Homelessness by Khristina Garza

         Imagine being one of those thousands of people who were homeless and had nowhere to go. Just to be alone and isolated from everyone. These homeless individuals once had a normal life, such as driving a car to and from work, having a home, and a family that was waiting at the end of the day. Instead, of a comfortable bed that was once laid on, the individual now awakes from the bench at the transportation station to the sound of cars screeching and roaring. It is time to start the day; with a new job that is to find somewhere to freshen up. Then, there is the endless task of standing on a bustling intersection with a sign that says, “Anything will help”. Some people stop and give a few dollars because it is all they have. Time seems to pass these people going about their day. But for the homeless, it is as if time slows down. At one point, before being homeless, many individuals had it all, and in a blink of an eye, life was transformed upside down. Homelessness is a growing epidemic and until the problem is solved, the numbers will continue to grow.

          According to The National Alliance to End, Homelessness gathered, “A total of 552,830 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2018. This number represents 17 out of every 10,000 people in the United States”. These numbers include men, women, children, and veterans. To become homeless can happen in 3 types. Short term homelessness is due to a major life event like a loss of a job or foreclosure on a home. Episodic homelessness is being homeless in spurts. And, finally, there is chronic homelessness, which is a permanent or long term situation.

The History in Homelessness in the United States –The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NBCI) states “Homelessness dates back to Colonial America as early as the 1640’s. This was a result of the King Phillips War 1675-1676 against the native people; colonists were greedy by taking the Indian land, which left thousands of colonists and Native people to become refugees.” Then, the Depression of 1857 increased the number of homeless people due to no help from the government. By the Civil war in 1870, the numbers of homeless people continued to increase. During the 1980’s HIV/AIDS epidemic increased causing more homeless people, welfare programs were being cut, and lack of affordable housing became more of a problem.

         The perception of events that occur to make one homeless is this.  First; the individual loses their job which results in unpaid bills and eventually foreclosure on the home. Secondly; the individual would need to live somewhere temporary whether that’s with friends or family. Three; the individual’s time is up, they have worn out their welcome which means the individual now has to live in their car until they no longer have money to put gas in it or the car breaks down or it gets repossessed. Fourth; this results in the individual with literally nowhere to go but the public streets. There have even been a few celebrities that have experienced homelessness such as; Idris Elba he moved to America to pursue his acting career when he was unable to get a job and he slept in his car for three weeks. Kurt Cobain grew up with financial insecurity and violence. He slept under bridges and in hospital waiting rooms before becoming a famous rock star. Kelley Clarkson before she won American idol her LA apartment burned down and she lived in her car.

          The homeless affects our community in many ways morally and hurts our social way of life. A community shares common features such as having a safe place to live because everyone respects one another and there is diversity and stability. So what is being done when there are people who are different such as the homeless? These people are ignored who are different and looked down upon. The shame and hurt the homeless must feel when everyday people walk by and act like they are invisible. To point the finger at the individual for not trying hard enough to get a job. What if that person has tried to get a job, by walking to an interview because they do not have transportation, wearing the only clothes they have to be presentable? Growing up it is taught to get a good job, a degree or certificate must be obtained, dress professional, and be well mannered.  For the homeless even trying to get a job can be a missed opportunity because even if they did everything the interview required there is a possibility, they would not get the job due to appearances. Our society stereotypes and judges people based on appearances. Homeless people are accused of being the problem and not the problem being a broken system. The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama said: “If poverty is a disease that infects the entire community in the form of unemployment and violence, failing schools, and broken homes, then we cannot just treat those symptoms in isolation we have to heal that entire community.”

Homeless people seem to be everywhere. At the intersection, under a bridge, at a traffic stop, sitting on the curb at the store, or donut shop. When these individuals are seen there are possible feelings of pity, empathy, responsibility, and hope, by bystanders. One person can make a difference and multiple people making a difference and change the world. What if all it took was one person to change multiple lives.

Maybe there have been frustrated by a homeless person predicament because it is challenging, day to day “normal” business such as going to work forty hours a week, paying bills, making sure the family is provided for and making enough to put food on the table. How we look at our homeless affects all our physical health, mental health, and spiritual health. When a person is not cannot afford basic necessities such as medicine, food, shelter, or transportation makes the situation even more stressful, often leading to doing drugs, addiction, or prostitution.  Loss of self-esteem, becoming institutionalized due to mental illness, loss of ability and will to care for oneself, increased danger of abuse and violence, increased the change of entering the criminal justice system, and development of behavioral problems.

