provides food assistance for pregnant women and children under the age of five. Either of these programs would allow for Jane to purchase the food that her family

Poverty is a main part of life for many people in the world, more importantly the United States. Jeanette Walls shows how big of a problem poverty is in her memoir “The Glass Castle”, with her stories of how she grew up and her family’s struggles. How her family was treated along with what the people living around them found important clearly shows their economical class. The problem of food scarcity, or not having the bare necessities are some of poverty’s main problems. In “The Glass Castle”, the issues of poverty are displayed through not having the basic necessities, not being able to provide for children, and how there is not always enough food to feed everyone in the family.

These programs may include Welfare, food stamps (SNAP), and government housing projects. According to the authors, the results showed from the analysis of how many families are on food stamps is, in 2011 over 1.5 million households with about 3 million children were surviving on less than $2.00 a day, including a family member in the work force (Edin, Shaefer, 2016). It is amazing that these families are living on so little when on when many people spend more than that before they go to school, or work. For example, grabbing a quick breakfast before work can cost almost $7.00. The authors noted that they researched about a total of 18 families, but only 8 total are featured in the book.

Homelessness in America has existed for some time now, but has grown and changed majorly over the years since the 1980’s. According to Mary Hombs, “the prevailing stereotype of a homeless person was that of a middle-aged white urban male alcoholic” (6). But now there is no stereotype because homelessness could happen to anyone at any moment, so that is why it important to be aware. Millions of people in this country do not have a place to live including whole families, children, veterans, and even the mentally ill. Going day after day without food or shelter. Throughout this paper the main focus will be answering the questions: What is homelessness?; What are the main causes of homelessness?: Who is the homeless?; and How do the people of this country assist the homeless?

Overall, this exercise showed me the very real struggle that those who live in poverty face when trying to simply provide the bare necessities such as housing and food. Even so, the need for reform in intense. The first step in overcoming the financial barriers of poverty is not merely raising minimum wage or providing more governmental assistance, but the main area that needs reformation is in the eyes of the American populace. By changing the viewpoint of Americans who are not in financial poverty, the rest of the reform will follow

According to the scholarly article, “The Third National Incidence Survey of Child Abuse and Neglect defines physical child neglect to include refusal of health care, delay in health care, abandonment, expulsion, inadequate supervision, or other physical neglect.” (Bolger, 396) In Jeannette 's life it is clear her family neglected her, although it may have been unintentional, or the fact that her family could not make ends meet. It is quite obvious that her upbringing was not filled with the needs or necessities which her fast paced family who moved from place to place provided. Aside from “sneaking” Jeannette out of the hospital when she had severe burns on her body and was still recovering, the siblings also faced similar neglect, due to the fact that Rose and Rex did not believe in hospitals and conforming to it, their kids were the ones who got hurt from this. “Mom said he had fallen off the back of the couch and cracked his head open on the floor but she and Dad had decided not to take him to the hospital.” (Walls,13) Brian, was a victim of his non-conforming parents. They neglected him by not caring about what he did and not supervising properly, and when he got hurt they refused to

Most of these families and individuals now are in programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, also known as welfare(National Coalition,2009), Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. These programs provide cash, health care benefits and food for these families and most individuals helping the individuals or families to get back on their feet although some will get denied for such help.

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

Homelessness is a critical issue that requires everyone’s attention. Hundreds of thousands of homeless people live on the streets as their shelter. Historically, homelessness has always been a problem in society. Homeless people were known as “the wondering poor”, “sturdy beggars”, and as “vagrants,” but it was not until the late 18th century that homelessness because noticeable to society. Homeless person is anyone who lacks adequate shelter, resources, and community ties. People who are homeless can be categorized as chronic deinstitutionalized or temporary

During the 1980’s the number of "homeless" people, those without a house in which to reside, increased at an alarming rate. Many analysts have given much time and thought as to the reasons that this phenomenon occurred. They cite economic instability and government policies with facts and figures to support their work. Beyond the research and cold statistics that explain this event, are the victims, and those that worked to help relieve their hardship. An interview with Philip Guerrieri gives us insight into the personal lives of these individuals whom he calls "houseless," and the realities of staying alive, both physically and spiritually, on the streets.

Homelessness is an aspect of society, which most people chose not to acknowledge. With the increasing amount of issues the United States faces, homelessness tends to be forgotten when the time comes for the government to establish what issues they should assist. Due to the substantial amount of issues the government concerns itself with, homelessness does not receive the necessary attention required and is improperly handled. In today’s society poverty-stricken individuals or families is too much of a common occurrence to be treated as lightly as it is. Additional government intervention is necessary in order to supply the needed resources, which can prevent the further spread of homelessness. The United States government is obligated to protect its citizens and should care about the constant growth of homelessness. Through economic policies and community advertisements, the government can control the issue of individuals who are facing poverty.

Homelessness is one of the main problems plaguing the United States today, with low income earners at a higher risk of becoming homeless than previous years. There have been countless laws and ordinances put in place throughout the country in hopes of solving this growing problem but many of them have failed to address one of the main things causing this issue, economic inequality and the unequal distribution of wealth in the United States. Although there are many non-profit organizations working not only to get people off the streets, but to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place, they are facing an uphill battle until the United States government addresses its country’s current unequal distribution of wealth. Throughout this essay I will be discussing the strategies multiple non-profit organizations, including the one I worked with last semester, are using in their battle to combat homelessness, the relationship between economic inequality and homelessness in the United States, and my experiences working with LifeMoves, formerly known as InnVision Shelter Network.

Once everything settles down and the situation improves the child could come back to their family. This may affect the child as the child would be confused on what is happening, this could affect the child’s behaviour and cause behavioural

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