Homelessness

4 Pages 1084 Words

“Over the past year, over two million men, women, and children were homeless” in America. (NLCHP) Homeless people face an intense struggle just to stay alive despite the fact that society turns its head from the problem. The government makes laws that discriminate against homeless people, which make it, illegal for them to survive. The mistreatment of homeless people is an issue that is often ignored in our community (Homelessness in America). When you see a homeless person on the streets how do you react? Do you turn your head and ignore them? Do you become angry that they are living on the streets? Do you feel frightened and avoid the situation all together? Or do you see these people as human beings and treat them in that way? Homeless people are “subjected to alienation and discrimination by mainstream society”. (NLCHP) Most alienation and discrimination comes from the lack of education about homeless people. There are numerous untrue myths about homeless people. Many people believe that homeless people “commit more violent crimes than housed people.” (NLCHP) The reality is that homeless people actually commit less violent crimes than people with homes do. Brestow Hardin, of Home less in America, studied arrest records and discovered that even though homeless people were more likely to commit non-violent and non-destructive crimes, they were less likely to commit violent crimes against people. (Homelessness in America) The crimes that these people are committing are necessary to keep them alive. These crimes include sleeping, eating, and panhandling.
Making it illegal to perform necessary daily activities in public when homeless people have no where else to go makes it impossible for homeless people to avoid violating the law. (NLCHP) Another myth about homeless people is that they do not work and that they get their money from public assistance programs. A study done in Chicago discovered that “39% of homeless peopl...