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Solving homelessness
Solving homelessness
Prevention and causes of homelessness
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Solving homelessness
Solving homelessness
Prevention and causes of homelessness
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Solving homelessness
Have you ever had to choose between eating or having a roof over your head? If you answered no, you are one of the fortunate ones who most likely fall somewhere between middle class to upper class. Those who answered yes are a part of the millions of Americans who are currently facing a fairly new problem that has a light upon it – the lack of affordable housing. In Matthew Desmond’s book Evicted, he writes about numerous eviction stories of families or individuals for several different reasons.
In large cities homeless people congregate in abandoned lots and constructed makeshift “homes” these communities were called “Hoovervilles” (Hastings) they were called Hoovervilles because the people blamed the president Herbert Hoover for The Great Depression (Hayes). People suffered due to the fact that homes were being taken from them and sold, some houses that people owned were sold for $25 people would help themselves since the government was not willing to help
“The two biggest factors driving homelessness are poverty and the lack of affordable housing” (Watson) which is why the Andre House started off with this idea of transition housing. With no one to turn too, one can be isolated all alone in this world and lose faith in humanity. Anyone can be homeless, “It affects men and women of all ages, and involves single people, married couples and those with families” (pg. 59, Crane). The Andre House has daily interviews with individuals who show that they are clean of drugs, employed or at least seeking employment to show that they can be in these houses that offers meals, and no charge of rent. By getting this offer of housing, the “guests live together in community, supporting one another on their journey and helping each other transition into permanent housing” (andrehouse.org).
These “homeless shelters” were very unsanitary and often unstable. They were built from “tin, tar paper, salvaged lumber, and canvas that offered little protection from the elements” (Asher). Even though Hoovervilles were dirty and disgusting, they were a necessity for many Americans. “Hundreds of thousands of families lost their homes; as many as 2 million men, women and children wandered the highways of America seeking shelter” (Brands 34-41). Hoovervilles, though they may not provide the best means of protection, were the only things homeless Americans could use for shelter.
Homelessness, while widely acknowledged, continues to be an ever-prevalent issue within society. This urged me to take action. In order to compromise an accurate, precise claim, I needed to heavily research and analyze the various aspects of this issue -- specifically regarding the causes of homelessness, addressing the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding it, and by finding solutions at a personal, local, and national level. Initially, I intended to include pathos as a primary theme throughout my sources, but I eventually found logos as a more prevalent, more central theme that appeared throughout each source. Presented primarily through statistics, logos stands as the central theme.
It is hard to imagine life as a homeless family. I hope that I’ll never have to move my family from shelter to shelter as some families must do every day. According to the essay “Homeless” by Anna Quindlen, we should take more time in our lives to see the pain that homelessness creates. I agree with Anna Quindlen’s assertion that a home is everything. A home can provide certainty.
For major social issues like racism and homelessness they are very hard to solve. Many times they are just being managed and not solved. Sometimes it’s easier to just manage an issue and keep pushing it away for a later time, until it starts being a big problem and costing society a lot of money. Like racism they try to manage it by having separate but equal, but it is still racist. Martin Luther King Jr fought for civil rights for many year, he used peaceful protest for his cause.
As time goes on, the rate of homelessness rises as the population rises. Homelessness then was mostly caused by a family’s history of being homeless, drug abuse, mental disorders, and tyrannical leaders forcing his people into poverty. In modern times, several organizations are now trying to end homelessness by building cheaper housing projects more affordable to the poor and homeless shelters; these projects usually cost a fair amount of money.
The Homeless Need More Than A Blue Room In "Homeless" by Anna Quindlen, she writes that she meets a homeless woman, Ann, who claims she's not homeless because she has a photo of a yellow house. Quindlen understands what Ann is trying to tell her because Quindlen feels that a home is a unique place that can't be replaced by a shelter. Unfortunately, Quindlen concludes, our sense of home has changed significantly, but people like Ann remind us that the homeless, more than being a group of poor people without homes, are people who are rootless. While I initially disagreed with Quindlen that the homeless were people for whom I should have individual compassion, she ultimately convinced me that I should focus more on what they need rather than who
Fortunately, things are changing slowly, more communities across the country are using point in time counts to determine the number of people who are homeless on a given night, and we are also now accumulating more reliable data on shelter usage (Segaert, 2012). The systemic
The supervisors approved to purchase a warehouse in Anaheim, which will be used as a year-round shelter for the homeless. “ It’s the latest effort in a series of failed attempts, to open a year-around shelter” (source: The Orange County Register). The neighbors in Anaheim are not in a favor of opening a shelter home in Anaheim as the neighbors rally to reject the offer. The chairman also shows his anger by saying “forget it” as the city people are against them around bringing a shelter in the city (source: The Orange County Register). The state should also with the county leaders share an action around these homeless people who are on the increasing scale.
Prior to reading this novel I had never considered why the homeless were homeless. I always just stereotyped them and assumed that they were alcoholics or drug addicts and that it was their own fault that they were on the streets. The idea that there would be any other reasoning for their homelessness never crossed my mind. “I think that maybe sometimes people get the lives they want,” (Walls 256).
Homelessness is a product of social inequalities. Karl Marx stated that the capitalist society produces two prominent classes which are in conflict with each other, bourgeoisie and proletariats. The bourgeoisie are the oppressors who own the means of production and the proletariats are the oppressed workers who labor for the bourgeoisie. Capitalism is distinguished not by privilege but instead by individuality of property ownership and that those who create the conditions of the oppressed group express this power in the form of laws that function to serve the bourgeoisie’s interests (Marx, 2004, p.129).
The issue of homelessness in America has been evident since the early 1600’s. Across the country men, women and children spend their nights on the streets not knowing when or if they will ever find a permanent home. States and federal officials or city councils have tried to alleviate or at least reduce the number of homeless over the last several decades at a city, state or national level but it continues to be an ongoing problem. There is a multitude of factors that account for the growing homeless population that affects each state in the country differently. Though there are many contributing factors that contribute to the amount of people living on the street at any given night in the U.S.
INTRODUCTION Tent cities, camps, settlements, temporary spaces, relocation, non-citizen, guest, barricades, containers, fences, security, desert, non-fertile areas… But, home? Not really, human beings stocked. But, cities? Not really, tents with some order.