Bennie Anthony's Battle With Homelessness In The United States

“The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody has decided not to see.” -Ayn Rand

In 2013 the state of Oregon documented that nearly 3,000 homeless people resided in Portland. During the next year this number skyrocketed pushing that number to 4,000 people living on the streets or in transitional housing. The numbers are growing substantially. The reasons why are more than appalling. Since January of 2013, 22 cities have banned or placed heavy regulations on feeding the homeless. A grand total of 71 cities have tried or succeeded to criminalize the feeding of the needy. Some states, including Arizona, North Dakota, Nevada, and Hawaii, have even begun providing one way bus, or plane tickets out of the state. Local governments

One of these stories was about Bennie Anthony, a 61-year-old paranoid schizophrenic. In 1972 Anthony was arrested for non-support of a dependent and was charged of resisting arrest. Unfortunately for Anthony this was the beginning of a downward spiral that would last for over four decades. As the years continued on Anthony began to develop issues with alcohol and substance abuse, only aiding in his battle with homelessness. As state mental hospitals began to fill Anthony could no longer get the help he needed, and the crimes he committed began to grow more severe. On November 24th, 1987 Anthony was sentenced to 25 years in prison for two counts of aggravated arson, only to once again be released in August of 1993. After completely parole, and ACT program Anthony quickly became homeless and being sent to jail became the only way he could receive treatment for his schizophrenia. Up through the time The Released was aired Anthony continued to be sent back to jail just days after being released. The cycle of being kept incarcerated for less than a month, released, less than a week later being arrested once again has become a fairly common story among the mentally ill in prisons, and on the streets. This endless circle is causing excess irreversible damage to the United States mentally ill

Portland, Oregon alone has 4,000 recorded homeless people, in 2013 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that Oregon alone has a homeless population of 13,822 people. That still being less than a 3% share of The United States total homeless population. The same study estimated that California alone hold more than 136,826 people who are currently without permanent housing. That’s approximately 22% of the United States entire homeless population. There are thousands of people in every state across this country that are no longer being view as those in need. Homeless people have been separated from the general public. The us versus them mentality has become all too prevalent. Many of the general public no longer want to aid the homeless; the stereotypes of this countries homeless have become endless and destructive. Today it is common place to find opinion about the homeless that are more than aggressive. Negative feelings about those who are homeless have aided in the dehumanization of these people, and made it easier to turn a blind eye to their misfortune. However those with such aggressively negative emotions towards the homeless have very rarely taken the time to learn the