Homelessness
Nick Reget
Causes
There are many things that can cause homelessness. There are many people that get back from a deployment and have no place to go. Those people also might have ptsd so they cannot quite get their stuff together the way that they should and might even be outcast from their friends and family. Some people who live with their parents might run away without having a place to live.
Personal Stories
Tom Petty- I met a guy at basic training who joined the army to avoid being homeless. He said that when he turned 18 he went on the road with his band. He went all over the country with his band living out of their van. When they realized that they wouldn't be able to do that anymore the band broke up. Tom refused to move back into his mother's home. He was on the streets for about a week before deciding to join the army.
Brion- Brion went to join the military and he while at basic, he injured his heels and got a medical discharge. When he came back to live with his mother, she asked him for money to buy drugs. When he refused to give her money, she called the cops on him. He went from house to house living on couches for a while until he was on the streets. Brion has big hopes for his military career after his heels heal.
Donald- Donald has been homeless for quite a while. He served two years in prison and says that he would rather be in prison than be homeless. He needs back surgery, but since he doesn't have a safe place to recover, they wont do the surgery. He is on social security, but is denied housing because of his past.
What Can Be Done?
Government
The government could set up a better shelter system to house the homeless to keep them out of danger's way. People that get kicked out of the shelters should just go to prison so that they do not just sleep on the streets and degrade the city's reputation. I feel that homeless people should have the right to vote because they did not do anything illegal to be placed in the position that they are in.
Homeless
I feel that the homeless can probably be more willing to cooperate with the people in the homeless shelters. It seems like many of the stories that we have looked at, they have had problems with the shelter system. Either their relationship with the people working at the shelter or the fellow residents needs to be better.
Me
In order to help the homeless, I could start to get to know the homeless people that I see on the street. In stead of just giving them some money I could help them to either get into a shelter or get them into a program that could help them out. If I see a homeless person that seems to not be able to afford their next meal, I could take them to a grocery store so that I could buy them some food that will hopefully last them a while. I don't want to commit my whole entire life to fixing homelessness because it is not a subject that I feel extremely strong about.