Homelessness In America Essay

Do the homeless take advantage of help? Homelessness in America, a number that has only been growing since the 1600’s. The growth of this epidemic has led to the evolution of community meals, food banks and other support provided by volunteers to help end the population of homelessness. Does this support become an entity in which they start to depend on? Currently I volunteer at a small organization called Neighbors in Need (NiN). This organization is open on Saturday mornings and provides a breakfast, small food offering, toiletries and services such as dental, medical haircuts, and job programs. When I worked at the counseling table I was able to learn that NiN was tracking the help all of the families and individuals were taking advantage of, I also noticed much of the community had been consecutively going to NiN. It made me question the effectiveness of the organization, if the homeless are offered all these resources why doesn’t this decrease the

In the article “Food for thought: Do free meals help the homeless?” by John Wilkens a contact reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune states “don’t move the homeless toward permanent solutions. They make it easier for them to stay where they are, she said. Better to have them go places where they’ll be empowered, not enabled.” Wilkens goes through the whole problem at stake when providing a meal to the homeless. We see that as helping when really it is just enabling and approving of the situation of the homeless. While it may seem harsh to be taking away necessities such as food away from the homeless, we do have to consider of the improvement of homelessness. Regulations may be the next step into decreasing homelessness, if they want to get the help there should be programs for those who want it. Instead of providing services for the whole population, only provide to those who will improve to leave their life of homelessness so no one will be taken advantage