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services has assistance programs like the State Medicaid Housing Agency Partnerships, Healthcare for Homeless, Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH), Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs, and Family Violence and Prevention Services Grant Program. With all these programs to help aid homeless individuals, why are the numbers still growing? The numbers are growing because of bills higher than earnings, debt to income ratio, housing, and healthcare that is not affordable, and change in family status. Less homeless people means more people paying taxes, more contribution to society, where the money goes elsewhere; infrastructure, education, affordable healthcare.

The Obama Administration signed homelessness legislation on May 20, 2009, into law called “The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH)” Act focuses on getting families back into homes as soon as possible. Meanwhile, President Trump made plans to meet with Ben Carson regarding homelessness in California. “The ten states with the highest homeless rates account for 55 percent of the homeless population. New York, Hawaii, Oregon, California, and the District of Columbia is top of the list.” According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “It has been estimated that it would cost about $20 billion for the government to effectively eliminate homelessness in the United States.” a Housing and Urban Development official told the New York Times. This would result in people becoming healthier and a decline in admissions to health clinics like ER, and urgent care. Until America can have truly affordable healthcare, jobs that pay more than minimum wage, affordable housing, homeless population will continue to increase. Being homeless costs taxpayers a lot of money, to keep shelters open, fund resources, and pay for those ER/hospital visits. The basic necessities of living are hard to keep up with this time and age, especially when the opportunities are limited. Government assistant programs are available but, can only help the individual so much. It depends on their location, what job is available, what resources are available, if the living area is affordable, and sometimes the cheaper means what is convenient not what is safest.

       “Homelessness remains an important policy problem: on any given night in 2016, around 550,000 people experienced homelessness. This corresponds to 0.06% of the total population in the country; 1 in 1,670 Americans is homeless. In the number of homeless people by shelter status in the United States graph says the number of homeless in the U.S fell by almost 100,000 people.” According to Our World Data.org. With all the government assistance programs funded whether it be government or non-profit, these do not work due to a long waitlist for housing. Housing is a problem but not the reason why many people end up homeless. Addiction, prostitution, and family violence are just a few reasons people end up on the streets. Government programs have requirements for these homeless individuals who severely show the need for resources. This may be considered encouraging the individual to continue their bad habit if one is addicted to drugs for example. By providing the necessities such as hot meals, toiletries, showers, and shelters. This is could be enabling a homeless person to stay in their current situation because they know there will be someone who will help them.

          Solutions that work the best include one of the most successful housing-based programs to help homeless individuals would be the federal housing program also known as Housing Choice Vouchers or Section 8. Also, there are inventions that have been made by consumers such as Lava Mae, a mobile that debuted in June of 2014 was created by a San Francisco non-profit organization which offers showers on the go. Then there are food pantry distributions sites are available in various locations within communities. Camus’s absurdity does relate to the homelessness epidemic because it is absurd that the United States is a very wealthy country, yet there are thousands of people living on the streets. This is a result of a broken system that no one wants to address, just make temporary fixes. Some individuals are forced into homelessness because one is unemployment or low wages.

Homelessness is important because it can happen to anyone at any time. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Steve Jobs, Sylvester Stallone, Tyler Perry, Chris Pratt, and Jim Carrey experienced homelessness.  We treat homeless people like they are invisible and a bother to society. Veterans, men, women, and children are living on the streets. It takes the government, nonprofit organizations, and community organizations to work together to help each other with outreach programs. This begins with grocery stores donating food items, Walmart can donate blankets and personal items. We have to fix this broken system because, the problem is not the individual, and it is not being able to afford a house. Homelessness is a cycle that will continue until basic needs can be met.  Having a home to live in, a safe environment, and basic necessities promotes an individual to be abundant and contribute to society. Having a place to call home increases a person’s position of self-worth and self-value. This is good for mental; the mind is cohort, physical; the individual is healthy, emotional; the individual is happy, and spiritual health; the individual has something to believe in. The United States has plenty of resources such as: Continuum of Care Program (COC), Emergency Solutions Grants Program (ESG), Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program (RHSP), Title V Program-Federal Surplus Property used to Assist the Homeless, HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program (HUD-CASH), and The U.S Interagency Council on Homelessness to aid for the homeless However, it starts with communities and individuals volunteering, taking action, and education. People plan and take action to end homelessness. Hopefully, in the future, the numbers will decline as industrialization; technology, urbanization, and medicine continue to grow. 

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